Gear

I've scowered the place and been round all the shops in a bid to find what is the best 2 man tent on a budget with a decent porch for dumping gearand cooking. The search has narrowed down to a Vango Spirit 200+ and a Robens Cloud 2 Plus Ultra-Lite. Both are tunnel tents that seem to do the business. I'm leaning towards the Vango because the reviews suggest it's an excellent tent if you're not a big person and given my nickname is hobbit it sounds ideal. However I want to make sure that I'm not missing out on the better of the two because I can't find a review (favourable or otherwise) for the Robens Cloud 2. If you have tried the Robens can you tell me what you think? Alternatively if you know a reason why I should go for one and not the other, please let me know.

Thanks

John

P.S. If you know where I can get a better tent than the pair of them for under £200 that'll do the trick just nice.

i think the robens tents are no well known on this site.i have a robens stardust 1 which i got in december for wild camping but i havnt used it yet.it seems to be well made and very stable and reminds me of the hilleberg atko.yes everyone says the vango is a very tent and my first tent is a vango tempest 200.do you really need the extra porch space that the 200 + gives you.if you are car camping t5hen it doesnt matter, but if you plan on wild camping with it then how about the standard 200 as its still got a good porch.still havnt answered your queation have i? :0) perhaps you should go with vango as the robens tents are an unknown quantity.

Cheers Ray,

To answer your question about the porch space. I already have two tents I use for wild camping which are nails, but limited to rucksack space only. However when I go climbing for the weekend the extra gear I bring makes it too crowded. I've finally decided to get something where I can cook ditch stuff etc without the hassle of then shifting it all over the place when sleeping only to wake up to a size ten hex lodged in my rear. Err maybe that's a bit too much information, but I'm sure you get the picture. About the tent that is not the morning after thing.

Blacks do a similar tent...bit cheaper again. Dunno what they are like though. It is a 3 person tent Octane 3. The vango looks nice and the Blacks looks like a copy, but with an extra door.

Cheers Julie,

I've had a look at that one as well, but ruled it out after the "expert" in blacks said it wouldn't stand up to strong winds as well as the Vango (my girlfriend farts like a banshee). I asked the ultimate here's my card what one do I buy and he said the Vango hands down. It could be it is £60 more that he suggested the Vango. Fool him, gearzone sell them for £200! Either way I'd ruled it out because I've never heard a good word about Blacks own equipment.
My mate bought a 4 season sleeping bag which was adevertised as good down to -12 and he got frozen at about 5. Then there was the four season tent another mate bought which got flatened in a not too strong a wind that didn't register with anyone else, so not too encouraging.

Chances are I'll buy the Vango as I've had their stuff before and it was reliable. Thanks again for the advice.

Mind you if you come across an even better one by all means give me a shout. I'm not buying for another month.

John

P.S. I'll probably buy it only to find out that Vango make all Blacks tents :-P

John

Just had great service from GOoutdoors and posted here.

They had a large range of tents and I was looking for the same sort of thing as you. The following stood out as being big enough for me, plus dog, plus kit with a decent porch and in the <£200 category:
£70 Vango Tempest 150, 2.6kg (Turquoise!)
£79 Coleman Epsilon 2, 2.6kg
£95 Vango Tempest 200, 2.6kg
£165 Vaude Taurus. 1.9kg
£199 Vango Spirit 200+, 2.6kg

I'm very tempted by the Vango Tempest 200. Does anyone have any observations about these?

Many thanks

i have the vango tempest 200.i think its a good tent with a good sized porch.i always use it on campsites.have used it by sprinkling tarn in wet and windy conditions and it was great.it was my first wild camp up a mountain and i lay there worrying about it blowing away but it did not budge.when i got out in the morning the guylines were still secure in the ground.i would be happy using it in the mountains again,the only thing is my knees were killing me carrying 50lb in my rucksack so i have spent the winter buying lighter stuff including a lighter tent,(robens stardust 1)although i will use it if sharing the load as it weighs 2.9 kg. i think i have 2 good tents and the only tent i would like is the terra nova voyager but i would need to win the lottery first as i dont get much spare cash.the spirit 200 looks nice but at double the price of the tempest,is it worth it? imo its not but i'm no expert.

Me again,

I'm just finishing off this thread in case anyone else finds it helpful.

I finally decided on the Vango spirit 200+ and it's a quality act. I used it for a week in France climbing and the thing stood up to what was thrwon at it. Mind you the middle of summer in France is hardly the the middle of winter in Scotland. Regardless I'd highly recomend the tent. It appears I'm not the only one either as it was voted the best buy (up against everythng from Blacks through to terra novas) and came out on top.

At the end of the day unless I buy every tent and try them all in similar conditions I'll never know if it was the best buy. However as a camper (ooer misses) of over two decades I can honestly say it's been one of the best tents I've had/used.

P.S. If you don't fancy a £200 price tag I'd recomend the Coleman (extremely spacious, extremely tough and a snap at £70), but it's just not as light and as spacious as the Vango.

Thanks for the update John.

Following your example and I'll add my own update.

I went for the Vango TBS Tempest 200. I've used it twice since then and found it to be great. No regrets with my purchase. I even got GoOutdoors to price match the internet and got it for £84 :-))

Not tried it wild camping yet and when I do it will be so infrequent that the 2.6kgs will be bearable.

hi guys thanks for the help!

i had a devil in working out this TBS attachment on the 200+ spirit, no thanks to the lack of instructions from vango, but alls well that ends well. after a few emails to some of you on here it was worked out.
this is a top tent, and has seen both a good soaking and a good strong easterly gale, so two thumbs up for this one, and got it for a steal on ebay!

Im going to add to this thread too incase anyone sees it....

I have a vango tempest 200 for wildcamping and think its fantastic especailly for the £69 i paid for it.

Its very stable and easy to erect and for the cash i cant see there being anything better.

I also have a vango equinox 350 for campsite camping which is a lot bigger but is absolutely fantastic for those occasions when you dont have to carry the tent.

Just to add my bit .....

I ended getting the Coleman Epsilon 2, and for one man its excellent - would be a bit cramped for two though.

It's stood up to strong winds with approx 70mph gusts, heavy rain and a bit of hail thrown in, and it took it all with no leaks or re-adjustment needed. Well worth the £69.