M.I.A Tents - From the makers of Waterport.

I think it looks great. i am really considering one. i would probably do a small 1/8" elastic cord wrapped around so it pulls it in upon closing the lid.

also would 4 spacers under your contact points to raise up 1" or so give you clearance for the lid-to-bedrack clearance?

 

wow. small things i wouldnt expect from such a pricey item. thanks for the pics

 

Most definitely some spacers would raise it enough. It doesn't even need 1". Right now it actually can articulate fully, but it kind of "pops" the shell as it slides past the bar, so it's very very close to exactly where it should be. The mounting screws I used aren't long enough to accommodate much spacing, so personally I'd probably just move it 1/4" to the left.

 

Alright y’all! I’m ordered.. I planned on mounting it to my camper shell (after extensive research, I’m going for it), crazy how much trouble I’m having ordering tracks and cross bars to actually have something to mount it too!

I look forward to pic dump once I get it, and a month long road trip in October!

 

There’s quite a lot of quality issues for spending 2600(tax). Might have to save up for iKamper?

 

Nah. I'd never spend an extra $1200 (50%!!) for something that is identical but with better QC and thinner material. If this bothered me enough, I'd simply have Costco exchange it or work with MIA to fix the issues. If I didn't go with MIA I would have gone with the Alpha 2. The iKamper is stupidly overpriced. But it sure looks nice.

 

This morning one of the latches on the tent busted. I was going to replace it via Costco, but MIA got back to me quickly and said they would overnight a strap replacement and send a video on how to adjust the latches so there isn't as much strain.

Updated impressions after using it a few times:
- Mattress is not comfortable. It is just regular foam and not memory foam. I can actually fall asleep pretty easily on it, but I wake up after 3-4 hours and start tossing and turning. My hips and shoulders hurt no matter how I lay. Back seems most comfortable, but it still causes me shoulder pain. If I double it up with a thin cot pad then it feels pretty good, but the tent will NOT close with the other pad in there.
- The shell gets dirty really easily. Not really a problem, just an observation
- I've gotten a little better at closing it, but it still takes me about 4-5 minutes compared to other hard shell RTTs which seem to take about 2-3 minutes. The trick (as confirmed by Adrian at MIA) is to manually pull in the sides before you fully shut the tent. Seems obvious in hindsight. It still doesn't eliminate the issue, but it does make it go faster. I have found the best time to do this is after I pull the shell about halfway down. I just hold the pull strap and go to each side and pull in the fabric before fully shutting it.
- The LED light seems like such an afterthought. I like having it vs having nothing, but other tents in this price range have interior and exterior lighting and an on/off switch. They also seem better integrated into the package. This light strip seems like it was purchased off Amazon and just velcro'd loosely into the interior. Fortunately, I think I can easily replace it with one with a switch and even add extras.
- The tent no longer smells bad after airing for a few days
- The fabric seems high quality
- The fabric is very tight in some places and very loose in other places, the loose fabric is fairly loud in the wind
- There are slits in the fabric skirt for where the poles attach, but they don't line up well with the holes... they still work, but just seems like the measurements were off.
- The floor is really sturdy. This is my first RTT and I was concerned about stability, but the entire thing holds me (and even me + kids) really well.
- Shoe storage bags are really nice and big
- The optional pole to hold up the shell and push up the top of the tent to prevent rain from pooling is kind of awkward to use; it doesn't sit flush against the shell. I'm sure it works, but it doesn't feel right.

I'm still sticking with it for now. Have a big trip coming up at the end of next week to give it a true shakedown. Hoping it holds up.

 

Quick follow-up. MIA overnighted me a new latch and send me a really nice video about how to replace the latch and relocate it to reduce tension. Super helpful! Great customer service.

 

Thanks for the in depth review! It’s nice to see that they have good customer service.

 

Any other updates?

