Tested: Inspired Overland’s Stargazer Duo Rooftop Tent Brings Stargazing to New Heights

Inspired Overland’s newest rooftop tent, the Stargazer Duo, isn’t just another rooftop tent on the market, it’s designed to bring the outdoors closer than ever.

This four-season tent is built to save weight without compromising performance, featuring a full acrylic roof that provides an incredible, unobstructed view of the night sky.

With no mesh, filters, or visible barriers getting in your way, the Stargazer Duo lets you experience the outdoors in a completely new and inventive way, all from the comfort of a rooftop tent.

Built with premium materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum, it aims to strike the balance between function, comfort, and a connection to the outdoors, all in a 93 pound package.

Included with the Tent 

The Inspired Overland Stargazer Duo Rooftop Tent comes complete with all the essential mounting hardware, including 3.5-inch mounting brackets. It features a telescopic ladder for easy access, along with two extended ladder brackets for added versatility and clearance depending on your fitment.

The tent also includes two rainfly rods and a hybrid foam air mattress (pump not included) for comfort.

For organization, it comes with two large storage pouches and two interior organizers. A protective cover is included with the tent to help keep it safe during transport and storage.

Main Features

The Stargazer Duo gets its name from its standout feature, an incredibly inventive acrylic roof that includes an exterior paint-protective film and interior ceramic coating to prevent scratches while offering additional UV and heat protection.

Fitting for a company that has won back-to-back SEMA Global Media Awards in 2022 and 2023 for its innovative, lightweight rooftop tent designs, the Stargazer Duo continues Inspired Overland’s reputation for smart engineering.

Weighing just 93 pounds, the tent achieves a delicate balance between strength and weight-saving through a clever blend of carbon fiber and aluminum construction.

Inside, the tent features an insulated zippered panel that can black out the clear acrylic roof when privacy or shade is needed.

It also includes two insulated ports designed to work with diesel heater and portable AC hookups, allowing you to adapt the tent’s climate to your needs and environment.

Specs and Additional Add-Ons

Specs: 

- Sleeping Capacity: 2 People

- Seasons: 4-Season

- Weight: 93 lbs (42 kg)

- Weight Capacity: 500lbs

- Exterior: 86.8”L x 53.3“W

- Interior: 85”L x 51”W

- Open Height: 48”H

- Closed Height: 6.3”H (Incl. Mounting Crossbar)

- Roof Material: Acrylic & Aluminum

- Frame Material: Carbon Fiber & Aluminum

- Tent Fabric: Waterproof 2000D UV Oxford

- Air Mattress Valve: The air mattress valves are designed to fit 1.27” pump adapters (e.g., FLEXTAIL EVO Pump 3).

The tent is crossbar compatible and is designed to work with the brand’s Carbon Fiber Crossbar Kit. This allows you to mount a litany of accessories such as storage boxes, solar panels, recovery boards, and any other adventure gear.

The weight capacity of the roof and crossbars is 200 pounds, with the factory gas struts supporting up to 55 pounds when the tent is fully open.

Installing the Tent

The tent is roughly the size and shape of a sheet of plywood, so lifting and installing the sub-100-pound tent was extremely easy. Like most rooftop tents I’ve installed in the past, my preferred method for installing and removing RTTs is to use two 8-foot 2x4s or any scrap lumber you have laying around that is longer than the width of your vehicle.

I simply slide the boards under the tent and, with one person on each side, walk it into place, lifting it overhead until it rests on the bed rack. This approach is far easier than trying to hold the tent while leaning over the side of the truck and makes it simple to adjust and position the tent exactly where you want it.

Mounting Brackets 

With my truck’s 5-foot 8-inch bed, depending on how you orient the tent front to back, I anticipated the tent to hang over my Front Runner roof rack, which sits about five inches above the cab.

Knowing the tent would likely cantilever a couple of inches (or more depending on the preferred positioning of your set-up), I installed Küat’s IBEX crossbar riser kit to achieve an additional 4.5 inches of height.

I also used Front Runner’s Quick Release Tent Mount Kit, which provided another inch of height on top of the bed rack. Installing these mounts on the bottom of the RTT before hoisting into position allowed for fine-tuning along the T-slotted extrusions that runs the length of the tent’s underbelly.

Foregoing the use of the supplied mounting brackets was a personal choice, knowing that my bed rack’s crossbars were wider and thicker, and the 3.5-inch brackets would be a tad small. In total, it took just under 90 minutes from unpackaging to hitting the road for a test drive.

First Impressions on the Road 

The tent’s slim profile is most noticeable, or rather, unnoticeable, when driving. With such a large overall platform, you’d expect it to create distinct wind noise on the road, especially when it’s mounted above a roof rack like mine.

On the contrary, I was surprised to find no additional road noise after installation and during my first test drive up to Big Bear, CA.

By using premium materials to achieve its lightweight construction, along with strategic engineering decisions to save weight where possible, the tent remains as slim as possible without compromising functionality.

Sitting a 6 inches closed height, every material choice even down to the billet aluminum latches, reflects the brand’s focus on keeping the Stargazer Duo’s total weight to just 93 pounds.

