Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i tent review: A polycotton alternative to rooftop tents with an integrated air bed

Whatever your preference, there’s a style of tent available to meet your needs, whether it’s a large four- to eight-person family tent for a weekend or a two-week summer break in France, a feather-light 3-season backpacking tent for solo trekkers, bikers and globetrotting students, a cheap-and-cheerful shelter for a music festival or a 4-season storm-proof mountain tent for the truly adventurous.

However, there’s also a category of tent for those who enjoy the freedom of the open road and the wherewithal to stop almost anywhere a campsite permits, making spontaneous overnight stays far easier.

The most popular of these is the rooftop tent, which remains firmly fixed to the roof rack of a car, just like a standard roof box. These tents unfold in different ways but, in most cases, when you arrive at your destination you simply grab the attached ladder, pull it out and the whole tent unfolds in a thrice. When folded, it packs down into a compact hard shell or a covered fabric case.

The good thing about a rooftop tent is that you’re well above ground level, but the not-so-good thing is that you tend to feel the wind more strongly because of its elevation and the fact it’s attached to a car that rocks on its own suspension.

Also, you need to use a ladder to get in and out of the tent and that rules out taking a large dog with you. You also need the right type of car – usually a 4x4 or large estate – and that rules out car touring in an open top with the wind in your hair.

Which leads me to what Australians call a swag tent, of which I have a particularly fine example sitting on my lawn right now.

It’s called the Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i, and I personally think it’s a brilliant one- or two-person option for car touring and quick weekend pitch-ups, mostly because it sits firmly on the floor, it’s inflatable so it erects in seconds, it’s made from breathable polycotton, and you can take it in any type of car, including small hatchbacks and convertibles.

Let’s take a closer look at this new and very niche style of tent, and see if it ticks all the boxes for your next campsite-based driving holiday.

Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i tent review

Price and availability

The Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i is widely available in the UK through camping specialists and outdoor retailers, with a recommended retail price of around £525, although discounts bring it down to under £350 in some cases.

In the UK you can purchase this tent from Outdoor XL (£324.95), Berger Camping (£532) and Blacks (£469), when it’s back in stock. While currently out of stock at Go Outdoors, you can at least purchase the one-person version of the Pico for £450 (£399 members).

In Europe, prices typically range between €550 and €620 though my research suggests that it isn’t widely available. I would check the Dometic website for stockists in your region. Likewise, the Pico is currently very difficult to find through mainstream US retailers, making it a specialist import for American buyers.

Pitching process

I’ve lost count of how many tents I’ve erected and packed up over the years, but I’ve got to say that the Pico was easily one of the very fastest and most intuitive.

If it's windy, start by pegging out all four corners and grab the included air pump, which you will need to assemble before using for the first time. Now attach the pump to the main inflation inlet and start pumping. It took me thirty pumps before the tent suddenly popped up on its own and another twenty or so strokes to reach the required 9PSI of pressure.

Mind, I’m not sure I like the way the Dometic pump works because the needle on the gauge doesn’t remain static on the PSI figure as you’re pumping. Instead, it shoots up as you apply pressure and then drops to zero on the upstroke. This means you have to watch the needle carefully until it brushes the 9PSI figure.

A figure of 9PSI is pretty high for an air beam tent, so don’t panic if you think the beams feel too firm – they should be difficult to squeeze between the fingers. At this juncture, it would be a good idea to peg out the corners of the tent in case a rogue gust of wind rolls in.

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The next stage is to inflate the bedroom’s full-width mattress, and this is done using a second air beam valve with a large warning label attached that states a maximum of 2 PSI. I presume Dometic fitted this warning following complaints by a handful of users who pumped it so full the mattress burst.

I think the most likely reason was user error because it’s easy to go overboard when pumping. For this reason, Dometic also provides a special release valve with the pump when inflating the mattress but I could never get it to attach to the inlet so I also winged it.

However, I did it very carefully in stages of a few pumps at a time, followed by a quick check. What you want is a bit of give in the mattress so your knuckle can touch the floor. The rest of the process entails pegging out the four guy lines and installing the two telescopic porch poles.

Unlike your average polyester tent, most polycotton tents require weatherproofing in the garden before being used, and this entails closing the doors and windows and properly soaking the whole tent with a hosepipe before allowing it to dry thoroughly.

When the fabric gets wet, the cotton fibres expand, which closes the tiny gaps in the weave, creating a complete barrier against rain. Wetting and then drying the tent also allows the material to shrink slightly and become properly tensioned on the frame.

Just be sure to fully dry the tent before packing it away, or mould may develop while in storage. This also applies when packing it up after use. If it’s raining on the day you’re leaving, find a place at home to open the tent so it can dry naturally because polycotton is much more susceptible to mould than polyester, and it’s not easy to remove.

Design and build quality

The Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i is a fascinating exercise in minimalist tent design, which is hardly surprising given that the company that makes it is Swedish. At first glance, it resembles an oversized Australian ‘swag’ more than a conventional shelter.

For those who have never heard of the term – me previously included – a swag is a type of hybrid tent with a built-in mattress that originated in the Australian outback.

It typically consists of a heavy-duty canvas shell, a built-in mattress and mesh panels for insect protection. In the Land of Oz, the swag has become one of the most popular types of tent for car- and motorbike-based camping. However, by comparison, this Dometic model is on another level, especially when it comes to design, build quality, and effortless pitching and packing.

For a fully polycotton tent with air beams and integrated inflatable mattress, the two-person Pico FTC 2x2 weighs in at a light-ish 11.5 kg and arrives in a backpack-style carry bag with padded shoulder straps, making it surprisingly manageable over moderate distances.

Its pack size, too, is much smaller than I expected – around 60 x 38 x 20 cm – and that likely makes it small enough for transport on a large motorcycle cruiser like a Honda Gold Wing.

