Lost Canyon NF-1 Truck Bed Tent Review

by Cristofer and Quinn Maximilian
Special to Torque

These days, the market is stuffed with tent options for would-be campers, and it can be tough to figure out what will work best for your needs.

We’re the kind of family that likes to keep things simple but still be comfortable away from home. Since we have a one-year-old, we’ve found “day camping” is often the best route to go. This means we like quick and simple options that allow us to drive somewhere beautiful, set up camp, enjoy it for a few hours, and then quickly take everything down when it’s time to head back home.

To us, a simple, comfortable tent that can be used for naps and as a place to get out of the sun and relax for a while is more important than a massive seven-person “family size” version that takes an hour to set up and provides a home away from home during a multi-day trip.

Rooftop tents are a fantastic option, but there are a lot of costs involved. Normally, their starting price point is already significantly higher than almost any other tent out there, and then you have to start facing the costs of a rack system that can support the weight of your tent.

You also need to choose between running a rooftop tent on your truck daily or figuring out a way to take it off when you’re not on an adventure. They’re not light, and unless you have a garage with lots of free space, they can be difficult to store. This leads to most people keeping them installed and just living with the loss of fuel economy during daily driving.

On the other side, ground tents can be a good budget option, but you do have to find a good place to set up the thing. If the ground isn’t flat and soft, a ground tent can be downright uncomfortable. If you do most of your camping at established campsites, however, ground tents are a great choice.

That leads us right to truck bed tents. These are an effective option because they pack up into a small bag that you can throw in your truck when you’re headed out on an adventure, and it keeps you off the ground when you arrive. All you need to find is somewhere to park.

The Lost Canyon NF-1 Truck Bed Tent is an excellent, cost-effective alternative to a rooftop tent that eliminates many headaches found with a ground tent.

Because this tent is mounted to your truck, the surface beneath is always predictable. Additionally, being off the ground also allows you to avoid those various critters that like to explore what life is like inside a human’s tent.

Setup is straightforward. It’s like a normal tent where you just extend the poles and feed them through the provided sleeves. Once you’ve got it up, you just place it on your truck bed, but instead of staking it to the ground, you use straps to fasten it to the vehicle.

It even comes with a USB-powered LED lighting strip that you can just plug into a battery pack for soft interior ambient light.

Something else to consider is that many truck bed tents do not actually include a floor — they simply a canopy that just goes over your truck bed. The problem lies in needing a clean truck bed if you want an uncluttered place to sleep. This isn’t a problem with the Lost Canyon NF-1 Truck Bed Tent because it has a complete floor that covers the entirety of your bed.

Whether you’re just now starting to branch out and adventure more, or you’re an avid camper looking for the happy medium between a ground and rooftop tent system, the Lost Canyon NF-1 Truck Bed Tent may be exactly what you need after a long day exploring.