Howling Moon Alu Awn Awning Review
We’ve looked at lots of awnings that stow away in a fabric bag, which is pretty much the standard way of doing things. Recently we looked at one that did it slightly differently, using a hard aluminium case to protect the awning when not in use, which really appealed because it was quite unusual. Well, now we’ve found another one. The Alu Awn from Howling Moon also comes in a hard case, so we thought we’d see what it was like.
Like the Eezi Awn we reviewed the Alu Awn is a pretty impressive looking package. It’s a long extruded aluminium case that serves to protect the awning and also acts as the base for mounting it. The case is well made, and this one is available in either natural metal or black. The support frame is aluminium poles with stainless steel fittings and everything seems well put together. Howling Moon have been making tents for decades, and it shows. The awning itself is heavy waterproofed canvas, and a nice touch is that the top is laminated with a silver reflective top. The main job of awnings in Australia is to give you some shade from the sun, and the reflective top makes a big difference here by reflecting light – and heat – away from your shaded space. That space is 2.5 metres wide by 2.1 metres long, but if you want a custom size Howling Moon can do that for you.
Mounting the Alu Awn is fairly standard. It comes supplied with bolts, so if you have a roof cage simply drill holes in the appropriate place and bolt it on. If you use roof bars you’ll probably have to buy a bracket.
Setting up is easy and we managed it in a couple of minutes with no problems. It follows the same procedure as most other awnings we’re tried – open the case, fold out and extend the side struts, pull the awning out to its full length and slot the struts into the end bar, then fold the legs down and adjust them to the length you want.
If you want to increase the possibilities of the Alu Awn Howling Moon also offer a 2.5 metre wall set so you can convert it into a full tent. This is made of lightweight ripstop fabric and slots into the case and end bar. One nice touch is that it has flaps along the top of each side. Many tent sets have gaps there that can allow insects in, but you should be pretty safe with this one. The awning itself worked very well, too. The reflective coating on the top seemed to keep it noticeably cooler under the awning, which makes sense; the fabric wasn’t heating up then radiating that heat onto us as we chilled out under it.
If you want the extra protection of a metal case the Howling Moon Alu Awn is a good option. It’s well made and highly effective, and the price is very competitive for what you get. We like this, and the chances are you would too.
