You may have noticed that the OEX Bobcat 1 tent has been featured a lot by UK Youtubers this year. We’re not surprised, because for the price, it’s a great tent. It’s a really unique design and proving to be a popular one person budget option for 3 season backpacking and wild-camping in the UK. Today we’re going to take a quick look at the specs and some of the pros and cons.
OEX Bobcat 1 tent design
The OEX Bobcat has a unique design that no other manufacturers seem to use. It only needs one pole and the design means that you can pitch it outer first which is great for UK weather. You then need to simply attach all the toggles to fit in the inner. There is a built-in porch groundsheet too, and the porch itself is a decent usable size.
Is the OEX Bobcat 1 tent a 4 season tent?
Not really. We’d probably say the OEX Bobcat is a 3 season tent. We wouldn’t recommend using this tent if there is some serious winter weather blasting you – we particularly wouldn’t recommend it for hardcore 4 season use, for example, up a mountain in Scotland or somewhere where your life could literally depend on your shelter. Like many tents, it can of course be used for 4 season camping, but only in decent winter weather.
The Bobcat outer does reach the ground which is great for windy weather. It will mean the tent is more stable (the wind can’t get under the flysheet and lift it) and less draughty. However, the shape of the tent doesn’t lend itself to being too great in the wind.
Is the OEX Bobcat suitable for tall people?
Nope. There isn’t much room at all and if you’re over 5’10” or so, forget it – we’d recommend you look elsewhere. You might get away with up to about 6’ but you’d have to be ok with your head and feet pushing against the mesh, particularly if you’ve got a thick sleeping pad. You can fit in a standard sleeping pad in the sleeping compartment (it will pretty much fill the space) and your gear in the porch, but that’s about it. The inner can be a bit droopy too, which doesn’t help.
OEX Bobcat 1 tent spec
Colour(s):
Olive (green in other words)
Size (No of persons):
1
Dimensions:
Outer: 220x140x110 cm (LxWxH)
Inner: 200x70x100 cm (LxWxH)
Porch: 60cm deep
Weight:
1.9kg
Fabrics:
Polyester
Waterproof rating:
Outer/flysheet and floor – 5,000mm HH
Floor: Not stated
Poles:
1 pole, 8.5mm aluminium (it seems to be the usual pole material that OEX use on many of their other tents, such as the Rakoon)
Number of entrances:
1 side entrance
Number of vestibules:
1
Pack size:
41 x 14 x 14 cm (LxWxH)
Recommended seasons:
2-3
Pitching:
Outer pitch first
What’s included when you buy the OEX Bobcat 1 tent?
Tent, porch groundsheet (built in), 1 pole, pegs, guy lines, storage bag.
OEX Bobcat 1 tent – price
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What we like about the OEX Bobcat tent
Great value. A tent with a 5,000mm HH waterproofing, decent build quality, under 2kg weight and aluminium pole, all for around sixty quid is great value for money.
Outer pitch first.
Quick to pitch, one pole construction.
Decent weight and pack size for the price.
What we don’t like about the OEX Bobcat tent
Our main gripe is the size. Obviously they’ve sized the tent to cater for ‘most’ people, but it wouldn’t surely have added much weight or bulk to make it a few inches longer. That way they could capture the whole budget wild-camping market rather than just a segment of it.
The pole is quite hard to get into the second grommet. You need to make sure the pole is perfectly threaded through with the fabric pushed along and then just go for it!
Inner door rolls down towards the floor which some people dont like as it can catch bugs and catch your feet as you get in and out.
Not the best tent design for windy weather.
OEX Bobcat vs Phoxx
OEX also do a 1 person version of their popular Phoxx tent. The Phoxx is a great tent for stealth camping – its low profile allowing you to hunker down behind a wall or in the heather.
The OEX Phoxx 1 also has a waterproof rating of 5,000mm HH. It has pitched dimensions of 260x164x75 cm (LxWxH) so it’s a bit more stealthy than the Bobcat and is also lighter, coming in at 1.58kg. The OEX Phoxx 1 is more bivvyish in design though, so if you get claustrophobic the Phoxx probably isn’t the tent for you.
Other OEX tents
Related: If you’re interested in other OEX tents check out our OEX Hyena II Tunnel Tent article and our OEX Phoxx 2 vs Vango Banshee Pro 200 comparison article. Also have a look at our Budget 2 person wild-camping tents article which features some great shelters for the price.
OEX Bobcat 1 tent – summary
There’s no doubt about it, for the price, the OEX Bobcat 1 tent is great value for money. It’s outer pitch first, quick to pitch, weighs under 2kg, is well built, looks good, unique (if that matters to you), is waterproof and costs about sixty quid. Space is the main issue, but if you’re not the biggest person and are in the market for a budget backpacking or wild-camping tent the OEX Bobcat 1 tent is certainly worth considering.
