If the thought of paying nearly £70 for a windbreak to take on holiday is enough to take your breath away, don’t worry, you’re not alone. But even so, the Outwell Premium Round Windscreen windbreak at £69.99 is not the most expensive product we tested.

The highest price of all the brands we tried out is the Quest Windshield Pro, which costs an eye-watering £104.99. Not far behind, the Kampa Deluxe Windbreak is priced at £89.98 and the Vango 5 Pole Windbreak costs £64.99. These are all significantly more expensive than our Practical Motorhome Windbreaks Test winner, the Coleman Windshield XL, which is a mere £49.99.

Other modern windbreaks are available too, for instance the Olpro Picket Fence Windbreak at £29.99, the Gelert Breeze Blocker at £24.99, Kampa Break at £39.99 and the banana-like Easy Camp Surf at £19.99. We’ve also tested the SunnCamp Windjammer at £29.99, the Trespass Windbreak at £33.99, Vango Adventure Windbreak at £24.99, Quest 7 Pole Family Windbreak at £49.99 and the cheap and cheerful Halfords Urban Escape Camping at the giveaway price of just £20. 

Well, you know what they say – ‘Buy cheap, buy twice’ – but it’s not always true. So we’ve tested a good batch of promising-looking windbreaks to find out if the Outwell Premium Round Windscreen really is a high-end, high-tech camping product that’s worth the money. 

Our product testing criteria for windbreaks included checks for stability and strength, height, the size of the windbreak when it’s packed down, whether the fabric touches the ground and prevents draughts from top to toe, how many guy ropes it has, and whether it has windows to allow you to see the view without your muesli blowing out of your cereal bowl in the mornings!

This model’s lateral top bar is permanently set into a curve, which stiffens the assembled structure very well. So much so that Outwell has only supplied enough guy lines for two on each outer pole – and they’re in a bright colour so you won’t trip over them so easily. Ground spikes are supplied as well. The shape makes the Outwell Premium Round Windscreen suitable for hardstandings as well as grass, earth and sand. However, the curved idea isn’t without its drawbacks. Having a set shape limits the positioning possibilities, and reduces the overall length it protects to 3.6m.

At 4.8kg, this is heavier than our test winner, the Coleman Windshield XL, but the pack-down size is pleasingly compact, fitting into a carry bag 14cm x 70cm.

The fabric for the flysheet section is called Outtex, a 75D polyester taffeta material which is fire retardant. The poles are made of steel, in 16mm sections, linked by springs like folding tent poles. There’s a panoramic window provided by the three horizontal clear panel sections. 

It’s very easy and quick to put up, so you won’t have to waste any time. Outwell is a well respected brand, known for a vast array of well made camping accessories, tents and equipment that can make life in the outdoors a wonderful experience.