We are big Khyam fans and I drooled over the Freelander for some time as a possibility for a tent for OH and myself to get away without the kids.
However, having seen both the Freelander and the Arizona L set up at our local camping shop we went for the Arizona and have never looked back!
Plusses of the Arizona L over the Freelander:
More standing height room, especially in the bedroom pod. but I think also in the living area.
Large picture window and skylights making it a lovely light and airy tent even if the weather tuns bad.
Well ventilated.
The door to the bedroom area is huge and can be folded completely out of the way to make it feel like one huge living area (we just slide the mattresses to one side).
You can fit a double height queen size airbed in the bedroom pod without having your face against the ceiling! Although there is limited space around the edges. With self inflating mats or regular airbeds you can fit them either way with space around the sides..
There are two alternative entrances - front large window face, and one of the sides. Great for if the wind direction changes or for flexibility on how you pitch your tent.
It is a simple dome tent - just 3 poles which slide in and then clip to the pins on the ground - the tent is actually 'up' before you need to peg anything, so you can position it as you like. I can easily do it single handed in just a few minutes. The pegging is more for stability and keeping it put.
Minuses:
'Well ventilated could be understood as 'draughty'. The ventilation through the vents etc is excellent, but there is quite a gap between the flysheet and the ground around the rear half of the tent. This has not been a problem to us, but it has been commented by others. Having said that, I undertand that the 2010 model features a SIG throughout, so would negate this problem.
When the side door is open in the rain, the design of the door means that rainwater lands inside the living area. I solved this last time by adding a canopy to the side. Using the front door in the rain would be the same on both the Freelander and the Arizona - again the sloping side would allow some water to get in if it were open, but not a huge problem. On both the doors can be poled up to form a canopy.
I love our Outwell!
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