Campsite Set-Up and Ladder Configuration 

The included telescopic ladder has three mounting positions: driver side, passenger side, or rear. The ladder uses a simple hook system that attaches at your desired location. I weigh around 230 pounds, and while the ladder does have a slight flex when climbing into the tent, it’s likely due to the overall height at which my tent sits on the bed rack.

Running Toyo Open Country A/T III tires with a roughly 34-inch inflated diameter, paired with an add-a-leaf in the rear suspension, a full cab-height bed rack, and additional crossbar risers, the ladder has quite a climb to reach the tent.

Installed on my 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500, I used the two supplied extended ladder brackets on the passenger side of the RTT to create greater clearance between the ladder, the Küat IBEX bed rack, and the side of the truck.

If you have a pickup truck and your tent is positioned more forward–cantilevering slightly over the cab while sitting flush with the rear of the bed– you can also mount the ladder in the rear position and rest it on top of the open tailgate. This shortens how far the ladder must telescope and makes it feel more stable when climbing into the tent.

Just as easy as the tent is to set up, it’s equally simple to collapse and pack away when it’s time to leave camp. The elastic band that wraps around the tent helps keep the fabric neatly inside the footprint as you close it.

Take a few minutes to walk around a push in any loose tent fabric, as the billet aluminum latches are extremely precise and don’t allow much play.

The rainfly rods are straightforward and come in a carrying sleeve for easy stowing inside the tent when closed. The ladder also comes in its own carrying case but does not stow inside the tent. I found that tossing it in the back of the truck and securing it behind my spare tire worked perfectly.

The only time consuming part of collapsing and closing the tent is re-installing the protective cover as it can be a bit cumbersome to use at first. It uses a hook system and a series of lashing straps that run both parallel and perpendicular across the top of the tent, and the adjustments can take some practice.

After over a month of having the tent mounted on the truck through the fall to winter month transition, the protective cover has held up impressively well. I’m eager to see how it performs through a full winter season.

Comfort and Livability

The included hybrid foam air mattress is comfortable, but with my body type and size, I found it helpful to add an additional sleeping pad for extra support and insulation. 

The Exped DeepSleep Medium Duo fit easily within the tent and, with its high R-value of 9, provided excellent insulation when layered over the factory hybrid mattress. Paired with my 20-degree sleeping bag from Kelty, this setup handled the 28°F and below temperatures during my first few nights at camp.

Adding this extra pad created a secondary insulation and comfort layer since the included mattress sits directly on the supporting crossbars, which are exposed underneath the tent.

This design choice by Inspired Overland keeps the weight low but can allow cold air to transfer through during chillier nights. I was easily able to avoid the cold with such a simple yet effective solution. 

At 6’4”, I was pleasantly surprised by how spacious the interior of the tent felt. The clamshell-style opening, paired with an x-hinge design made from carbon fiber composite, raises the front of the tent to maximize head and legroom, a major upgrade over standard clamshell designs and a standout feature of the Stargazer Duo.

The carbon fiber composite x-hinges help keep the weight down while reinforcing high-stress areas, though they don’t operate quite as smoothly as I expected. They function fine, but it did have me wondering if a slightly heavier, more robust material might offer smoother operation with only a minimal weight penalty.

Inside, two people can sleep comfortably without feeling cramped or claustrophobic. Integrated storage pouches and interior organizers keep the space tidy and gear easily accessible. For me, stashing a small LED lantern, headlamps, water and snacks, and any other nighttime essentials in these pouches was ideal. No more rolling over loose gear during the night, a huge plus. 

Ventilation and visibility are where the tent really shines. The clear acrylic roof offers a phenomenal view of the night sky, while the side and rear door panels with bug screens allow for excellent airflow on warmer nights.

On my first night in the Stargazer Duo, I positioned the truck where I would have a perfect view of the eventual crystal-clear sky, far enough away from the nearest city’s light pollution. It was a surreal experience, the openness of sleeping under the stars with the comfort and protection of a tent, something I’d only experienced before in a one-person bivvy.

Closing Thoughts

Inspired Overland’s Stargazer Duo accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, delivering a lightweight, streamlined rooftop tent that won’t compromise your vehicle’s on- or off-road performance. Its premium materials and efficient design make it an excellent option for those who want all the convenience of a rooftop tent without the extra bulk.

Of course, that focus on weight savings comes with a few tradeoffs. The hybrid foam air mattress sits directly on the supporting crossbars, leaving it more exposed to colder temperatures.

At times, you might feel those crossbars underneath, but pairing the included mattress with a high R-value sleeping pad solves the issue entirely, adding both comfort and insulation.

What makes the Stargazer Duo stand out is its adaptability. It’s easy to install or remove, allowing you to tailor your setup to your vehicle and your adventures.

Ultimately, the Stargazer Duo feels purpose-built for its intended use: lightweight, efficient, and thoughtfully designed for travelers who value simplicity and ease of setup. While that lightweight design comes with a few compromises, the tent truly shines after sunset. Its panoramic windows and open-sky design, thanks to the acrylic roof, let you experience the magic of the night sky from the comfort of your rooftop tent.

MSRP - $3,349.00 USD

Learn more about Inspired Overland’s award-winning tents at: https://inspiredoverland.com/

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