One of the most important features I look for in my gear is comfort. When I think about traditions of overlanding, typically comfort isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It’s rugged, dirty, and wild. But when I spend time away from home, having reliable, cozy, and easy to use equipment is essential. The Odyssey hardshell rooftop tent from James Baroud, definitely delivers in this category.
Now, I do want to preface this review with saying this is my first time owning a rooftop tent. I have spent plenty of time in trailers, ground tents, in-vehicle sleep systems, and slide-in campers. But I have been waiting for the right hardshell rooftop tent to really test out. To get into it, I think we have to start with installation on my 2024 Subaru Forester, Wilderness.
Installation: Surprisingly Simple
Despite being a first-time rooftop tent owner, installation was surprisingly straightforward. But I do have some installation tips (I moved those to the bottom so we can get into the pros and cons a little quicker). The Odyssey mounts to standard crossbars (mine sits on 50” Thule WingBar Evo roof bars) using a simple clamping system. Each mounting point consists of two clamps, one bolt, and one nut. I have two crossbars, so a total of four mounting points. It does weigh 152lbs (70kg), so we used four people to initially lift the tent onto my Subaru. You could probably get it done with two, but I was afraid of damaging my car or the tent.
Features & Materials: A Lot to Love
This tent is packed with thoughtful features, quality materials, and it absolutely hits the mark on my comfort expectations.
- Easy to Open: pop the latches, give it a nudge, and the gas struts do most of the lifting for you.
- Moisture-Wicking Interior Materials: Even in damp conditions, the interior stays dry and comfortable. No condensation drips or clammy mornings.
- 360° Mesh Windows: The panoramic mesh design offers uninterrupted views and excellent airflow—perfect for watching the sunset and warm nights.
- Room for Bedding: One of my favorite features is the ability to leave some of your bedding inside when the tent is closed. James Baroud even sells storage boxes that fit perfectly inside your closed tent.
- Comfortable Mattress: The built-in mattress is surprisingly plush—as a side sleeper, there is no need for extra padding.
- Blackout Lining: Whether you’re sleeping in or just want privacy, the blackout fabric keeps the interior dark and cozy.
- Mounted Flashlight/Reading Light: A small but smart touch—the included flashlight doubles as a reading light and mounts by clipping inside the tent.
- Solar-Powered Ventilation Fan: This built-in fan keeps air circulating, even when the tent is closed up during the day. It’s quiet, effective, and completely off-grid.
- Lightweight Ladder: The aluminum ladder is easy to deploy and stow. It weighs around 10 pounds, making it easy to handle and reposition.
- Fuel Economy: I drove about 500 miles before installing the tent, to have an average MPG that I could compare directly to 500 miles with the tent on. The difference in fuel economy was less than 2 MPG.
Room for Improvement
While the Odyssey is impressively well-designed, there are a couple of areas where I’d love to see refinements:
- Limited Light-Filtering Options: Only one window includes a clear plastic lining that lets in light while retaining warmth. The rest can be either mesh or blackout, which limits your ability to let in light without also letting in air.
- Ladder Storage: The ladder could benefit from a more compact telescoping design. It works well, but a smaller collapsed footprint would make storage easier.
- Closing the Tent: I debated putting this in the “Room for Improvement” section, because it really just took some getting used to. The struts make for quick and easy opening, but now you’re fighting against them to get it closed. After a few trips, closing it up became just as quick as opening. But, ultimately, I decided to list here because it did take some time to really figure out my process. Maybe an extra handle would help?
Final Thoughts
The James Baroud Odyssey is a premium rooftop tent that delivers on comfort, convenience, and durability. It’s a great match for the Subaru Forester Wilderness—low-profile enough to maintain decent fuel economy, yet rugged enough for off-grid adventures. For anyone considering their first rooftop tent, this one sets the bar high.
Revisiting Installation
I really wanted to dive deeper into the installation side. I take my RTT on and off quite frequently, so I have developed a pretty good process that makes their simple system almost effortless.
There is a small piece of plastic that pops off on each clamp where you can insert the bolt and nut, and a small notch where the nut sits. Because the space between your vehicle roof and your tent is typically pretty tight, I found it difficult to keep the nut in the notch. Additionally, because it’s a tight space, you can’t get a full rotation with the standard supplied hex key, which led to hand cramps. I made two small modifications to fix these issues for me.
- To fix the nut placement, I used a small dab of Gorilla Glue to secure the nut into its little notch. This means that all I have to do, is tighten the bolt through both clamps and the nut stays in place.
- I swapped the supplied hex key with a T-handle hex key that fit between my roof and the tent to get full rotations and a more ergonomical grip. A ratcheting hex key could also do the trick.
With these adjustments, and the lifting storage system we built in our garage, I can take my Odyssey tent on and off, by myself, in about 5-10 minutes.
More About James Baroud
Crafted in Porto, Portugal, James Baroud is known for manufacturing premium products and some of the most innovative and durable rooftop tents and overland accessories. In addition to the quality rooftop tents, James Baroud has a growing line of accessories to enhance the user’s overlanding experience. Throughout the Overland Expo event series in 2025, I checked out several more of their accessories, including the new Family Room, which feels like an extension to your rooftop tent sleeping space, the Falcon Shower, which has more features in a shower cube than I thought possible, and the Frontier Crossbars to add modularity and storage on top of your RTT. These are just a few of their accessories, and I am sure there is more innovation to come.
James Baroud Odyssey MSRP: $4,895
