Ridge Ryder 4x4 Awning Review
It’s always nice to find a good bit of gear at a bargain price, and there’s been a lot of chat recently about the Ridge Ryder awning. This usually sells for about $300 but it’s easy to pick one up for $200 or even less. Most awnings start at around the $300 point, so with so many discounts available the Ridge Ryder looks like a pretty good deal and there are a lot of them sitting on roof bars. What’s it like to actually use one though? Here’s my experiences of their 2.5x2 metre model.
The Ridge Ryder is basically the same design as most other awnings out there. It’s an alloy base that mounts on your roof bars using the supplied brackets; attached to that is a zip-up waterproof bag with the awning rolled up inside, along with the poles. It looks like it’s easy enough to mount on most roof bars, although I had trouble with the brackets on mine (which are from MM). I managed to bodge it with a couple of L-brackets and some square-headed bolts though and it seems secure enough.
Once you’ve got it fitted it’s simple to deploy the awning. Just unzip the bag and pull out the end bar. Once it’s fully extended fold out the side poles, slot them into the ends of the bar and lower the legs. The side poles and legs are alloy tube and they all work well enough, but they did feel a bit light. It’s all stood up so far but I don’t know if I’d take it to the beach on a windy day. The canopy itself is rip-stop canvas and feels pretty robust, but unlike the Tough Toys awnings it doesn’t have a UV-reflective lining. It does feel noticeably warmer under it on a hot day, so I’d guess some UV is getting through. It’s not that big a deal, but a lining would have been nice to see.
There’s an extension sidewall available for the Ridge Ryder, which is made of the same ripstop canvas and fits onto the end. It can be pegged to the ground to help keep the wind out, or propped up with a couple of poles to give you more length. What I haven’t been able to find is a tent set for it, or mozzie nets. That means while it’s ideal for a short break or cooking this probably isn’t the best awning if you’re camping out overnight.
Overall this is a reasonable awning if you’re on a tight budget, but it does seem slightly flimsy and it doesn’t have the features some others do. It’s not bad, and if you don’t have a lot of spare cash and can find one of these at a discount price it’s worth looking at, but there are definitely better ones on the market at the Ridge Ryder’s normal price.
