Jack Wolfskin Time Tunnel 3 RT – Tent Review

The Jack Wolfskin Time Tunnel 3 RT is a 3-4 season tunnel tent, ideal for cycle touring, which sleeps 3 and weighs 4.79 kg. It has a large vestibule with two entrances and the tent makes use of the Jack Wolfskin Real Tunnel (RT) Technology, a system which increases stability, also due to the curvature of the poles it increases internal size.

Setting up the Time Tunnel 3

Pitching the Time Tunnel 3 is an all in one pitch which is very easy for 2 people, and potentially could be done by one person. First, simply slip the 3 DAC aluminium poles into the 3 reinforced sleeves until they reach the reinforced pocket at the end, then place the other end into it’s grommet. Next stake out the 3 poles ensuring a good tension in the two fabric sections in between. Next stake out the four corners and guy lines, this is one tent where you need to do this for extra stability. Finally, peg down the fly using the reinforced tabs and other pegging points.

The tent can also be pitched fly only, which is great for the summer or if it’s raining and you need to get in quickly without getting the inner wet.

One nifty feature of the Time Tunnel is that the pole sections have different diameters, this means greater flexibility and also great stability. This is part of the “Real Tunnel” technology used by Jack Wolfskin. The pole sections have (as with the corners) small triangular pegging points which greatly add to the stability of the tent, though Jack Wolfskin claim that they are only needed in extreme conditions.

The pegs are quite heavy duty, but with a tent as big as this we wouldn’t expect anything less. They are basic aluminium hook type pegs, the 18 pegs are 16g each. We feel you could save weight by swapping them for another set of stakes but as this tent is a 3 man tent you’re likely split the tent up for the most part, so this isn’t a huge issue.

The tent comes with a nice repair kit, including 4 sections of fabric, a pole doctor, duct tape and seam sealer. We feel this is quite comprehensive, given most tents just come with a pole doctor – if you’re lucky. We quite like this “worst case scenario” repair kit.

A High Quality Tent

The Jack Wolfskin Time Tunnel 3 is a quality tent, with a 75D polyester fly sheet, 68D breathable polyester  inner with a hydrofilm nylon 70D groundsheet.

The strapping is nice and wide, it is also well embedded into the flysheet of the tent. This is a very well thought out tent with some great features.

The inner tent is separated by a nice space from the fly sheet which will help with condensation and temperature regulation. There is a double layer door, mesh and fabric.

The main outer door has an inner mesh door which is really handy to keep flies out. The same door can also be held up and open (like a porch) by two walking poles which is deal for cooking under. Our only issue with this door is that you have to unzip the fly door and then then inner door to get into the tent, the two can’t be opened at the same time, which we found a little odd. There is also a second outer door, without a mosquito net.

There are a total of 6 internal pockets plus hanging loops too. Another small feature is that there are small pockets which hold the coiled guy lines when they are not in use, it keeps them out of the way and we like this.

At either end there is a vent which is attached to the luminous guy ropes, this means they are held open quite nicely. The vents can be closed by a zipper, the section with the inner has a zipper on the inner also – both ends can only be unzipped from the inside, a nice security feature we think.

“Really Quite Roomy”

The Time Tunnel 3 thanks to its use of “Real Tunnel” technology is really quite roomy, making it ideal for small groups or cycle touring. The vestibule is quite large, with plenty of room for all of your camping gear and even room for your bikes, though you’d probably want to take the font wheel off to make best use of the space available.  Alternatively, the vestibule would be ideal for use sheltering during the summer down pours the UK is accustomed to.

The vestibule has so much usable space thanks to the corner poles, mentioned below. Inside the tent there is room for 3 people to sleep and the internal height is quite nice too. Another feature of the “Real Tunnel” technology we really like is the short poles at the end of the vestibule and foot end of the tent. These give the base of the tent an instant height making the whole floor space usable.

The corner poles are fixed into the tent and from them are some short guy lines for pegging out. These corner edges also add some extra stability to the tent we feel. This one little feature means that this Jack Wolfskin tent is more usable than most other tents in the same “sleeps 3” tent category.

A Good Choice

Overall, the Jack Wolfskin Time Tunnel 3 RT Tent is a pretty nice tent. It’s got great build quality and a nice internal space. The Time Tunnel is a well thought out 3-4 season tent ideal for cycle touring or other small groups (of two or 3 people).

The Time Tunnel 3 is a great tent and stands up to stiff winds really well. Also it’s got a huge amount of usable space that other similar tents just don’t have.

We also loved the extra details from Jack Wolfskin, such as the corner edge poles, the pockets for the guylines when you are packing away, the really thick strapping throughout the tent and the double zip vents. It’s for this reason that the Jack Wolfskin Time Tunnel 3 tent scores 4.5 stars in our review.