The Berghaus Air 4 & the Berghaus Air 4 XL are two popular inflatable tents, sold by Ultimate Outdoors (this is the same company as Millets and Blacks). The Air 4 XL was voted ‘Out and About Live’ magazine’s favourite luxury family tent for 2018, and there is a new colour palette for the entire Berghaus Air Range in 2019. One would think that the two tents are very similar, only a small difference in name; however, this is not the case. They are very much different, and I am hoping to shed some light to these differences in this Berghaus Air 4 review.
Berghaus Air 4 XL – Key Features
- Easy to pitch inflatable
- Front porch area
- Large ‘living room’
- Panoramic PVC windows
- Mesh/window doors
- Side door rain shelter
- Separately removable bedrooms
Who Is It For?
For smaller families up to 4, or couples looking for extra space. Ideal for weekends away or longer breaks.
Berghaus Air 4 – Key Features
- Easy to pitch inflatable
- Decent size front porch area
- Large bedroom
- Mesh/window doors
- Side door rain shelter
Who Is It For?
For smaller families or couples. More suitable for weekends away.
Berghaus Air 4
What Are They Like?
Air 4XL: means Larger. Much Larger.
The name of the Air 4 XL suggests that it is a 4 person tent with additional space, so I expected that the sleeping area would be the same size in both tents. 4 persons are 4 persons after all… That could not be further from the truth. The Berghaus Air 4 is a decent size 4 person tent with a 250cm x 210cm sleeping area. This provides each person with a 62.5cm wide patch, which is around the average: other 4 (and 5) person tents tend to allocate 60cm or so for each camper. You can also hang a privacy curtain to split the room into two sleeping pods.
The Air 4 XL on the other hand has two bedrooms. Its much more spacious than its small sibling and other 4 person tents: each bedroom is 140cm x 210cm – providing a 70cm wide patch for you to sleep.
Berghaus Air 4 Floorplan
The XL is not just wider but higher too. You get 205cm headroom measured inside the tent, as opposed to the 185cm maximum headroom inside the Air 4.
And Extra Long.
Just by looking at them you notice instantly, that the Air 4 XL is a completely different construction. The Air 4 is 3 beam tunnel tent, it’s highest point at the 2nd (middle) beam. The Air 4 XL is a 4 beam construction that maintains the same height along the tent: the XL is 605cm long, more than a metre longer, than the Air 4 with it’s 495cm.
This allows the Air 4 XL to provide a generous living space, as well as the spacious bedrooms. The 8.37 sqm (which does not include the 3.1 sqm porch) is more than enough for 4 camping chairs and a table. Furthermore, you can remove the side by side bedrooms for extra living / storage space.
The Air 4 is not far behind with a 7.56 sqm living area, but due to the difference in their construction the useful space (with a full 200cm headroom) is only around 4 sqm.
Berghaus Air 4 XL floorplan
That is okay for two camping chairs and a table, and there is some space for muddy boots and gear under the canvas, but the Air 4 XL is much more generous on space.
Size Is Not Everything…
…When it comes to pitching an inflatable tent. Both Air tents have high performance inflatable beams with quick-release air valves. These valves are spring loaded and deflate the beams at a touch of a button. There is a two-way stirrup pump included in the carry bag.
Pitching time should be under 20 minutes with a bit of practice: the Berghaus Air 4 has three air beams, the Air 4 XL has four of them. If you’d like to save some time a 12V Electric pump like this Kampa one could serve you well, it would inflate your tent in no time.
The bedrooms are pre-attached, so once the tent is fully inflated and secured used the pegs, it is ready to be moved in. The bedrooms are made of 100% polyester to minimize condensation and the Air 4 XL has ‘Black Out’ bedrooms, meaning that the darker fabric helps keeping the light out.
You can buy an additional footprint to protect the sewn-in ground sheet from uneven ground. The ground sheet is taped to ensure that no water can leak through the seams. A 6000mm HH fly sheet protects you from heavy rain, snow and winds.
There are also additional rain-hoods above the side doors. If it becomes hot, there are mesh doors, and high- and low-level vents all around the tents for an improved air flow. As for storage space, the Berghaus Air 4’s have large organisers below the windows and multiple pocket organisers in the living area.
Pros & Cons
To be honest there are not a lot of cons for either tent. The Air 4 is suitable for smaller families or couples, but it is reflected in the price. The Air 4 XL is great for families or friends camping together, or it can offer an enormous amount of living / storage space. As the bedrooms can be removed, the Air 4 can serve many purposes and can meet many expectations.
The only real downside is the pricing, especially the Air 4 XL: for its full price I would be reluctant to recommend it. Not because they are bad but because you can buy very similar, high quality tents for less. But as I said earlier, if you are quick you can have them for half the retail price, so for now they are in the ‘recommended’ bracket.
Where Can You Buy the Berghaus Inflatable Tents?
Both the Berghaus Air 4 and Air 4 XL are priced towards the higher end of their category, even with a reduced price ticket. However, if you are looking for the place to buy a Berghaus Air tent, you must check Blacks / Millets / Ultimate Outdoors or Blacks’ eBay outlet (to grab a deal off last year’s stock): there are further reductions from the sale price. Actually, the Air 4 is a cheaper on eBay, than the in-store sale price with a further 20% off coupon code. This shoots it near the top of the ‘Best Buy’ list: if you are shopping for a 4-5 person family tent, the Berghaus Air 4 is a serious contender in the under-£400 category.