 

I've taken it on a few trips now. I have got to say once you get past the issues I mentioned above it is definitely nice to use.
- Setup is super fast
- I have a much better handle on putting it away. While I would still like to see some type of cord that can pull the sides in, I figured out (and had it confirmed by MIA) that if you just pull the sides in after it's about 80% closed you can avoid much of the trouble of tucking it in. At that point it is closed enough that the material won't fall back out.
- Had some rain (nothing crazy) with zero issues with water intrusion
- Love how big the shoe bags are (though they slide freely, so in wind they will slide around but never fall off)
- It is very very loud in the wind. The fabric is pretty tight so I think this is most likely due to the rain fly. I also think this is very common on RTTs based on what I've seen
- I am testing replacing the mattress with an Exped Megamat 10 Duo L+W. It fits extremely well (takes up almost the exact footprint of the tent, just leaves about 2" on either side). This adds a lot to the cost as well as the setup and teardown time, but I kept tossing and turning and waking up stiff with the OEM "mattress" (it's a foam pad). The nice thing about the megamat is that I can quickly remove most of the air and then it's actually thinner than the OEM pad which makes closing it even easier. I couldn't easily fit bedding in there before but now I am pretty sure I could fit a blanket and pillow without much of a problem.
- The tent seems heavier than others on the market by the numbers, but i don't really notice the weight and my mileage hasn't been affected (but it's entirely below the roof line). Overall I like the streamlined look, but I think it would look a little better on my truck if I had a taller rack. The tapered front is great for aerodynamics but it gives my particular setup a sort of "segmented thorax" look.
- Sadly, I can't open one of the windows with my placement since the poles are blocked by my rack. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. I might find a way to attach the window awning to my roof rack.
- The extra length over other "2 person" RTTs is actually really nice. I like to bring a lot of crap in the tent with me so I have plenty of room for my bags, CPAP, Jackery, backpack, etc. If I don't bring all the crap it's actually wide enough for me and my two kids (14 and 10).

Here's some more pics of it in action:

 

Costco has this on sale for 1999.99. Better get a price adjustment!!!!

 

Thanks for the heads up! I had been checking every few days for a price drop, but after 30 days (Costco's official cutoff) I stopped. I reached out to them and they agreed to a one-time adjustment

 

Ordered one this morning. Will see how it gies

 

Let us know what you think. I'm really curious to see if you have anywhere close to my experience.

 

Huge heads up on the price drop @Diesel156 ! I got mine about a month ago and just contacted them about a price adjustment.

I’ve got 2 nights in the tent so far and have a few thoughts, and will add on here as time goes onward.

Setting the tent up is very easy. It can be done by one person in a matter of about 2 minutes. As mentioned by others, the she bags are huge and have some other mesh pockets on the outside. I’m finding them, as well as the bags inside the tent, very useful.

The foam bed gets a 5/10, it really isn’t super comfortable. We will deal because it is still way better than sleeping on the ground.

We had some rain the other night and we stayed bone dry. However, in the morning when we packed the tent up it was still wet. When we set it up later that day the rain fly still had some water on it. No big deal, but remember if you pack it up wet to let it dry out or else it will mold.

Breaking down the tent isn’t so bad. We store our sleeping bags folded in half. The front of the tent is harder to tuck in because you have to stand insider the passenger side back door. Takes an extra minute or so to break down.

I’m taking the light out as it is way too bright for us. There are a lot of loops inside that I may utilize with some parachord to hang my lantern.

No high winds yet, but I’ll be sure to pack some ear plugs. Will be doing lots of camping here this month. Check in soon!

 

what camper shell do you have?

 

It’s an ARE V classic.. I did a lot of research and I can’t recommend you take the same risk as me. It’s fiberglass, not reinforced. I don’t do any real tough off-roading, and drive like I have a baby in my truck bed. Mounted front runner tracks and cross bars to mount the tent..

 

I decided to cancel my order. I might go with a FSR Odyssey hardtop one.

 

Can I ask why? Just curious.