Sporting goods colossus Decathlon has established itself as the world’s number one brand for reliable and good value outdoor gear. This of course includes to tents and camping gear.
Among its hundreds of tent models is this – the 4-person Quechua Arpenaz tent. With an RRP of £200, this moderately sized family tent is instantly appealing. Given Decathlon’s reputation for delivering well-performing, value-driven outdoor gear, it’s almost safe to assume that’s what you get here.
But as we and many of you well know, family tents are very hit and miss because when you’re living in them for several days – sometimes a couple of weeks – at a time, everything about them needs to be ergonomic and practical.
We’ve therefore been putting the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B tent through some real world testing to see whether or not it hits the mark.
LFTOwww.decathlon.co.uk
Pros
- Very well priced
- Stable and well made
- Not overly large or bulky
- Comfortable living space
Cons
- Blackout bedroom is fixed to floor and fiddly to unclip
- Fly could have a better waterproof rating
Design and features
The current trend of larger camping tents is to use inflatable poles. The Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B tent bucks this trend and sticks with fibreglass poles. Whether that’s a pro or con is subjective, but generally, we tend to prefer poles over air poles because they’re easier to pack away after use, easier to replace if needed, and still very easy to use – although, air poles are undeniably more convenient.
The tent is a tunnel shape, which is very typical for family camping tents. Inside, it’s split into two rooms – the main living room, which measures 5m2 and has a height of 190cm, and the bedroom, which also measures about 5m2 but isn’t as high and slopes down at the back.
As is common on many tents, the bedroom in the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B tent is a blackout bedroom. Except, where blackout bedrooms on many tents can be completely removed, the one in the Arpenaz tent is fixed to the floor and you must attach it to the ceiling with hooks.
Pitching
With two people, pitching the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B is pretty simple, largely because it’s a moderate size, unlike many gargantuan 6+ person family tents that look like aircraft hangars.
There are only three colour coordinated poles so getting them in the right place is very simple. It’s then just a case of guying out the tent – we found that to get the tent nice and taut we needed to readjust things a bit but that’s pretty standard.
Taking the tent down was more of a faff, not because of the poles but the bedroom clips. While easy to clip on, they’re fiddly and annoying to unclip. Unlike many other large tents, however, the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B is at least easy to get back into its bag.
The fact it only weighs about 11kg makes it an easy tent to carry across a campsite or lift into and out of a car boot too.
Living and comfort
If you don’t mind sleeping in close quarters, this is a 4-person tent. The bedroom is 2.4m across, so for four adults it’s a squeeze but it is more comfortable for two adults and two children.
It’s good to know that this 4-person tent can actually fit four people in it, but the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B makes for an ideal two-person camping tent. The bedroom accommodates a double airbed with ample leftover width, and the living space is perfect for two. If you have two smaller children zooming in and out, it’s also fine.
With its windows and light coloured ceiling the living space feels airy, and the bedroom stays cool thanks to the blackout design. To boost ventilation as much as possible, the living space has a mesh panel in the ceiling covered by a piece of solid fabric to keep the rain out.
Overall, it’s a well designed space, and there are a couple of lantern hooks – although we did notice the absence of any storage pockets or sleeves in the living space (there are pockets in the bedroom).
Durability and weather resistance
We didn’t get the opportunity to test the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B in a gale or storm, but we were impressed with the overall sturdiness of this tent. It felt considerably more stable than some of the larger rivals on test. Decathlon says all their tents are tested in a wind tunnel to be habitable in winds up to 50kph (30mph).
In terms of waterproofing, the polyester fly has a polyurethane (PU) coating, which gives it a hydrostatic head rating of 2000mm. In our experience, 2000mm HH is suitable for fending off showers, but a higher rating of at least 3000mm HH is better for dealing with persistent rain.
If the rain does come, you can lift the floor, and there are flaps around the edges to ensure water stays out.
All the fabrics and components (including tent pegs) are of reasonable quality – for a tent of this price the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B feels pretty well made. For occasional use (as Decathlon states it is for) in mild conditions, and provided the tent is cleaned and kept in good condition, there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t last at least 10 years.
Sustainability
The Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B doesn’t have all that much to boast about in terms of eco credentials. It doesn’t use recycled materials, for example, but they are at least either dope dyed or undyed, which cuts down considerably on CO2 emissions (46% and 58% respectively) conventional dyeing.
Decathlon also says that its tents are designed to be repairable. The Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B is also one the many products included in Decathlon’s Buyback scheme, which gives used gear a second life and also gives you money back to use on another Decathlon purchase.
Price and competition
Value is unquestionably one of the Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B’s strong suits. At £200, it manages to undercut rivals from brands such as Coleman and Vango by at least £40, and as we said earlier, feels like quite a stable, solid product.
Verdict
For a first summer camping tent for couples or young families, this is a great tent. It’s well price, well made, comfortable, and outperforms its competitors. It’s not perfect – the blackout bedroom hooks are a bit fiddly and there are no storage pockets – but overall, it’s a great buy.
How we tested
We tested the Decathlon Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 F&B tent in mid spring alongside a selection of other family tents from rival brands in order to directly compare products and to use the tents in the primary conditions they were intended for.
The author of this review is Chris Williams who is a staff writer and gear tester for LFTO. He joined LFTO in 2021 and has several years of both journalistic and outdoor industry experience.