There are plenty of places where you can buy the Berghaus Air 4 online: eBay, Blacks
The Air 4 XL is considered a ‘luxury’ inflatable tent and it is priced accordingly. The last time I checked it was almost £130 cheaper on eBay than the official Ultimate Outdoors sale price, but to be honest, even the reduced price pushes the ceiling of the category of 4-person inflatable tents out to the sky.
You can get the Berghaus Air 4 XL via: eBay , Blacks, and for a 5-6% off the sale price (£200 off RRP), you can also find the Berghaus Air 4XL on Amazon
Alternatives
There are quite a few alternatives available – many of them I detailed in my round-up post for the Best Air Tents in 2020. Thankfully there’s quite a competition among various manufacturers that drives the prices down. You can also check out my post on 4-5 person inflatable family tents (reviewing some of the best value / price inflatable tents under the £400 mark) and 6 person inflatable tents to get an idea what else is available.
The obvious alternative is the Eurohike Air 400, which is very similar to the Berghaus Air 4, slightly smaller though and much cheaper (you can find the detailed review of the Eurohike Air 400 here). It is available at GoOutdoors.
The Eurohike Air 600 is even more generous on space than the Air 4 XL for the price of the Air 4. (Used to be available on eBay, Blacks, Millets, Ultimate Outdoors – your best bet is probably eBay to grab a second-hand Air 600).
The less obvious alternative to the Air 4 could be the Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 6.0EX. The Cruiz is bigger, better and nicer and yet, costs the same: £400. From the same range, the Cruiz 6.0 TXL rivals the Air 4XL in size, build quality and price. (my review on the Cruiz tents here),
You may also be interested in Vango’s Odyssey range inflatable tents: they are extremely well constructed, spacious and most importantly are often on sale. It is easy to grab an Odyssey 500 for around £400, around the price of the Berghaus Air range or the Eurohike Air 600; or even an Odyssey 600 below the price of the Berghaus Air 4 XL (see an overarching review of the Vango Airbeam 600 series air tents here).
I would be very much humbled if you shared your views, experience, or any questions you may have down below in the comment box!
Please warn people, at the moment to be preapared for disappointment. I would love to be reviewing the Berghaus Air 4XL I ordered from Go Outdoors on the 2nd July 2020 but yesterday, despite lots of e-mails and text messages telling me tgey were “On it” and thanking me for my patience, all I rrceived via Hermes was the £5 Go Outdoors discount card.
As a single parent and foster carer I was so excited about our forthcoming camping trip.
The tent was a Price Drop and I fear they are not being honourable as to the reason they failed to fullfill my order.
Don’t want this to happen to anyone else.
Hi Jan,
Thanks, I leave your comment on so that everyone can see it.
It seems that GoOutdoors has a lot of going on right now…and they don’t seem to be on top of it
I ordered a Genus 400 from Go Outdoors on 3rd August to collect from store. Despite numerous texts saying my order was ready to collect, when I made the special journey to collect it I was told my order had been cancelled. To date (August 22nd) I have still not had a refund despite numerous reassurances they are ‘processing it”. They have reluctantly offered me a £10 voucher, however as I plan never to use them again seems a little pointless.
We had the air 4 which was enough at the time for 2 adults and 1 large dog. (we also used the porch for longer trips but because of the different pole heights, never managed to get a flush fit).
We never had a problem – even camped in a cyclone in Cornwall, and it withstood a battering!
We have since got a second large dog and decided to upgrade to the air 4xl. There’s so much more space! We can use it without needing the porch, as there is more than enough room for everything we need. It helps because the front is square, so all the space is usable (unlike the air4 which is sloped at the front)
The only criticism I have of the 4xl is that the air vents are considerably larger, meaning that if it is particularly windy, the velcro fastening on the outside is not enough to stop the tent becoming a wind tunnel.
Hi Bev,
Thanks for the insight, very useful!
Greg
Hi We purchased a Berghaus 4 air xl late last year . We are going away next weekend to try it out . To make sure all the air beams were ok and familiarise ourselves with the tent we put it up in the garden . On taking it down we realised how difficult it was to fold up again to fit back in the bag . Any tips would be helpful
Hi I find it works every time. If you push the air out along each beam (I walk along them) then ensure you always fold towards the air escape valves so air is constantly working its way out as you fold. Ensure all compartment zips are slightly open to aid air in coming out (including entrance zip) then ensure the final folding/rolling it up is from back to front again allowing air to escape out the entrance as you go. I hope that makes sense
Hi. I’m thinking about buy the Berghaus 4.1XL Nightfall. looks fantastic for us as there is plenty of room. we have just come back from Cornwall and a couple next to us had a collapsed beam, is this a common thing and what is done to protect it. plus do we have to treat the outer skin of the tent as our last one we had suffered a lot of condensation, i think it may have been caused as i left the sleeping pods in when i packed it all away.
many thanks
martin