We at the Complete Outdoors want to help you choose the product that is best for you. Because of this we have developed the 'Top Picks' page featuring reviews on our favourite products and what makes them such a great buy. We hope this will be a useful tool in helping you to choose the outdoor gear that will give you the best experience possible. We love our gear and know you will too!

TENTS

Oztrail Villa 4 Room Dome Tent

This is my top pick for large family dome tents. It uses top quality materials and superior design to give a practical and organised camping experience. The design features 3 large rooms at the back and fully waterproof, enclosed room at the front. This tent has been very popular with families as the 2 side rooms can be used as bedrooms with living space in the middle. This gives plenty of room for storing gear and furniture and the front room is great as an entertainment/sitting area or as a play room in bad weather. This 4 room T shape design is also very stable in the wind as the front room acts as an anchor, encouraging even pressure throughout the tent poles increasing its strength in gusts of wind.

It's main draw card is that it is large and spacious for a 4-6 person family, but lightweight and compact enough to fit in a sudan. It comes in a wheeled carry bag to make transportation easy. It is relatively easy and quick to set up too which is a massive plus after you have been driving for hours to get to your destination. The approx time for complete set up is 20mins with 2 people.

There is plenty of outdoor living with this tent as it features 6 large awnings. The large doors and windows allow good ventilation through the tent on hot days and the highly waterproof fly ensures that you stay dry in a downpour.

The Villa Tent is one of the best value dome tents of its size on the market and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Villa Please note that there is now a full fly over the the front room as well as a tub floor, making this room completely waterproof.

Oztrail Chateau 10 XL Canvas Tent

The Chateau is truly the creme de la creme of canvas tents. If you want the best canvas tent around then this is for you! Oztrail have designed this tent to be a market leader when it comes to design and materials. This tent uses top quality heavy duty 340gsm canvas which is saturated in a waterproofing agent for maximum water resistance and durability. It also features super strong galvanised poles and a heavy duty tub floor.

The tent is designed with 3 large rooms at the back and an 8' awning at the front. Each room is large enough to fit a queen sized bed plus cupboards which is perfect for long holidays. It is suitable for a family of 4-7 people as it is so spacious. The 3 room design gives space for living as well as privacy, with the most popular set up being bedrooms on either end and living in the centre. The tent is designed to prevent waterpooling on the roof by using a guttering system created by the roof poles. This maximises the tents water resistance and the T shape design of the tent makes it stable in the wind.

When walking through the tent I was impressed by its space, practical design, ease of set up and little extras such as powerpoint access, organiser pockets and removeable room dividers. Sunroom walls can be purchased seperately to create an extra room at the front which is valuable when holidaying for a week or more. Many people use this extra room for entertaining or activities.

The tent has 6 windows and 2 entrances with 2 doors each. If you are after a practical, easy to set up canvas tent that gives privacy and will last years then this tent is ideal!!!

chateau

FAMILY CAMPING FURNITURE

Oztrail Instant Queen Bed

This bed is fantastic. When people walk through our tents they always stop at this bed and say, "I want that!" It is just like your bed at home so it is the right height for getting into and rolling out of. It is an airbed that fits into an enclosed sheet that is attached to an easy fold out steel frame. You will find that you are warmer on this bed than if you were on a bed that was flat on the ground as the cold ground won't be affecting the air inside the bed. The airbed is a heavy duty PVC which is strong and durable. It all folds into a wheeled travel bag for easy set up and transportation. If you are into comfort when you are camping then you will love this bed!

Instant Bed

Travel Pack

Deuter Quantum 70 + 10ltr / Deuter Quantum 55 + 10ltr

The Deuter Quantum Pack is my top pick for travel packs because of it's quality, durability, warranty back up and design. Deuter has been a leading pack manufacturer for over 20 years and places a lifetime warranty on all its products against faulty workmanship and materials. You can give their packs a right thrashing and they still last you years.

What I love most about this pack is the design. It is a hybrid pack, meaning it can double as a hiking and a travel pack. Most travel packs are designed for easy organisation with a suitcase zip opening, detachable daypack and harness cover. The harness however is very basic and can get uncomfortable if you need to walk with your pack for an hour or more. Their design makes them very deep. This means the pack pulls you backwards which makes you lean forward to counteract the backwards pull and give you more of a natural balance. This can cause back pain and tends to become uncomfortable very quickly. What is so awesome about the Quantum is that it combines the excellent organisational features of a travel pack such as the suitcase zip opening, detachable daypack and pack cover, with a superior harness system and slimline design. The harness is similar to a hiking pack harness with the shape contoured more to the natural shape of the body. It is adjustable so that it can fit most back lengths and is very comfortable ensuring a good load transferance to the hips. It's design is long and narrow like a hiking pack which is easier for the body to handle when the pack gets heavy. It also means that you won't get stuck in bus doors or get caught on people or things when walking. The daypack can be attached to the shoulder straps when walking to give a more natural balance. You could walk for hours in this pack and it would be as comfortable as any good quality hiking pack.

It is top loading as well as front opening and has a large storm throat if you need to really pack it full. The travel pack cover doubles as a rain cover and makes it very easy when going through transit.

One of the top features of this pack is it's price. You get 2 packs in one with this pack. You can take it travelling and use it for hiking when you come back home and it's only a fraction of the price of other leading pack brands.

