Vango 5 man tent - €122 delivered

unkel

This looks like a high quality tent for budget money. Vango is a reputable tent maker, this tent has a hydrostatic head of 4000mm, which is more than most.

It is also pretty large (3m wide sleeping area) and would fit a family of 2 adults and 3 kids

Linky

Even with the high sterling rate this works out at about €122 delivered. That really is a bargain. I just ordered one.

BarryD

In their budget range? Probably best suited to campsites in reasonable weather.

Tabnabs

Plus it has no real internal living area. You eat outside whether you like it or not and for storage for up to five people it's very limited.

unkel

BarryD wrote: »

In their budget range? Probably best suited to campsites in reasonable weather.

Not sure what you mean Barry? HH of 4000mm can take some serious rain.

BarryD

unkel wrote: »

Not sure what you mean Barry? HH of 4000mm can take some serious rain.

The quality of any tent comes down to the design, materials and build quality. Ever see the budget tents from the likes of Aldi or Lidl - any adversity and the poles bend and break. Sure Vango have a good name and the build quality might be a little better but they'd have to be cutting corners. Figures like HH mean little unless you take all into consideration - it might obtain a figure like that in lab conditions, but in the real world?

Should be grand though for fine weather in campsites etc

EndaHonesty

unkel wrote: »

This looks like a high quality tent for budget money. Vango is a reputable tent maker, this tent has a hydrostatic head of 4000mm, which is more than most.

It is also pretty large (3m wide sleeping area) and would fit a family of 2 adults and 3 kids

Even with the high sterling rate this works out at about €122 delivered. That really is a bargain. I just ordered one.

Generally if you are looking a tent you would choose at least one berth extra in size, so if you will have five people sleeping you'd need at least a six berth tent.

Tbh five people in one small tent would be horrible so I'd recommend people get at least a two room tent, but ideally they should get two or three smaller tents. By having several tents you have way more flexibility with the use.

On Amazon they have a tent - "High Peak Como 4 Man Tent" in two sizes. The larger size seems to actually be the six berth tent, and is the cheaper of the two at only £54.43!
That appears to be a real bargain and well worth a punt.

unkel

BarryD wrote: »

Vango have a good name and the build quality might be a little better but they'd have to be cutting corners.

Did you check my link? This tent has a RRP of £170 (€232) and a quick google later and I can't find it cheaper than £150 anywhere. It is the current model, not some outdated one. See here on the Vango site for some specs

This offer on Amazon is only just over half the RRP and at that (with free shipping) it is a steal.

And yes, it is what it is. You shouldn't take this to camp on the summit of Matterhorn

I plan to use it for one or two night stays on camp sites just for myself and my 3 small children, the bed compartment is 3m wide, so this would be plenty. With the car nearby for storage. Should be more than adequate for that even for a very wet and windy night...

unkel

Looks like it was a 1 day only offer. The price has gone back up from £82 to £125...

BarryD

unkel wrote: »

I plan to use it for one or two night stays on camp sites just for myself and my 3 small children, the bed compartment is 3m wide, so this would be plenty. With the car nearby for storage. Should be more than adequate for that even for a very wet and windy night...

Should be fine for that and please don't think I'm being snobbish. There's no need for expensive equipment if the situation doesn't warrant it.

Just take care if strong winds about and try and add extra guyropes to support the poles. And/or pitch somewhere with some shelter from the worst. I've seen tents like this and when the wind blows, the sides buckle in until a pole snaps. They often go at the ferrules.

Dozen Wicked Words

83 pounds odd again, looks ideal for the money, but no funds at present.

unkel

A bit off topic but how do today's mid price tents like this one compare to canvas tents from say 30 / 40 years ago:



I did a lot of camping in those type of tents and from what I remember water proof levels weren't great but they had no problem with windforce 8 storms. As long as you were in the tent

BarryD

unkel wrote: »

A bit off topic but how do today's mid price tents like this one compare to canvas tents from say 30 / 40 years ago

I used to bring groups of young people camping in a former job, often they'd never have pitched a tent. We had a mixture of traditional ridge tents (Force Tens) and newer dome tents. We'd spend an hour before pitching an example of each type and then head out. The groups with the Force Tens rarely had a problem putting them up and the tents lasted well - disadvantages were greater weight and less headroom. The ones with the dome tents often made a hash of putting them up or taking them down and the tents whilst lighter were often damaged.

sheesh

looks like good family tent. One of the reasons it is cheaper is the fibreglass poles, as you will not be using it to bring your family up the north face of Everest you should be fine.

look at getting a tarp to create an eating area outside the tent although it looks big enough to eat in just put the air matresses to the side. alternatively eat in the car or just say 'feckit!' and go to a chipper!

unkel

I think we'll be saying feckit alright

markc2951

Many places doing sales trying to get rid of this year's models..bargain I'm not so sure but it's vango so it's bound to be decent

unkel

It's back up to £125, markc2951. Even at that it's cheaper than anywhere else

Paid £78 for mine, got it last week. It's beyond me that some people here don't think that was a bargain. Haven't pitched it yet though, so I might have to eat my words

unkel

Had the tent up over the weekend. There was no rain to test waterproofing, and the tent says HH of 3000mm, not 4000mm as advertised. Also I have my doubts about the reliability of glassfiber poles (in general, not just this tent)

That said, the tent is well made, very roomy, easy to set up. Would fit 2 king size air mattresses no problem. Comfortable too with plenty of mesh and a good (and constant) distance between inner and outer tent of about 15cm. There was no condensation at all from breathing after two of us spent 10 hours in it. The night time temperature got down to just a few degrees above zero, but we were comfy / on the hot side in our summer sleeping bags.

Pat Mustard

unkel wrote: »

There was no rain to test waterproofing

Over these parts, you'd have needed an ark, not a tent!