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The defining feature here is undoubtedly the Pico’s quick-pitch Air Frame Technology, which replaces traditional tent poles with a double T-shaped inflatable structural beam that inflates via a single external valve, allowing the entire frame to take shape in about 30 seconds.

According to the specs, the Pico’s outer Weathershield TC fabric has a GSM of 210 and is made from a blend of 35% cotton and 65% polyester. I would hazard a guess that its hydrostatic head is equivalent to more than 3,000mm, which is better than average for waterproofness. I certainly saw no signs of water ingress after squirting the tent with the hose gun set to full blast.

Most impressively, the Pico’s polyester fabric feels so much more substantial than the gossamer-thin, flappy polyester found on most modern camping tents. Moreover, polycotton has two distinctly favourable properties.

It naturally regulates internal temperature much more effectively than synthetic fabrics, keeping the interior cooler during warm afternoons and slightly warmer on nippy evenings, and it’s also breathable, which vastly reduces condensation on chilly mornings.

Build quality of the Pico is universally excellent, with neat stitching, reinforced stress points and a robust inflatable beam system that feels like it will withstand repeated packing and unpacking, which is what car touring is all about.

The heavy-duty zips glide smoothly, while the front door flap closes securely without snagging. While there is a bit of sag at the rear of the tent, it’s not something I noticed when inside. However, an extra centrally located rear pegging point would help pull the rear of the fly a little more outward and make the back end look a bit more taut in my opinion.

Another thoughtful design element is the inclusion of an integrated full-floor inflatable i-Beam mattress which measures 215cm in length and 140cm in width – suitable for two and even better for one.

Rather than using a separate air bed that slides around during the night, this dimpled mattress forms part of the overall design and reduces the amount of equipment that needs transporting, making the overall camping experience pleasantly simple. That said, you can easily add your own mattress on top or remove the main mattress pad altogether.

While we’re inside, I should also mention the addition of two small triangular mesh pockets for storing valuables like a phone and head torch. However, since this tent is ostensibly just a low-slung portable bedroom, you don’t get a protected vestibule for damp clothing and wet boots, so bear this in mind.

I’m a big fan of the Pico’s high-stepped entrance, which prevents running rainwater from entering the tent, and I also love the two side windows with fixed insect-proof mesh and zipped rainproof panels.

When unzipped, these windows provide excellent through ventilation. Furthermore, because the whole tent is constructed out of breathable polycotton, there’s practically zero condensation, even on the dampest of mornings.

I’m also impressed by the Pico’s two pegged-out storm flaps that cover the side windows because they really do a marvellous job of keeping driving rain at bay.

Likewise, when the front canopy is fully opened, there are two zipped triangular rain flaps on each side of the canopy that prevent running water from entering the tent from above, making this tent exceptionally storm-proof.

The front canopy, incidentally, can be turned into a small sheltered porch by supporting it using the two supplied telescopic alloy poles.

Judged on its intended purpose as a car touring tent, the Dometic Pico FTC 2x2 TC-i is a superbly executed combination of premium polycotton fabric, a rigid inflatable frame, integrated air mattress and meticulous Swedish engineering throughout.

No, it is far from being the cheapest two-person tent you can buy, but in my opinion it beats the pants off any synthetic polyester model, especially when it comes to interior ambience, controlled internal temperatures in both hot and cold weather and the wonderful breathability that only polycotton can provide.

Performance and comfort

I pitched this model on my lawn and slept in it for one night. Kipping in the Pico quickly highlighted why polycotton remains the fabric of choice for many seasoned campers.

The material creates a noticeably more comfortable sleeping environment than conventional polyester, helping to regulate temperature while dramatically reducing condensation.

Even after a cool night, the interior remained impressively dry, with none of the damp, clammy feeling that often accompanies synthetic tents. That alone makes a significant difference to overall comfort in my opinion.

The integrated inflatable mattress also deserves a mention. It provided a supportive, evenly cushioned surface that felt far more substantial than a typical camping mat, removing much of the compromise usually associated with sleeping on the ground. I had a genuinely restful night's sleep in it.

The Pico’s interior length provides ample room for anyone around six feet tall to stretch out fully without feeling confined, giving the interior a surprisingly spacious feel despite the compact footprint. Headroom is less generous, mind, although that is simply part of the swag design rather than a flaw.

At 5ft 5in, I could sit upright comfortably without my head touching the roof, but kneeling was another matter since my head did brush the ceiling. I’d say it’s still perfectly manageable for changing clothes, but it isn't somewhere you'll want to spend extended periods sitting inside during poor weather. I’d be back in the car seeking better weather down the road.

I also loved the overall ambience of sleeping under polycotton. During daylight it allowed a soft, natural glow to filter through the fabric, making the interior feel bright rather than enclosed. And yet despite this light transparency, the material proved exceptionally waterproof, at least according to the hosepipe thrashing I gave it.

If you’re in the market for a compact one- or two-person portable bedroom for your car touring needs, this one comes wholeheartedly recommended. To conclude, I personally could think of nothing better than stuffing this tent into the boot of a Mazda MX5, dropping the hood and touring the wine region of France or a few stages of the Tour de France. Dream on, Delvis, dream on.

Verdict

While the Pico falls just shy of five stars, I’ve been extremely impressed by its performance and wherewithal to pitch and take down in a thrice. Almost every aspect of its construction has been engineered around speed, convenience and comfort rather than shaving off every last gram.

Yes, there’s very little headroom on board, but then again it’s designed for campers who value arriving late, pitching quickly and enjoying a comfortable night's sleep without wrestling with a bundle of poles and a separate mattress. Check it out – it might just be what you’ve always needed.