 OK. Just read a few reviews on a Tent I bought last year (Vango ultraight 200). I have only used it a couple of times in decent conditions and it seemed ok to me. These reviews say I am going to nearly drown or at very least wake up damp every morning. One person even likened it to waking up in a soggy crisp packet - GREAT!!!!
I am walking the GR10 in aid of charity, starting June and taking somewhere between 40 and 50 days going all the way (so to speak) not just doing sections here and there. The idea was so biv and wild camp where possible, to make the whole thing more interesting as well as keeping costs down.
I thought my Ultralight 200 would be perfect for this, weighing in at 1.300kg but after the reviews I am a little worried, if my sack gets really wet (no puns please) then I will have to stop and get it dry again. Has anyone else used these and are they really that bad!!!
If they are that bad can anyone suggest a decent 1 or 2 man (2 man pref I want a bit of comfort on route!) I have a possibility of a discount with Vango and also 25% off terra nova items as a form of sponsorship relief? The big problem I have is I have spanked most of my budget on new light weight kit and don't have that much to spend any more, so cheaper the better!! Any advice would be gladly welcomed!
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A tent without condensation doesn't excist. As long as you won't get condensation in your innertent and lying on a decent mat or at least your lying on something and not directly on your groundsheet you should be fine. Just pack your bag in a light weight dry pack and then pack your tent. In the after noon when you set up your tent again let it dry first before you settle in your mat and sleeping bag.
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It is a single skin so my inner is my outer!! I am sleeping on a slim airic and will have a biv bag for my sleeping bag if it is pretty bad, to protect it. The biv bag is really for the good nights on route where I don't want or need to set up the tent (nothing like the stars as a blanket!)
When walking I will put my bag in a dry bag. I think I was just after a bit of reassurance after reading the reviews!
Thanks Zuma
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Single skins suffer one big problem, the skin really has to breathe otherwise you get huge condensation build up on the inside. Breathing of a singkle skin tent is automatically hampered by the condens that is also being created on the outside of the skin. The moisture on the outside creates a big seal over your skin which in turn keeps all moiture that's being created in the tent in the tent, so more condensation inside as well. The big build up of condensation in your single wall tent is a nuisance for your bag and floor. If the condesation on the inside doesn't get drained to the outside you'll get a wet bathtub floor along the edges and the moisture even may drip on your bag or you might ly with pieces of your bag in the moisture pudles on the bathtub floor A good breathing bivy will help you to stay dry in your single wall tent . So you have to use that thing as welll in your tent to keep your bag dry. But do ventilate your bag every moment you get a chance just to keep it as dry as possible.
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I know a couple of people who have the 100 model and reckon they're pretty damn good,so much so that I'm thinking about getting one myself.
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Thanks again Zuma!!
I am going to be walking most of so I hope to air as much stuff as possible on my pack, might be a bit hard with the sleeping bag, but we will see!!
One thing is for sure I will be able to give a decent review of this once finished!!
Ta phil - do you know if your mate used it for a long time and had condensation problems?
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.jpg) Bonjour weather permitting keep the front open until time to kip, dont boil or cook in it, especially at supper, open up the front first thing and do all your jobs outside. Really I am saying use it for sleep only. I gave up on mine because I,m always in Scotland and it was useless. I,ve gone back to inner and fly extra weight but at least I can have tea in bed. Cheers
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BonjourVentilation is your friend if you want to minimise condensation, so make use as much as you can of the tail vent as well as keeping the door at least partially rolled up if it is possible. Also try to keep the beak at the other end up. To get the air to move out it has to move in first.Franco
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Thanks everyone, getting some good advice!
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 I walked 10 days of the GR11 last year with a friend who was using a single-skin Tarptent Rainbow and he had no problems. The prevailing weather is a lot warmer and dryer than here in the UK and there is generally a pretty good breeze blowing, which always helps with condensation.
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I have a force10 vitesse which is a single skin ridge tent. It is used it in winter or summer and find I can cope with the condensation. I find that you will get used to it very quickly and it is all about finding a way to use it comfortably. In winter I use a bivvy bag inside the tent, in summer I don't. The bivvy is to help with the condensation should it get bad and for extra warmth. The vitesse has a huge vent at one end and the doors can be left open and tied back all night in all but the heaviestg of rain. That gives a good airflow hence the need for a bivvy bag in colder conditions. You will be in a drier environment I think (no experience of that area) so you should find it ok. In the morning leave it fully open while you cook and do everything outside. It will dry quickly if there is a good ariflow through it. Last summer I had one very wet night (massive thunder storm low down in a farmers field near a river. It was very damp air and it surprised me that I didn't get that wet despite no bivvy. One tip is to have one of those UL micro-fibre towels to wipe the condensation down in the morning if it is bad. That sounds bad doesn't it, but it really isn't as the condendation runs to the edge of the groundsheet and only drips if there is a wind that shakes the flysheet strongly. The other type of tarp tent mentioned above is the Amreican style where the fly is separate to the inner nest or the separate, bath-tub groundsheet. These allow the condensation to run down the fly and outside of the groundsheet and can be drier. They do allow for the wind to blow through more strongly which is good for condensation but not if the weather is really bad and wet. I have had some very wet nights in a two skin tent, much wetter than in my single skin tent despite taking it out in worse conditions. It is all about keeping it as open as possible. Ventilation is key with any type of tent. My advice is to take your single skin and enjoy your trip. Any wet nights will not spoil it and you will work out a way to live with the drawbacks and enjoy the positives. It will have more space for less weight and should be simple to put up too. At least that is the case with my Vitesse which is made by Force10 a sub-brand og Vango. People are too quick to dismiss them but I always get people I am camping with being surprised by how much room such a small tent has inside and how dry it is for a single skin. They talk as if a "single skin tent" is three bad words, but end up being at least slightly impressed. Just point the vents at the wind, leave the door at least slightly open, allow drying time either while you are sorting breakfast / packing up or while getting your dinner at the end of the day and above all enjoy yourself.
