Outwell Montana 6SA

Review Score

We love this tent. It's perfect for those longer camping stays where you want a base and a 'home from home'.

Our Score: 9.3/10

We've given the Outwell Montana 6SA the Thumbs Up award.

Value for MoneyQualityFeaturesFamily Friendly

The good

• A fantastic holiday tent that has plenty of space, both in the living area and bedrooms.

The not so good

• Despite the usual high quality found with Outwell, I did find some stitching had come undone on the canopy.

This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.

Price Guide

Outwell Montana 6SA Videos

Outwell Montana 6SA Photos

Our Review

Over the last two years, we've been fortunate enough to do a lot of our camping trips in the fabulous Outwell Hornet XL tent.

That was our first foray into inflatable tents, and the Outwell tent proved to be all it was expected to be and more.

Well, in 2016, Outwell updated its Smart Air collection. Although the Hornet is available as a new model, our old Hornet XL tent is no longer current :-(

Fortunately, Outwell agreed to send us one of their new Smart Air tents to look at, and it just had to be the ever-popular Outwell 'Monty' Montana. :-)

First Impressions

Not long after getting the tent, we did a test pitch in the garden. Here's our video and first impression of the Outwell Montana 6SA.

Outwell Montana 6SA Layout and Features

The layout is the same as all the Monty tents: a large living space, bedrooms at the back, and a side entrance porch.

However, being in the Smart Air collection, it also gets the Master Bedroom concept that Outwell introduced. These are deeper bedrooms, giving more space for bags and using camp beds (see the pictures further down).

Using the Outwell Montana 6SA

we love this tent

We've been on a few camps with the Monty, and we love this tent. However, there are a few things that you should note.

We class this as a 'holiday tent'. It is a big heavy tent when packed, and you'll not want to use it for just one night at the weekend.

You'll need a big boot in your car.

You'll need a big boot in your car to take the tent to the campsite. We managed to fit it into our camping trailer, which solved that problem for us.

You can create a real home from home.

However, as a holiday tent, it is fantastic, with a good balance of sleeping and living space. You can create a real home from home.

The canopy that comes with the tent is quite large. We've not had to use our tarp with the tent yet.

If you want to look inside the Montana 6SA, watch this video below.

Differences with the Previous Smart Air Collection

On the surface, there appears to be little difference with the previous version of the SmartAir tents. You inflate them just the same; you still have the isolation valves inside (though they are slightly updated valves), and, just like many other inflatable tents, you still need someone to go inside and give the air tubes a little push.

there are some great improvements

However, if you look closer, there are some great improvements that Outwell made to the SmartAir collection.

The newer tents are not as round. They now have a slight arch on the roof. A 'gothic arch' as Outwell describes it.

I don't know if this is just for cosmetic reasons or if it provides additional stability. However, we certainly didn't experience any stability issues in our previous SmartAir due to the additional air tubes that run lengthways. But, when using the new tent, the slightly raised ceiling does make it feel even roomier.

a great additional storage area

All tents now have a storm-side entrance. This is a nice addition. If you are blessed with nice weather, this proves a great additional storage area.

I've already mentioned the new Master Bedrooms, which are much larger than the previous SmartAir collection. The bedrooms also sport head-height windows, which of course, have blinds for nighttime. The bedrooms also have a cord that you can use as a hanging rail and more storage pockets.

better airflow on hot days

Another useful feature is that you have doors on both sides of the tent, which is great for better airflow on hot days.

easier to pitch without needing a long EHU cable

As well as doors on both sides of the tent, you also have cable entrances, making it easier to pitch without needing a long EHU cable.

I said how heavy and big the bag was. The Montana 6SA feels bigger and heavier than the Hornet XL. I've not had it confirmed by Outwell, but I'm wondering if some thicker material has been used, which could account for the additional bulk and weight.

Another minor tweak is with the toggles you use to tie back doors and blinds. These are now adjustable and have been very good in practice.

Here are a bunch more pictures of the Monty.

Quality

Despite the usual excellent Outwell quality, I did find some stitching that had come undone on the canopy.

It hasn't affected the canopy's performance, and I'm sure I can repair it, but if I had paid this much for a tent, I would have been pretty disappointed.

Their quality is usually quite high, so I hope the tent we have is just one one-off issue.

Extras

Of course, with a tent like this, you'll want to get a carpet.

We have a look at the 3 Layer Insulate carpet for the Outwell Montana tent in this video here:

You can also get a footprint to go underneath the tent. This can help keep your tent clean so that packing it away is much easier. It could also add a little bit of ground insulation.

You can see the footprint in this video here:

If you use a tent footprint, ensure the tent covers it completely. If you leave a little exposed, tuck it under the tent. If it rains, leaving the footprint exposed could allow it to collect water under your tent.

Although the tent has a canopy, if you want more space, you can also get an extension awning for the Montana 6SA.

You unzip the canopy from the front of the tent and zip on the awning instead. The awning is inflatable, too and comes with the same privacy windows as the tent, plus a groundsheet.

Another Monty?

If you like the Outwell Montana design but can't stretch to a SmartAir version, you can find the Monty in other guises throughout the Outwell collections. There's even a smaller 5 person version, as well as a polycotton one too.

Conclusion

This is a big expensive tent. Despite the minor quality issue on the canopy, the tent is fantastic.

We love it.

If you consider getting one of these, know we've given it the GOWTK Thumbs Up Award.

But it's not just us that like this tent; it has also won the editor's choice award in Camping Magazine.

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