So we are looking hard at buying a hard shell RTT and had the opportunity recently to put hands on both a JB Space, and the Sparrow X.
Ultimately we're probably going to with the JB. Ironically, much of it comes down to what the Sparrow owner (who is a great dude, working for a great company-and vouches 100% for Roofnest too) said: JB is the right purchase if you want to spend the $ on the RTT you'll have for the rest of your life, whereas the Roofnest is a good value that gets you out in a hardshell
That's paraphrasing, but pretty much laid it out for us-and based off what the wife and I want to be able to do, we'll probably save the $ to buy once/cry once on the JB.
Benefits we saw with the Roofnest:
-Great company, great owner
-Small dimensions, the narrow width in particular is of benefit.
-Love the storage on top utility.
-Great price point for what you are getting.
For the JB:
-Materials are hands down significantly better
*External fabric, particularly the reflective coating, was a serious plus
*Internally the mattress seemed much better.
*features such as the solar powered fan were clearly well thought out, top of the line (with a price point accordingly)
-Durability seemed better; this is subjective but the JB owner had more/less left his tent on his Jeep for a few seasons but it still looked to be in good shape. The Roofnest was already starting to look like it was taking the brunt of the elements. I can't speak to how each owner uses their truck (but both get out there) so we were left with the impression that the JB's material superiority contributed to better wear.
Not 100% what you were looking for perhaps since I'm really just another person like you, but we have been fortunate over the past month to see both companies products first hand. On our end the intended application:
-1st atop our LR3 for a long trip from the East Coast through the west, culminating in Arches and the North Rim.
-Likely shift to a car trailer mount where it can get towed along with our LR Series 1 to Rover events to serve as a base camp.
-Eventual use on a piece of land that we intend to build a cabin on as an interim solution, either outside as part of a trailer base, or potentially even inside a preliminary pre-fab structure that gives us infrastructure on-hand without buying some larger camper.
So we see it as a long term investment, and thus waiting for.
r-
Ray