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Thanks TIme to go!
Thats good advice and put me a tease!
I do have a biv and can use that inside if it gets really bad, which it might on the first leg of the journey, the Basque country is renowned for very hot days followed by very sudden and huge thunder storms, of the like I have never seen anywhere else!
I shall try and keep as much venting open as possible!
Many thanks
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In that case don't forget the spare tent drying cloth. A quick wipe really helps with the drying process in the morning. You can then dry it easier than your tent on the outside of your pack. If it is really bad you might have to wipe in the early morning once or twice. Also, a quick wipe before you get fully out of your bag helps keep you dry while dressing. I could go on but it will spoil your fun learning to live with your new camping style. I'll be doing that this summer with a tarp. Oh joy, a new toy to play with.
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Could be a good idea to get at a few (4 or 6) long (20cm ) pegs. The Y type are provably the most versatile. (like the MSR Ground Hogs) Try to get your shelter to look as it does on the web site. Limp is not a good set up.Franco
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I have upgraded my pegs to some larger V shape titanium pegs from alpkit - which should hold better that than the tiny (yet very light weight) ones supplied! as for trying to make it look like the pics on the website I can hope ! 
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 The single skin situation has been explained well here.I have Henry Shires Tarptent and if moisture is likely to be concern have pertex bivy ,200gm, which I take as well.Can sleep without worry about my down bag with that ,have experimented with thin polythene cover over bag but as I have light bivvy its not worth hassle.It also adds to warmth.I guess you might get storms on the GR10.
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yeah storms are pretty much standard in the basque country, they are real pearlers as well!, midi get a bit of both and then we get blazing heat to the east, so it's a proper mix up, hence I need to carry all sorts for all conditions! great!
But I think I have had my mind put to rest and some great advice off everyone here -thanks all.
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Well finished my trek last year across the pyrenees and it was very interesting.
I had to say that the Vangoo Ultralight 200 was a 50/50 tent and it totally depended on the conditions.
PLUS:
Stability, stood up amazingly well in storms, the interior tension cords helped.
Light, under 1.4kg and didn't take up much room, being stuffed at the bottom of my sack. Considering this was the 2 man version the one man version would have been even lighter.
Easy pitch, when the weather changed quickly it took a matter of minutes to pitch securely. EVen using the small pegs supplied.
Foot print was small allowing me to pitch up in some remote and unusual places.
DOWNSIDE!
unfortunately I have to say that how well the tent performed boiled down to conditions and if the conditions allowed for the creation of condensation or the proximity of bugs, then you were in for a rough ride.
Being single skin condensation was terrible. I actually used my biv bag on some nights inside the tent to protect my sleeping bag. it has a vented end and top but the main problem is the lack of a mesh around the door. The door is either open or closed. If there are bugs then you have to close the door for fear of being eaten alive and then the condensation gets really bad. When I was able to leave the door fully open, there was little or no problem and on some nights the conditions were so that no condensation formed. However when it did the levels were just un-exceptable.
No porch big downer on this tent, I found I could store my kit outside under the end flap, but having no porch meant that cooking was a no-no in really bad conditions, or you cooked with the door open and slightly outside getting everything damp inside. People say you can cook under the end flap, where there is access from inside, however I do not recommend this, the area is small and didn't feel comfortable with the flames near the tent.
As I mentioned all ready there is no mesh door, a problem when there are plenty of mozzies about, and there were! Sad to have to close the door fully and not get a chance to see some glorious sun sets as you were drifting off, it also played havoc with the condensation. I would have been happier to sacrifice a few more grams for the little luxury of this item.
My companion used the same tent, on my recommendation that it was light, I had no illusions that it would be comfortable, but we wanted to keep kit weight down. I had no technical problems with the tent but at 3am one morning in a storm his main pole snapped leaving the wet tent to collapse on him. Not pleasant and I think this was an unusual and probably rare technical fault. It was easy to fix with duct tape and 2 of the supplied pegs s) and he continued for 3 weeks like that and no more problems!
OVERALL:
The tent is light, but when you can get the Atko (about the same weight but double skinned) or the terra nova tents (which blow most competition out of the water for weight) for a fraction more on price then you have to ask yourself why did go for the Vango?
It was easy to pitch but the overall negative points outweighed the positive and it is surprising when you consider Vango's great reputation for producing good quality tents (force ten series) why do they continue to make and put their name to this poor tent.
I will still use this tent for short hikes and I will check the conditions before going.
Right I am off now to see if I can pick up a cheap terranover or atko!
if anyone wants any advice regarding this tent or indeed about the trek on the GR10 drop me a line.
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 Yep, those were pretty much my thoughts on the Vango Ultralight. Interestingly, as far as I can see, the tent is no longer listed on the Vango web site, they seem to have been replaced by the Helium Superlites which weigh about the same, but are double-skinned with a pitch all as one construction and have a porch...
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really Jon - thats interesting, I might have to go and check it out, if its a similar weight to the ultralight it might make it a decent alternative to the Atko or Terra-nova. I really like the idea of the terra-nova due solely due to the weight, but I don't mind sticking to the 1.4kg mark of the ultralight if the Helium is going to give me more comfort and less condensation.
Oh dear looks like another few weeks of research and picking peoples brains!!
Have you had any experience with any decent light weight tents?
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