Hannibal Safari Awnings Review
We get to see a lot of awnings, so we’re pretty familiar with how most of them work. There’s a standard design for awnings and it’s effective, but it does get a bit samey sometimes and it’s always nice to see something different. The Hannibal Awning from Hannibal Safari Equipment made our day, because it seriously simplifies awning design.
The Hannibal Awning is available in two sizes; there’s a small 1.9 by 1.7 metre one, and a larger 2.4 by 2 metre. They’re both available as a plain awning or a set with detachable walls. Everything seems nicely put together from quality materials; the base is a big, solid piece of aluminium with massive hinges at each end for the outriggers and the awning itself is heavy Dyna Proof ripstop polycotton. There’s been a lot of attention to detail in construction, too. The corners are all reinforced with heavy PVC, the seams are taped for absolute waterproofing and all seams are double stitched with heavy duty S25 thread. We couldn’t fault the build quality anywhere, which is always nice.
Now let’s look at setting it all up. When it’s mounted the Hannibal Awning looks pretty conventional – the base (which fits to most racks and cages, as well as Rhino commercial bars) with the awning zipped away in a heavy PVC cover. Undo the cover and retaining straps, fold out the outriggers and you’ll start to notice differences though. These are a lot more substantial than the usual telescopic side struts you’re probably familiar with. Instead of lightweight extendable poles you have a pair of massive A frames, which is why the hinges are so substantial. These swing out and lock into place, then you fit the end bar of the awning to the tip of each outrigger – and that’s it. Don’t bother looking for the upright poles, because there aren’t any. The Hannibal relies on those two big outriggers to hold everything steady. We were a bit sceptical of Hannibal’s claim that one person can set it up in 30 seconds, but we proved ourselves wrong on the first try. It really couldn’t be easier.
Does it work? We think it does. As long as your rack is strong enough to support it the whole thing is very stable and the outriggers are solid enough that you won’t even miss the poles. There’s no need for guy lines either, and we quickly got to like having a simple patch of shade without anything to bump into or trip over. Add Hannibal’s wall set, which seals well around the top to keep any flying nasties outside where they belong, and you have a comfortable and sturdy tent.
The Hannibal awning is an interesting new approach to things. It’s well made, stable and really, really simple to set up. It’s also perfect if you’re camping in a confined space where guy lines would be a problem. It might not be ideal if you have light roof bars, but if you have a good solid roof cage or rack this could be perfect.
