The KAZOO family camping tents are becoming increasingly popular thanks to their attractive features such as full rainfly and great waterproof rating, stand-up height, plenty of space, instant pitching, affordable price and the list goes on…The ‘Saturn’ family camping tents – the KAZOO Saturn 3P, the KAZOO Saturn 4P and KAZOO Saturn 6P tents – should be on everyone’s list when looking for a decent family camping tent.
KAZOO Saturn Tent Review
KAZOO Saturn Cabin Tent at a Glance
The first thing you notice when you look at a KAZOO Saturn cabin tent is its shape: the box-shaped design of this cabin tent means a lot of space inside. But be careful, don’t believe the actual capacity. As with most tents these days, the capacity is often overstated: the 6 person capacity of the Saturn 6P may be okay for a family of 6: two adults and four kids in sleeping bags; but only two mattresses will fit inside the 3m / 120″ wide Saturn 6P for example, so no more than 4 adults will ever find the 6P acceptable (maybe 5 in sleeping bags).
KAZOO Saturn – panoramic views and large D-shaped doors make it easy to recognize
As for pitching, the automatic mechanism makes it a very convenient family camping tent even for those who don’t have much experience. It is a simple and quick process to get everything up and running, it can be opened and closed in 30 seconds by one person according to KAZOO. Even if it is a slight overstatement, it certainly does not take longer than a few minutes…
Why You Will Love You KAZOO Tent
- Excellent weather protection with 3000mm HH 210T Ripstop flysheet
- Easy setup within 60 seconds
- Internal space for up to 8 people
- Choice of various colors (yellow, blue, green)
- 2-year warranty
Where to buy the KAZOO Saturn tents
They can be found on Amazon, including Amazon UK and other international sites.
What I Liked The Most About the KAZOO Saturn tents
Size
The box-shaped design of this cabin tent means that there is a lot of space inside, and it is true to some extent. Considering the footprint of these KAZOO tents, the useful space is phenomenal. The walls are almost vertical, headspace is plenty, in the largest KAZOO Saturn 6P most people will be able to fully stand up inside. Expecially when the rainfly is off, the KAZOO tents feel spacious and airy.
How big exactly are the KAZOO Saturn tents?
- Size: 78 x 78″ / 2 x 2 metres
- Floor space: 4 sqm
- Internal Height: 53″
- Suitable for: maximum of 4 adults, 50 cms per head (comfortable for 3)
- Size: 2.2 x 2.4 m /95 x 86″
- Floor space: 5.88 sqm
- Internal Height: 61″
- Suritable for: maximum of 4 adults, 60 cm per head (comfortable for 4). It is a 6-person tent for kids only.
- Size: 110 x 118″ / 2.8 x 3 m
- Floor space: 8.4 sqm
- Internal Height: 73″
- Suitable for: maximum of 7 adults, 50 cms per head (comfortable for 5)
KAZOO Saturn 6P dimensions – full stand-up height
So as you can see, the advertised capacity is far from the actual capacity, and you’d be better off not expecting the KAZOO Saturn 8 to be a proper 8-person tent. Other than that, if we ignore this discrepancy in choosing the name, they are actually quite spacious, and it you can easily create a wonderful atmosphere with a few lanterns and lights.
Can’t really imagine an 8-person camping holiday in this tent, but 2 mattresses will fit in easily
Weather Protection
The other great thing about the KAZOO Saturn tents, actually, all KAZOO tents, is the above average weather protection. I say ‘above average’ on the US market where these tents are hugely popular, but the numbers are not bad for the UK market either. Just as a comparison, a tent with 1500mm-2000mm HH waterproof rating is considered entry-level, while midrange tents average around 3000mm HH; whereas on the US market you find tents with below 1000mm HH rating and still considered ‘waterproof’.
As a matter of fact, the official figure for calling something waterproof is 1500mm HH, fabrics under this are deemed splash proof only.
That said, the KAZOO Saturn tents have 3000mm HH waterproof rating and a full rainfly, sewn-in groundsheet, plenty of air vents (with a big but) and 360 degree mesh windows.