I recommend this pack to the person who will be doing a lot of walking on their overseas trip or who will be using their pack for a long period of time. It is perfect for the person who likes to go tramping but would like to use it when travelling overseas. If you want a pack that will last you years or be able to cope with rough handling, this is definately the pack for you!

To view more pictures, get specs or purchase the product, please click here: Deuter Quantum Packs

Sleeping Bags

Domex Mountaineer Down -16

The Mountaineer is my top pick for Winter sleeping Bags. The reason I so highly rate this bag is because of the quality materials used and the well thought out design of the bag to efficiently trap your body heat. It is very reasonable priced at $539! The bag is filled with 700gms of high quality goosedown, which gives an incredible loft. The outer shell is a water-resistant/breathable fabric that prevents water from penetrating but allows moisture to escape from the inside. The bag is not seam sealed however so water may seep in through the seams if exposed to a lot of moisture.

The Mummy shape of the bag and cap hood help to maximise the amount of heat trapped inside the bag. It is a very close fitting design around the head and neck area so that very little warm air can escape. A full neck collar and draft tube effectively aid heat retention. A box foot gives extra room for the feet which is great for guys or if you like to sleep on your back. The bag can compact down nicely to fit inside a pack and comes with a compression bag.

The mountaineer is suitable for 4 season New Zealand weather conditions and great for men and women.

For more info, specs or to purchase this sleeping bag please click here: Domex Mountaineer

Outer Limits Treksmart Series

These bags are such good value for money! What makes them great is that they are lightweight, compact, comfortable and very warm. The Outer Limits and Oztrail brands pride themselves on offering family camping, hiking and travel equipment at an affordable price without compromising quality. The prices on these bags are fantastic. There aren't many quality synthetic sleeping bags that have a rating of -15 for under $250 so this bag has really nailed it.

The Treksmart Series of sleeping bags is specially designed for the tramping and travelling market. This is because of their compact nature and heat efficiency.

The Treksmart bags use a high quality synthetic fill developed in Japan called Microsmart. This fibre is very lightweight and lofts well, trapping in your natural body heat to keep you warm. It compacts down very well to create a packed size that is small enought to fit in a hiking pack, even for the warmest -15 model.

The bag features a well constructed hood that can pulled in to completely cover your neck and forehead. This traps as much heat in the bag as possible which is very important for this area as 70% of heat can be lost through the head. It is constructed in a mummy style be heat efficent. When sleeping, most people take their sleeping bag with them when they roll over so it isn't necessary to have a square foot. The mummy design means that your body heat doesn't get wasted on areas in your bag that you're not using. This will keep you warmer at night. It also cuts down on weight and the packed size.

One of the most unique features of this bag is the space blanket which is sown into the fill. A space blanket made from fine aluminum is sown into the chest and foot area. This is to increase the heat retention in the bag. It is punched with holes to maintain the bags breathability but adds to the bags warmth by reflecting your body heat back into the bag. It's a brilliant idea and increases the warmth of the bag without adding bulk.

The Treksmart series bags all feature a draft tube (small trip of sleeping bag that runs down the length of the zip to prevent hot air from escaping and cold air from coming in) that uses alternative seaming to prevent heat loss through sewing holes. They also have a warm neck muff to trap in warm air below your neck. These sleeping bags are available in right and left hand zips with a selection of 3 colours to choose from: red/orange/grey, lime green/off white/grey, blue/off white/grey.

I highly rate this bag as a very heat efficient sleeping bag that is compact enough to take tramping and warm enough to rely on. Outer Limits have really thought through the concepts of what makes a good sleeping bag and have designed it to be used for New Zealand and Australian conditions. It is a very affordable price and is very stylish.

To view more pictures, get specs or purchase the product, please click here: Outer Limits "Smart Series Bags"

Bedding

Insulmat AO Mountain 4 Season Self Inflating Mat

Choosing the correct bedding is as important if not more important as choosing the correct sleeping bag. I wholeheartedly recommend the Insulmat AO Mountain as the all-round winner for my top pick. This is because it is a 4 season mat, lightweight, very compact - can fit easily inside a pack, very comfortable at 3.8cm high, comes with it's own repair kit and carry bag and is very affordable!

It is so important to choose bedding with insulation when camping out. Even in a top quality super warm sleeping bag up to 70% of your body heat can be lost into the cold ground if your bedding has no insulation. This makes your sleeping bag virtually ineffective. I recommend using a 4 season sleeping mat for year round use, as weather is so changeable in the backcountry, even in the height of Summer. The AO Mountain uses superior Aerogel insulation to prevent heat loss into the ground and maintain heat retention.

Lightweightness and compactibility can be a key factor in choosing gear for many adventurers. This model is ideal if this is important to you. This mat only weighs 765gms and has packed dimensions of 300mm x 135mm. This means that it can easily fit in a tramping or day pack without taking up too much room. I can also be strapped to the outside of your pack if desired. To help keep the weight and size down, the AO mountain has been designed in a mummy shape in keeping with most technical sleeping bags. The leg area of the mat has holes punched out in the foam to encourage greater compactibility.

The cool thing with this mat is that comfort has not been compromised. One of my tall, stocky staff members gave this mat a test run and said that he was amazed at how comfortable it was. The fact that it self inflates makes this mat soooo easy to use!

To view pictures, specs or to purchase this item, please click here: AO MOUNTAIN