Family cabin~$400Gazelle
Gazelle T4 Hub Tent
No citable rating — see why we hide some.
The Gazelle is a hub tent: the frame is one permanently-jointed structure that you pull open like an umbrella, and it is up in about ninety seconds. Sixty-one square feet with a 78-inch ceiling, six mesh windows, two D-shaped doors, and a removable floor so it doubles as a screen room. The fabric is the standout — 210D shell at 2000 mm and a 300D floor at 5000 mm, which is far beyond anything else in the family-tent group. It packs into a 66-inch tube, so it needs a long boot or a roof rack.
Floor area per person
15.3 sq ft
Standard — 14 to 17 sq ft each — the normal two-pads-and-no-spare-room fit
Weight per person
7 lb 8 oz
from the packed weight of 30 lb
Peak height
78 in
Approx. price
~$400
Pads: 23.5 in of floor width each — 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not.
Length: a 94 in floor leaves room for a sleeper up to about 7ft 4in once you allow six inches for a foot box and a pillow.
Best for
Overlanding and base camps where setup speed and fabric toughness matter more than packed length.
Specifications
- Type
- Family cabin
- Rated capacity
- 4-person
- Floor area per person(estimated)
- 15.3 sq ft (standard)
- Floor area
- 61 sq ft
- Vestibule area
- 0 sq ft
- Peak height
- 78 in
- Packed weight
- 30 lb
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 7 lb 8 oz (packed weight)
- Packed size
- 8 x 8 x 66.5 in
- Interior floor width
- 94 in
- Pad fit(estimated)
- 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not
- Fits sleepers up to(estimated)
- 7ft 4in tall
- Doors
- 2
- Vestibules
- 0
- Freestanding
- freestanding
- Poles
- steel
- Wall type
- single wall
- Season rating
- 3-season
- Fly fabric
- 210D Oxford polyester, 2000 mm, UV50+
- Floor fabric
- 300D polyester, 5000 mm
- Floor denier
- 300D
- Floor hydrostatic head
- 5,000 mm
- Approx. price
- ~$400
Features
- Hub frame, roughly 90-second setup
- 300D floor at 5000 mm and a 210D shell at 2000 mm
- Removable floor so it converts to a screen room
- Six mesh windows and two D-shaped doors
- Removable gear loft with six pockets
- Packs to an 8 x 8 x 66.5 in tube — check it fits your car before ordering
In its favour
- 300D floor at 5000 mm is four times the waterproofing of a typical family tent
- Ninety-second setup with nothing to assemble
- Removable floor turns it into a bug shelter over a picnic table
- 78 in ceiling in a compact 94 x 94 in footprint
Against it
- Packs to a 66.5 in tube — it will not fit in a small car boot
- 30 lb of steel and heavy fabric
- Single-wall construction, so condensation forms on the inside on cold nights
- 15.25 sq ft per person only works if you actually put four people in a 94 in square
Written from the published specification sheet, not from owner reports.
What owners report
Drawn from archived owner discussions, not from a test of our own.
What owners like
- A six-year-old example weathered a storm fine and had done so before, according to its owners
- Owners describe loving it and keeping it for years while adding other tents alongside rather than replacing it
- One owner reports taking theirs to the Pacific coast repeatedly and never having an issue, despite the wind
- One owner is used to not needing guylines and simply staking it, which speaks to the frame's stiffness
- The instant setup and the space are the pair of qualities owners name when recommending it
- It holds its place against the biggest names in family tents on shortlists, on capability rather than price
Common complaints
- Quality-control issues are reported specifically — a newly purchased tent arriving with the screen door's grommet and stake loop missing, with the owner asking whether others have seen the same
- The packed size is the recurring practical complaint: it will not fit in a sedan boot, and one buyer cancelled an order over it
- It is not lightweight or packable, and owners who love it say so in the same sentence
- It has no proper vestibule, which one owner who came from a tent with one specifically misses
- The removable floor puts some owners off, and it feeds the leak worry alongside the price
The Gazelle is bought for ninety seconds of setup and kept because it turns out to be tough. A six-year-old T4 Plus riding out a storm, another owner taking theirs to the Pacific coast repeatedly without an issue despite the wind, and owners who stake it without bothering with guylines — that is a frame doing its job.
Quality control, not design, is the specific complaint. One owner reports a newly purchased tent arriving with the screen door's grommet and stake loop missing and asks whether others have seen the same — the sort of thing that should not happen on a $400 tent.
The practical objection is size. It packs into a tube about 66 inches long, and one buyer cancelled an order on realising it would not fit in a sedan boot, while another ruled it out because it must fit in a checked bag. Owners who love theirs are entirely open about this — the phrase that comes up is that they love it but it is not lightweight or packable. And there is no proper vestibule, which one owner who came from a tent with one specifically misses.
Questions people ask about it
Will it fit in my car?
Check first. It packs into a tube around 66 inches long, and one buyer cancelled an order after realising it would not fit in a sedan boot. It needs a wagon, a truck bed, a roof rack or a back seat laid flat.
Is the quality control reliable?
It is the most specific complaint. One owner reports a new tent arriving with the screen door's grommet and stake loop missing, and asks whether others have seen the same. Check yours on arrival rather than at the campsite.
How does it do in wind?
Well, by owner accounts — a six-year-old one riding out a storm, and another used repeatedly on the Pacific coast without issue. One owner stakes it without deploying guylines at all, which is unusual for a tent this tall.
Does it have a vestibule?
No, and one owner who came from a tent with one misses it — there is nowhere covered to put a mat and leave boots. The removable floor means it can serve as a screen room instead, which is a different kind of useful.