210T Ripstop Polyester rain fly – I’m impressed
I am well impressed, ’cause relatively unknown manufacturers don’t usually go to this length in making a decent tent that protects you from the elements.
The rainfly fabric is made of 210T Ripstop polyester on the KAZOO Saturn 4 and 6, but the 3 person KAZOO’s 190T Ripstop polyester flysheet is not bad at all either.
The groundsheet is made of 150D Oxford PE fabric, again, going above and beyond.
If you feel a bit overwhelmed by the acronyms, it’s time to take a break and read this: Tent materials, fabrics, specifications and all the acronyms. FAQ.
Instant Pitching
The KAZOO Saturn family tents are freestanding instant pop up tents. The aluminium poles are attached together, you literally just take the frame out of the bag, pitch the tent and secure it. KAZOO says it can be done in 30 seconds. I say if you do it in 2 minutes you are still a star.
The process is really easy, no hassle whatsoever, even those who have never pitched a tent before could pop a KAZOO Saturn tent up in mere minutes.
KAZOO Saturn with 360 mesh ceiling, large windows and two doors. It feels light and spacious.
2 years warranty
I am also quite impressed by the 2 years warranty KAZOO offers. Although they don’t have a website, you should be able contact them via Amazon if anything goes wrong with the product within this two-year period.
What’s There To Consider
Inner First Pitching
Despite how quick the pitching of the KAZOO tents is, it still takes some time. They pitch ‘inner first’ which means that in heavy rain, the flysheet is going to be the last piece. The inside of the tent can get by then, but it is only an issue if you can’t avoid pitching the KAZOO Saturn tent in rain.
No Vents On The Flysheet
While the KAZOO Saturns are great with their all-round no-see-um mesh windows, the flysheet – apart from the openings at the windows – do not have air vents.
When it rains, you’ll likely close those openings anyways, so it can get really stuffy inside.
Your only option left will be to leave the front door slightly open with the sun canopy still in place: that would protect the door from rain a bit.
Kazoo Saturn – flysheet windows open and close from the outside
Flysheet windows open from outside
It is just not really clever design, that the openings on the rainfly can only be shut / open from the outside. If you forget to close them and it starts raining, you’ll get wet twice: when the water starts getting into the tent, and when you go out to close the flysheet.
Poor wind resistance
Quite a few customer reviews mention the poor wind resistance: the joints are just not strong enough to withstand the wind-load. I imagine it is a more frequent issue on the 6-person KAZOO family tent as that one has the biggest surface that wind can drag into.
It however, does not seem to be a common issue across all KAZOO Saturn tents, so it may be something to do with the variation is manufacturing quality.
Tight Carry Bag
It is just annoying, more than anything else. I’d say around 40% of all tents come with an oversized carry bag, or an elastic one; so putting the tent back in it does not involve the excessive use of swear words. The KAZOO Saturn carry bag belongs to the other 60%, that is just too tight and it really needs practicing how to put the tent back into it.
If you’re lucky, by the time you’ve figured out the technique, the carry bag is still in one piece.
Besides the rainfly, the inner tent and the frame, these fit into this compact bag too. In theory…
Weight
Nothing surprising here, I just wanted to underline that the KAZOO Saturn instant tents are not for backpackers. While the smallest KAZOO Saturn 3P weighs only 11.9 lbs / 5.3 kgs, it’s still over the weight that’s easy to carry. The largest Saturn 6P weighs over 17 lbs / 8 kgs, which is great for a tent of this size, also considering the aluminium frame etc., but I’d only recommend them for car camping.
Verdict
There are plenty of decent tents available nowadays. Sadly, manufacturing quality is not always consistent, and the KAZOO Saturn tents do have their flaws from that respect. But in general, most of the feedback received from (happy) users is that these are decent, good quality tents.
They are quite popular for all the good reasons. You rarely get a full rainfly, great waterproof rating, thick groundsheet, large doors, stand-up height, instant pitching and the list goes on… for an affordable price.
The ‘Saturn’ family camping tents – the KAZOO Saturn 3P, the KAZOO Saturn 4P and KAZOO Saturn 6P tents – should be on everyone’s list when looking for a decent family camping tent.
