Oregon Car Camping in Super Pacific’s X1 Switchback Truck Tent
X1 Switchback Pros and Cons
Let’s get the cons out of the way first—and there are few. Hoisting yourself up and down through the narrow portal between the truck bed and sleeping platform takes some getting used to and could be limiting for some users. You also have to close the tent whenever you need to head to town or to a trailhead, but the same goes for any rooftop tent.
That means your gear management system in the truck bed must be dialed. You want enough space to store gear down below, but you also need room for meal prep, changing, getting down, and storing things from above when you break down camp. Super Pacific’s modular molle panel mounting systems can help you play expert level truck bed gear tetris, and Williams has a packing system I aspire to adopt.
Onto the pros. If you’re looking for a lightweight truck camper with finessed design, this is your match. The tent is super easy to set up and take down, even with the insulation kit and mattress inside. We had no issues clamping it closed and popping it back open. The dual side access doors stayed secure and allowed us to toss our packs in the back without opening the tailgate.
Because it’s so customizable, this could be the ideal setup for almost every kind of camper. From a small family getting away on weekends to the hardcore overlander spending summer weekends exploring backroads and winter weekends camped in ski hill lots. From the handyman looking forward to hunting season, to the solo cross-country traveler with reservations at National Parks. From the tent camper wanting to get off the ground, to the van dwellers who miss owning a truck.
At $13,495, the X1 Switchback is an investment. The price includes installation at the Portland HQ, but you can pay an extra $1,350 for installation at partner partner locations in Colorado, California, and Nevada.
Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/super-pacific-x1-switchback-truck-camper-review
