Olpro Martley Breeze Inflatable Tent Review

At the beginning of the summer I was sent a sample of the OLPRO Martley Breeze inflatable tent to review, so we’ve been putting it through its paces throughout the camping season. We’ve been pitching tents as a family since Sam was two years old. It’s a bit like marmite, camping. You either love it or hate it. We are firmly in the love camp and here are the headlines as to why…

Why we love camping

When the kids go feral
The freedom the boys have to run around a big open space in the fresh air is awesome and does wonders for their independence.

Cooking and eating outdoors
There’s something really special about starting the day with a cooked breakfast outdoors and ending it with a BBQ and toasted marshmallows around the campfire.

Switching off
Goodbye outside world, broadband and being glued to screens. Hello nature, and hello sitting in a camping chair staring at the sky and drinking red wine while the kids happily play.

Dressing down
No one cares what you look like, so a onesie worn with a hoodie, crocs and hiking socks is a perfectly acceptable look! As long as you’re cosy and comfy, that’s all that counts.

So how did we get on with the Martley Breeze Tent?

The kit

The Martley Breeze is an inflatable tent that sleeps up to 6 people. It’s a tunnel tent design with a separate bedroom at either end. There’s a roomy central living area and you can stand up in all areas of the tent – even when you’re 6 ft 2 like Matthew!

Based on the award winning Martley 2.0 comes it comes in 150D Oxford Oltech, and like all OLPRO tents has an outer with 5000mm Hydrostatic Head which means the Martley will stand 5 metres of water. Here’s hoping we’re never camping in those kind of conditions!

As an air tent the Martley Breeze can be put up by one person with its five air filled poles. Each pole takes less than 20 seconds to inflate. It has a sewn in groundsheet and can be packed away with inners still inside so it’s easy to put away too.

The groundsheet is twice as tough as the flysheet withstanding 10 metres of water.  The Martley has fully taped seams to stop any water ingress and the fabric throughout is fire retardant.

It’s also a tent packed full of features including hanging organisers on each side of the tent. These are great for storing shoes, books, Ipads, phones, packs of cards, sunglasses, outdoor games and anything else you may need to keep grabbing.

If you’re more of glamper than a camper and like to have your electrics with you, there are cable entry points on both sides so it doesn’t matter which way you pitch your tent you’ll still be able to get your mains cable inside from the onsite hook up point, without having to take it through a door way or window.

Here’s the full rundown:

• Fire Retardant Fabrics
• Sewn in groundsheet
• Pitch as one, take down as one
• Air Poles
• Cable entry point on both sides
• Comes with pump
• Fly screens and ventilation
• Complete with canopy poles
• Built in organisers – one on either side
• Lantern hook
• Draught skirt protection
• Two Large Windows with Roll Down Curtains
• Roll down curtains & full windows
• Extra Height in the middle of tent
• Two Large Fully Breathable Inner Tents
• Clip in Inner Tents
• A great technical tent for families
• Comes in carry bag with instructions
• One year warranty

Why bother with a blow-up tent?

Are you kidding?! Blow-up tents are completely amazing! I cannot stress enough how many corners this cuts in terms of fannying around with poles. Yes, you still have to peg out the tent, but gone are the heated arguments as you attempt to thread pole A through loop B, then discover they’re in the wrong bit etc etc.

We’ve always loved large scale tents, but never loved just how flipping long they take to put up. When you’ve got kids snapping at your heels and it’s getting dark, it’s even less fun. You’re usually so frazzled that by the time you’ve got the damned tent up and finally taken residence in a camping chair that you’ve drunk your entire alcohol supply in one sitting.

Forget that. You just pump it up and peg it out. The inner compartments are already inside, you just have to hook them up. Like I say. Completely amazing and a total game changer. Here are a couple of videos of my glamorous assistant Matthew blowing it up to demonstrate…

We were worried it’d feel flimsy, but no. The inflatable poles feel sturdy and solid. The encasing is mega thick so there’s no way those babies are getting punctured.

If you’re a solo adult going camping with the kids, it’s also totally do-able to put it up by yourself.

What else did we love about it?

• There’s plenty of space inside for storage, the two hanging organisers are mega useful for putting valuables like keys, phones and torches.
• There are also useful hanging hooks which are great for lanterns and fairy lights.
• It’s really easy to take down and put away.

Final verdict

At £599 it’s a few hundred quid more than your average tent, BUT it’s worth every penny. It’s well made, thoughtfully designed and crucially quick to put up and take down. If you’re after a roomy family tent for next season that you’ll use again and again, this is definitely one to consider. We are definitely converts to the blow-up tent!

The tent will be available to order from March 2017 over on the OLPRO website where you can also check out their other tents.

Where did we camp?

And if you’re wondering where we pitched our tent, we visited Waren Caravan and Camping Site just outside Bamburgh twice this summer. It’s fabulous. Heated kids splash pool, club house, beautifully landscaped site, clean shower and toilet facilities, play areas and walking distance to the breathtakingly beautiful Budle Bay. There’s also exceptional fish and chips in Seahouses, the amazing castle at Bamburgh plus many many more Northumberland delights in the vicinity.

Disclosure: I was not paid to write this review, it is a reflection of my honest opinion as a seasoned family camper! We were provided by OLPRO with a sample of the tent to test out, which we have since returned.