Vango Ultralight 200 ...tent

[boiledbeef]

ive seen enough, goodbye

 

[Tony]

To keep this in context boiledbeef the OP thought i'd not slapped UKDave enough for his comments about the review, he's asked to be deleted from the system because he does not want to be associated with us (that might mean me as i didn't do the slapping right) and i notice that he's thought it a good idea to delete all his posts, thus leaving everyone else completely out of context.

I'll leave this here for a short while so people understand why it will then be removed.

 

[Toddy]

We have one of the old (like 15years old) Vango's and it's still sound. It's too small for comfort I find though. Condensation is always with us.

The newer tents we use all have some condensation issues.
Even the double skinned ones.
I camped in a double skinned dome tent at Comriecroft earlier this month and the fleece blankets on top of my sleeping bag were wet in the morning.
It's just the temperatue and the moisture of the environment. No extra heat to drive off the moisture and it will always end up on the cold bits.

The temperate climate of our Atlantic Islands makes it hard to stay dry.

Neat idea on the candle lantern


Boiled beef, we don't make a habit of slapping folks down, we prefer rational discussion.
Sometimes that's kind of vigorous rational discussion but rarely do we throw the rattle out of the pram over them.
Frankly, I reckon that unless you took account of the positioning of your tent as part of the review you posted, then you did rather leave yourself open to criticism.
Take a break and come back when the Sun's out

cheers,
Toddy

 

[UKdave]

Sorry you feel like that.
Sorry if I was alittle heavy,Im post operation and am still immobile after 3 weeks and a little ornary,But if you try the tent out on the hills, and position foot into wind, you will have little or no condensation.

If you are down this way Ill buy you a beer

 

[basha]

Ooooops… I hope boiledbeef comes back; I was watching this thread with interest.
I think that maybe too much emphasis is put on initial personal findings. It may be better to say “I didn’t like this because I had this trouble, but others may not” as opposed to “I bought this and used it and it’s a pile of poo”. I’ve noticed a lot of stuff on BCUK does initiate a bit of a ‘love it or hate it’ response. Still it provides plenty of merchandise for the Members Classifieds section…..

However I just wonder that with many of these modern tents the problem may be made worse with close fitting flysheets hugging our soggy landscape. This arrangement surely contributes to condensation problems, especially coupled with damp clothing and little air movement. If I remember rightly most of the older tents had a good gap between the bottom of the flysheet and the ground. Maybe it’s a trade-off; IMHO modern tents seem to have very small pack sizes and very good value compared to the options some years back. The older tents were pretty bullet proof and worked well, but from memory, were big and heavy.

I have recently bought a Vango Banshee 200 (doulble-skinned) tent; it will be interesting to see how that gets on when I finally use it.

I think with a single skinned tent I’d rather have a bit of a condensation problem than a seriously leaky tent. I suppose unless you are lucky or buy a really high specification one there is going to be a risk of condensation.

 

[MrPhil]

Like those before me have said, all you can pass on are your personal experiences with kit, the conditions at that time and lots of countless variables will have an effect on how it performs.

The only tents I remember sleeping in that didn't suffer condensation were the family owned canvas rigid poled tent and those Icelandics everyone has been in if they were in the Scouts

I think one of the problems that I have had when buying these new fangled lightweight tents is that there are no words of wisdom included in the sale (online) or in the instructions. But thankfully there are people on here who can poke your tent in the right direction.

 

[ged]

... I just wonder that with many of these modern tents the problem may be made worse with close fitting flysheets hugging our soggy landscape. This arrangement surely contributes to condensation problems, especially coupled with damp clothing and little air movement.

Absolutely right. FWIW I have a Vango three-man tunnel tent that's about fifteen years old, it's still a fine tent and I've always liked it because it has acres of room for gear or a small get-together on a wet day, but I wouldn't take it anywhere the weather was going to be really bad. The fly is much too close to the inner, especially near your feet. I mess around with polythene bags and hot water bottles (I'm not proud) to keep the bottom of my sleeping bag dry on the (now admittedly rare) occasions that I use it.

I think with a single skinned tent I’d rather have a bit of a condensation problem than a seriously leaky tent. I suppose unless you are lucky or buy a really high specification one there is going to be a risk of condensation.

I bought an ultra-light Coleman single skinned tent and the first time I used it I was wetter in the morning than I would have been if I'd slept in the open! You do need to be aware of ventilation, especially with the man-made fibres in modern tents. Part of my preparation for spending time in a single skinned tent is to have a couple of face flannels handy to wipe the condensation off the inside. I use one to get most of the water off, I keep wringing it out as it gets wetter, and then one which is practically dry to polish off. I still prefer good old canvas (I have half a dozen canvas tents, from the one I did Duke of Edinburgh in about 40 years ago to one that will comfortably hold a platoon). Canvas very rarely catches fire, but it weighs such a lot more than nylon!

 

[TyroTarper]

Think I must have struck lucky with my Force Ten. I think I don't get problems because a) the groundsheet is detachable which means there is always an air flow at ground level and b) at the top of both doors you can leave the zips undone but completely covered by a protective cover which gives airflow round the top. I've had mild condensation form on the skin once but I've never had so much as a drip fall onto me. Well worth a look if you want a light tent (0.8kg if you use walking poles as the tent poles), about 0.9 with the tentpoles