Terra Nova Voyager Superlite Tested

The clue's in the name - this is a super-lightweight tent for outings where weight matters. It's a new model from Terra Nova and it trims down the existing Voyager tent (which has also lost a few grams in this year's updated edition). That doesn't put it in the Laser class of minimalism though. This is more of a half-way house between the world of extreme lightweight tents, with their reduced comfort and stability, and the solid, roomy, but rather heavy Quasar tents.

The Voyager Superlite can be carried by a single person with ease, on multi-day expeditions, but can also sleep two people. The low weight - a mere 1.85kg when packed - doesn't cost you too much in terms of comfort. This isn't a minimalist adventure racer's shelter with the canvas hovering millimetres above your nose. There's plenty of space for two people and the stability of the geodesic three pole structure. OK, so it's only a three-season tent, but that really is three seasons, and they aren't cramped, claustrophobic seasons either.

The Superlite lops 350g off the standard Voyager tent with the help of several design tweaks. For one thing, the Voyager's fly and groundsheets are thinner in the Superlite version, and the seams aren't taped. Mesh panels in the door and the back of the inner also keep the weight down. The disadvantage here is that the tent won't stay as warm in chilly conditions but the pay-off is better ventilation when it heats up again.

More radically, the designers have done away with pole sleeves in the Voyager Superlite and replaced them with clips all the way along. This preserves the distance between inner and outer, and reduces condensation, while saving weight at the same time.

Finally, the poles and pegs themselves are of the featherweight variety. More on that later ...

The Voyager Superlite reminds us of The North Face Tadpole, which we've been using for a while now, but it's slightly roomier for the weight. We wondered what the pay-off would be, but couldn't find much to quarrel with.

It's billed as a three-season tent so we tested it very definitely in the third of those three seasons. The weather wasn't that cold, but blustery is an understatement. In fact, we wondered if our tent, a few branches, and perhaps a bus or two, was going to come crashing down around us... OK, so it wasn't quite that bad (and there weren't any buses in the vicinity) but still, it was pretty gusty. The Superlite didn't seem to mind though. The three pole design gives plenty of stability, and in the morning the damage was a good fat zero.

Pitching the tent was no trouble either. The inner goes up first and then the outer clips around it, so you wouldn't want to pitch in heavy rain. This isn't unusual for a mountain tent, as it means the inner, outer and poles are all working together to give stability, rather than stability coming from the outer and poles alone. Besides, a few minutes' clipping and pegging gets everything ship-shape - not literally of course - so you only need a short let-up in the weather to be all set. Unless you're a complete beginner to camping, you won't be needing instructions along the way.

As we put all the pieces together we were a bit concerned at the weight of some of the materials. The outer was so light it felt a bit like crinkly paper to the touch, but we didn't have any trouble with the strength. Durability's hard to comment on after a single test, but we've no reason to suspect it won't last.

The titanium pegs were just as minimalist, and just as functional. Terra Nova tell us proudly that each peg weighs only 5.5g, which was a bit hard to believe until we picked one up. We then discovered that they feel like gran's knitting needles, but half the length. By comparison, we suddenly realised that our biro was heavier than we thought ... That said, they didn't seem overly keen to bend on us as we drove them into the ground and they certainly held the tent in place in pretty rough conditions.

We had plenty of space for the night, and the pack also spent a cosy night in the inner part of the tent. That was while camping alone though. Would it be roomy enough for two people? Yes, we'd say so. The inner wouldn't be cramped with two people lying in it and the only place where things might get a bit tight is the porch. Your pack needs to get on well with your mate's pack, and you'd both need a bit of dexterity when entering or exiting the tent with both in the porch. We reckon it's worth it for the weight saving though.

There's a lot of attention to detail in this tent, to make sure that every possible gram has been stripped away. The outer feels like tracing paper and you need to pick up a few pegs at once to notice them, but neither was lacking when it came to keeping the tent in place in high winds. It's also easy to erect, and there's enough space for two people to be comfortable. All in all, it's a good option for anyone who's off camping and doesn't want too heavy a pack, but doesn't want to really rough it either.

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