A Complete Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh And Black Review
We don’t claim to be expert campers. We love camping and have been camping for a number of years but we’re still amateurs relatively speaking.
When camping with kids, we want the whole camping experience to be as easy and relaxed as possible.
This is why – when we found the perfect family tent – we wanted to share our thoughts.
This Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh and Black review gives our opinion of the tent itself but also tips on getting the most out of it.
We’ve also included lots of links to other camping related content that we have written with knowledge that we have gained over the years.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and buy something, we may earn a small commission but this is at no extra cost to you.
By the way, this is a review of the Quechua 4 person air tent but they also make the same tent for 5, 6 and 8 people. See below for all options.
Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 (4 person, 2-bedroom blackout air tent)
Quechua Air Seconds 5.2 (5 person, 2-bedroom blackout air tent).
Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 (6 person, 3-bedroom blackout air tent).
Quechua Air Seconds 8.4 (8 person, 4-bedroom blackout air tent).
And if you just love a poled tent, then the same style is available in a poled version (and it’s half the price). See here for details.
Need some general camping tips?
Before we get into our Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 review, here are some helpful articles we’ve written for beginner campers or those thinking of going campervanning with kids.
If you are a complete beginner, you might want to take a look at our tips for first time campers before splurging on your camping gear.
Although we have been camping for years, we only bought our first campervan three years ago and have a section on the blog covering what we have been learning about vanlife.
We talk about the reasons to to try campervanning with kids as well as tips to enjoy vanlife with kids and a list of the essential campervan gear you will need (most of which applies to camping too).
You might also like..
Not quite ready for your first camping trip? Take a look at these lovely places to go glamping in Cornwall with hot tubs or these Centre Parcs alternatives.
Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh And Black Review
Are Decathlon air tents any good?
We have previously owned Vango tents and campervan awnings. More recently we tried out an Olpro Cocoon Breeze air awning and were seriously impressed with the size.
Decathlon, for us, was somewhere we bought sports equipment and cold weather gear for Lapland. But tents? We weren’t sure.
This was until we went camping in France and literally EVERY tent was a Decathlon air tent like this one.
We were curious so we decided to give it a go when we needed to upgrade our tent.
So – are Decathlon air tents any good? In short – yes. We think this Decathlon 4 person tent is the best 4 person blackout air tent out there. And here’s why..
Here, our Decathlon 4.2 Fresh and Black review considers both the pros and cons…
Pros of the Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh And Black
It has blacked out bedrooms
Are blackout tents worth it? Absolutely! Especially if camping with younger children who may wake very early with the sunlight streaming into the tent in the summer.
It is hard to take a picture of the blackout bedroom as it would just be a black picture so you need to take our word for it. It is very dark!
More info on the blackout technology below in the specs section but we also love that it has two separate bedrooms. This is ideal for a family of 4.
It is easy to pitch
From unzipping the bag it is stored in to standing back and admiring our handywork, it took 15 minutes. Tips for pitching the perfect tent below.
It is so easy, we got the kids to help!
It is simple
We’ve already said that it is easy to pitch but this is because it is simple. By this, we mean that there aren’t lots of separate parts to contend with.
It is all one piece so you don’t need to worry about leaving one pole behind (has been known).
The only separate ‘parts’ are the roof support (not vital), air vent supports (not vital) and the tent pegs. When I say ‘not vital’ – I mean you can still pitch the tent and use it – although it would not be ideal to forget these.
With poled tents, if you forget a pole, you can’t use the tent at all.
It is very reasonably priced
We looked at lots of family air tents and by comparison, the Quechua 4 person air tent (at around £429 on the Decathlon site) is very good value.
Keep a look out for Black Friday deals and other deals through the year.
Cons of the Quechua 4 person air tent
We want our review of the Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh and Black tent to be objective so we do need to point out the negatives too.
We really do love the Decathlon 4 person blackout tent but there are a couple of niggles.
It is heavy
At 18.5kg (when all packed up with poles and tent pegs), it is heavy. But all air tents are heavier than poled tents and the Quechua is not much heavier than other brands.
Pump is not included
One important thing to note is that NO PUMP IS INCLUDED!
We didn’t realise this but luckily, the first time we used it, we went camping with my brother who has the exact same tent and we borrowed his.
Click here to buy the correct air pump.
It doesn’t have a porch
There is no porch with this model and no ability to attach an extension. This means you will find yourself ‘living’ in the living area if it rains.
Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh and Black specs
The Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh and Black tent is a 2 bedroom air tent.
Bedrooms
There are 2 bedrooms in the Air Seconds 4.2 version. Each one is 140 x 260 cm. They are large enough to accommodate two-70cm wide mattresses.
The blacked out bedrooms (when zipped up) are very dark. In fact, they guarantee 99% darkness.
There are air vents, mosquito nets and storage pouches in the bedrooms.
The Fresh & Black fabric technology also keeps your tent cool which is important if you are camping in warmer climates or where there is no shade.
There is also a 1-bedroom, 4 person tent (Air Seconds 4.1) but we prefer the kids to have their own bedroom area.
Living room
The living room is 5.9 sqm with a zipped basin groundsheet (with>2400 mm rating) and people up to around 6ft can comfortably stand up.
I am 5ft 5 and just managed on tip toes to fit the roof support in place.
There are storage pouches in the living room, air vents and two windows with blinds for privacy.
The space itself would just manage to fit a table and chairs for a family of 4 if you needed to get out of the rain but wouldn’t leave any room to move.
This is fine for us because we don’t spend much time in the tent itself other than to sleep as we are usually out exploring.
Tips for pitching the Quechua 4 man inflatable blackout tent
Here is our step by step guide to setting up your Quechua four man blackout air tent.
- Ideally you should have two people to pitch this Quechua Airseconds 4.2 air tent but it can be done by one.
- Peg out the four corners first.
- Partially inflate the two inner air beams first to almost 7psi.
- Next inflate the two outer airbeams to almost 7psi.
- Peg out the rest of the tent
- Insert the porch and roof supports
- Give a final pump to all airbeams to get them to 7psi.
- You can find more instructions for tent assembly here.
There is also lots of helpful info on the care of your tent here.
Final thoughts on the Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 blackout air tent
You’ve probably gathered by now that we love this tent. It scores top marks for ease of use, quality and price in our books.
This is a great first time tent for families.
If you’re looking for a simple 4 person blackout tent, this could be the one for you.
We hope you found our Quechua Air Seconds 4.2 review helpful. Happy camping!