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Vango Ultralight 200

£150.00

LFTO rating rating is 2
Owners' rating rating is 2.5

This 2-person tent features a very unusual design, yet it has incredible stability and a surprising amount of living space. It is a single-skin that pitches far more easily than it first appears. Once erected the external door gives direct access to the inner living area, as there is no porch. The headroom easily allows two to sit up, and just above your head are two large air vents that encourage airflow to control the condensation inside the tent. For extra stability there is Vango’s tried and tested Tension Band System (in this case a lightweight version), which places internal guylines across the inner. There is a small porch at one end that could be used to stow boots or a stove, and you can just about cook in this if you have a small stove. Space for weight is superb. But the pegs are very short, which limits their use to good, grassy, flat pitches. This is a single-skin tent, so even with good airflow some condensation is possible in some conditions. You do not get a big porch for gear storage or cooking so it is not ideal for foul weather camping. Most annoyingly the stuffsack is a bit small, making it hard to repack when it’s wet.

 

Design: tunnel
Poles: shock-corded alloy
Inner: none
Flysheet: Protex, 3000mm hydrostatic head
Groundsheet: nylon, 5000mm
hydrostatic head
Internal dimensions: length 215cm; width 125cm; height 100cm
Packed size: 49x10cm
Weight: 1420g
Made in: China
Stores in the UK: no info provided

Verdict: A very stable, lightweight tent, ideal for weekend wild camping at exposed sites, the drawbacks being a single-skin design and lack of a large porch.

 

First published in Trail magazine, May 2008

Users' Overall Rating rating is 2.5(1 review)

  • Vangooooooing to get something else other than this . . .

    honisett2002

    Sauveterre-de-Bearn, FR

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    User's Overall Rating rating is 2.5

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 2
    Build qualityrating is 4
    Value for moneyrating is 2

    I bought this tent for my trek across the pyrenees. I knew it wasn't going to be luxury but it was very light. Pros: Lightweight, easy quick pitching, small footprint, very stable in high winds, inner tension cords, pack size. Cons: Terrible condensation problems, no porch, single skin, no mesh door, poor venting. Overall Experience: The tent physically put up with all the weather conditions you could imagine, and did so very well. Strong and sturdy and the inner tension cords worked well. PItching was very quick and easy and with the small footprint I was able to camp in some remarkable places. However lack of mesh door meant that if the mozzies were about you had to shut up shop, causing venting problems, which didn't help the condensation issue and also cutting you off from some amazing views outside, which in my opinion defeats the point of wild camping! The condensation was an issue. I know it depends on weather conditions, and some mornings it was fine, especially if I was able to sleep with the door open, but other mornings the inside would literally be dripping. I actually used my biv bag inside the tent on some occasions to protect my down bag, it was that bad. I admit I sleep hot but still, this was unacceptable. Also the lack of porch meant wet kit/sack was either in with you or shoved under and outside end flapped (advertised as a small porch - it is not) plus it made cooking on poor conditions a no go. I would never advise anyone to cook inside a tent, especially a small one with no decent venting! In general the tent supplied me with decent sturdy shelter, but nothing more. I am now on the hunt for a decent solo tent, something like a Laser, Akto or Helium, to replace the Vango ultralight 200. There are lighter 2 skin tents on the market nowadays that beg the question, why choose this tent. I will probably end up using the ultralight again but only for over night and weekend treks, and until I upgrade to something else!

    (Written by: honisett2002)

    03 February 2010 09:26

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