Product

Vango Helium Carbon 100 Force Ten Tent

Promise

Super lightweight one man tent for anyone wanting to travel light

Performance

We reviewed this tent on a recent three day cycling trip around the Isle of Wight. Our aim was to travel as light as possible so we needed a super lightweight one man tent that would be barely noticeable on the bike. Carbon X-Lite poles, Dyneema guyline ropes, super lightweight fabric and titanium pegs helps keep the whole package at around 800g. Once in the bag you are looking at a pack size 36 x Ø9cm which is easily stored in a pannier or lightweight rucksack.

Assembly is incredibly simple. Once you have the carbon poles inserted, the guyline ropes on and the titanium pegs in, it’s simply a case of applying the required tension using Vango’s own TBS® Pro Tension System.

Onto the construction. The tent consists of a 3000HH nylon outer shell, a 5000HH groundsheet  and a 28gsm nylon inner tent which is easily attached once the outer shell is up. We encountered at least one torrential downpour during the night and the 3000HH outer shell ensured there was no chance of water getting in.

It’s a great looking tent when erected and rock solid due to the low profile design. Inside there was enough room to move comfortably, despite being 6ft 1” tall. The porch area isn’t huge but the benefit of the compact pack size is the obvious compromise.

Verdict

There isn’t much to fault with this versatile one manner. It’s not the cheapest on the market (the Vango Force 10 Helium 100 is a superb alternative if you are on a budget). However, if you want a top of the range, super lightweight tent you’d be hard pressed to find a better product at this price.