We're just back from yet another outdoors trade show - is there no
end to them? - this time down near Coventry and the thing that made
the deepest impression on us was a new ultra-lightweight tent from
Scottish brand Vango.
The Ultralite 100 pictured isn't due out until early 2007,
but we reckon it looks like an ideal lightweight starter tent for
those who've been havering on the brink of going ultralight, but have
been put off by the expense.
It's a single-skin, one-person tent that weighs in at a claimed
900 grammes and will cost £130. It looks pretty carefully
thought through as well with a neat tent-top venting system topped by
its own short cross pole obviously aimed at keeping condensation
down.
There's a central transverse hoop - reinforced with a lightweight
version of Vango's tension band system - supplemented by two short
vertical end poles to keep internal space as useable as possible.
Keeping the weight down on a relative budget means that there's no
porch, which may put off some potential buyers, but if you look at it
as a more useable alternative to either a bivvy bag or a tarp, you'll
be close the mark.
It looks nice too, the tent at the show was a neat limey green
shade which coordinates with Vango's matching Ultralite packs and
sleeping bags.
Like we said, not out until early 2007, but our gut feeling is
that Vango is on to a winner here. And, well, it actually looks
sweet, if you see what we're saying. There's also going to be a two-person version weighing around 1300 grammes, more about that soon.
More about the current Vango range of tents and equipment at
www.vango.co.uk
