Kelty  Highroads Shelter

I saw several positive reviews for the Backroads Shelter by Kelty, but wanted something with aluminum poles instead of fiberglass. Kelty listened and this version was produced. We've used it on two trips so far, and it makes a nice privacy shelter attached to our tiny camper. Our first camping trip we opened up the sides to enjoy the view, but on the trip that these pictures were taken we were dealing with cold weather, rain, and sustained winds of over 20 miles per hour for 2 days. Gusts were hitting the '40s! I ended up adding a couple extra guy lines and this held up without issue. No water inside, and it survived the wind in a way our awning never would have.

This fits a Honda Element with an Ecamper. The design is well thought out, it includes some nice small touches and features, and the more durable poles and fabric are worth it over the Backroads version.

I took this for my cross country trip, I loved its functionality, it gives good living space under the event of weather when car camping. However on my third use I had a pretty bad storm and the part that goes over the car ripped, I don’t know how it happened. I still gave 5 stars because REI took it back and sent me a new one, I shall see how it will hold in the future. I love REI customer service I never had bad experiences.

This shelter is an amazing upgrade with its sturdy aluminum poles and logical set up. Even as a shorter person, I was able to set it up solo without issues, and it attached securely and easily to a Subaru Forester, while still allowing me to open the lift gate with it deployed. While it is not bug proof since there is not fully enclosed mesh netting, I appreciate its versatility in allowing one to button it fairly down for inclement weather or open the door and roll up the sides when desired. I had been researching everything from awnings to tarps, and I think this lands in a sweet spot, and I appreciate that it is lightweight and stores easily in the car when not needed.

I used this tied to the back of my teardrop trailer at a beach campground in NC this weekend. It provided good shade and held up to 22mph wind gusts for 3 nights. It was easy enough to put up and take down. I’m glad I had it and would buy it again.

I purchased this shelter as an upgrade to the Backroads shelters that I’d been using and it was totally worth the upgrade! The materials are much beefier, the aluminum poles are lighter, and it would appear that the zippers are a significant improvement over the other product as well. As others have said, these shelters are just a car camping game changer!

Used with my 2018 Chevy equinox. Excellent protection from the rain and elements. Retains heat.

Online pictures, the YouTube videos I’ve watched… don’t do the size of this shelter justice. I haven’t gotten to test it in all conditions yet, so I’m reserving a full 5 star rating until I can test it in snowy conditions. It took me about 20 minutes to put together, my first time and solo. The tension is no joke so there’s a bit of negotiating to get the poles into the sockets, but I love that design. It makes the shelter feel very sturdy.

The good: Well built, with classic Kelty quality and design. Looks like it would work well with traditional sized vehicles like minivans or grenadier jeeps. The bad: This tent identifies as a kite, like all dome tents, but is not free standing since there is no floor. The directions show a van, and you are instructed to throw the ties over the van and tie them onto the wheels on the far side of the van. I've hung enough bear bags to know that something heavy needs to be attached to the rope/ties, which would likely result in a dented van or a broken window. Alternatively, you could tie off to a roof rack after climbing on top of the van, not my choice during a storm. This tent requires 6 secure attachments, again, during a storm, would be a challenge to securely rig. I would recommend this tent to low top vehicles, but not high top ones.