New Tent

[cotterless45]

Nice, just bought a canopy for the 2010 Icarus 500 from fleabay. This'll make an extension capable of holding the beer supply at least.

[Stephen]

Thanks for the input all, definitely set on the Icarus

Carpet and footprint are a yes, the canopy can wait.

Just got to wait for the end of the month now, I notice though two retailers I had been watching have already sold out of the 2011 models though!

Fingers crossed

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Stephen,

I called into my local outdoor shop, Complete Outdoors in Hemel Hempstead yesterday. They have Vango Icarus tents.

http://www.completeoutdoors.co.uk/Family-Tents/4-Man-Tents/

They have an Icarus erected outside.

My main observations are:

More than adequate space for one or two people;

The external material is lightweight;

The groundsheet is sown in, good point, but is flimsy;

The guidelines are an orange colour, not that visible in the dark from experience!!;

The bedrooms are fine, but the inner material hits the external walls too easily;

The tent flexes a lot in a mild breeze, the tent poles are very narrow, could be that the tent was not properly tensioned, as the shop takes the tent down every evening;

In heavy rain the tent will need to be kept shut, otherwise the inside could get wet;

The ventilation appears to be non-existent or not in the same league as Outwell tents;

A good footprint will be essential to help protect the groundsheet and extend the life of the tent;

A carpet will improve cosiest of the tent!!!

All said and done it is still good value for money.

Cheers

Adrian

[Stephen]

That's pretty comprehensive, thanks Adrian

[Stu]

One of the benefits of the Tigris is the little porch over the side door. Means that you can use the door in the rain without the inside of the tent getting wet.

Stu

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Stephen,

I agree with Stu, the porch on the Tigris 400 makes a big difference on rainy days. Secondly, Mike (Demon Barber) has just bought a new Tirgis which he will be pitching for the first time next Thursday at Cumbria SP 6.

I will be able after that to give an update on the tent, especially its suitability for star parties.

It looks on the photos to be similiar in appearance with a Outwell Trout Farm 4. Major difference is the price, the Outwell is 3 to 4 times more expensive!!!

Cheers

Adrian

[Stephen]

It's a nice feature certainly, I'm not sure if I want to pay that much more (I've already pushed budgets up a lot) for the sake of the door though. It also appears to be much more severe on the downward slope front and back of the tent, I see that as reducing useable space inside?

I could well be wrong, only so much I can glean from images. Will look forward to hearing about the Tigris being used in anger

[Stu]

Hard too tell without seeing them both together. Tigris has 2.00 m internal height which is nice.

Sure either would be fine. Windows at front of the Icarus are nice for letting some light in when closed

Stu

[Jamie]

This looks like a great deal..

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/lichfield-arisaig-5-tent-783229

[Polar Bear]

Just to cast some doubt in your mind and maybe a re-think, this was purchased for £100.00 on ebay + £15.00 in petrol to pick up.

It had been used 3 times and the new cost was £900.00 with the awning (£179.00 extra)

This Cabanon Latitude is by far the best tent I have ever had, suffers no condensation, stands up to gale force 8 winds and is a conversation piece with everyone who sees it on site.

Tents like this enhance the camping experience, and last a lifetime.

It only has 4 guy ropes and these are only needed as a 'belt and braces' feature in case it is windy.

Paul

ps. this is a great site for stargazing http://www.serenitycaravanpark.co.uk/website/

[Polar Bear]

whoops....

Paul

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Stephen,

I have seen a Vango Tigris 600 (2011 model) at Cumbria SP.

It is a big tent, with tons of space for two or three people.

It is made of lightweight material, this gives it advantages and disadvantages,

The advantages...

The complete tent fits into one bag and can be carried by one person;

It is easy to erect, the tension straps are inside the tent;

It is light inside.....

It appears reasonably stable in a light/medium breeze;

It has plenty of space to store as much astro gear that you could fit in a car!!

The disadvantages...

I would like to see more ventilation especially on hot days and we had 5 really hot days in Cumbria!!;

Difficult to see the screen on laptops and mobile phones;

It does not offer adequate protection from the sun on really warm days, even with three doors open, it is too hot to sit in;

On Sunday around mid-day, when a petrol cigarette lighter stored in a plastic box exploded.... bits of plastic sent flying in all directions.

The other polyester tents all suffer the same in extreme heat, plus as most star parties are from September through to end of April, I doubt the over heating tent would be a problem!!! (as a good number of threads on SGL are about heating a tent at star parties).

On the whole it looks like a good value tent for the price.

See http://www.tauntonleisure.com/vango-tigris-600-tent-true-navy-2011/p6998?source=froogle&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=comparison_shopping_feeds&utm_nooverride=1&gclid=CKPMs9X8qrACFcwNtAodoFNvTw

That is best best price I have seen for this tent.

I heard you asking how did the other stargazers survive the heat...

Answer:

They either found shade in the barn or came and sat in my Outwell Trout Farm polycotton tent... with just two doors open it was nice and cool.

Laptop screens are also easily visible in my tent.

Drinking cold beers, orange and tonic water drinks also helped us to keep cool.

My best advice is to determine the time of the year you plan to use the tent,

how much protection you feel you require from the elements, how many people will be camping, how much astro gear needs to be stored in the tent overnight, and how much space for the tent will be available in the car.... roof rack?

and finally, try and see one erected as that is the best way to feel if it is right for your needs.

I feel that I get the most out of star parties when I am comfortable and well fed....... the odd whiskey or three helps

Best of Luck!!!

Adrian

[Stephen]

Thanks for all the information Adrian, it's very much appreciated.

I've just found a deal that was too good to resist ...

https://www.fieldandtrek.com

Icarus 500 (2012) @ 179.99 .... with FREE canopy!!!

Couldn't resist pressing the button Comical pics of me attempting to put the tent up to follow ...

Now just to ferret out the cheapest place for the footprint / carpet ...

[Viv]

Good find !!

That front canopy is £100 on it's own !

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Stephen,

Would love to see those pics!!

The Icarus is very similar to the Tigris,,,, both are stand-upable in.

That's a great deal you got..............

Yes, a footprint and carpet will make a big difference to the comfort and lifetime of the tent.

Hope to meet up at a star party later in the year.... Cumbria or Galloway...

both of which are super friendly and have great craick....

Hope you manage to extricate yourself from the tent!!!!

Cheers

Adrian

[Stephen]

After two weeks of staring at it, I finally commandeered my parents garden to have a play with the tent Sadly I didn't feel the conditions were reasonable to test out the canopy (quite clear warning about gusts/shelter) so we'll probably investigate that one in the field

The battle field ...

The footprint (definitely a good idea) ...

Poles through (that wasn't too hard) ...

And up! (OK so not all the pegs were in, nor the guy ropes) ...

Inner fitted ...

Only problem I'm left with, is how to fit this back into the bag it came in?

[JamesF]

Getting tents back into the bag they came in does seem to require a bit of planning

By coincidence my wife put up our new tent for the first time today (she has to do it because she'll be using it for taking the kids away over the summer holidays when I'm still working). It's a Vango Infinity inflatable tent. Just have to hope it doesn't blow away now...

James

[Viv]

Nice big garden for a try out !!

The repack is interesting ...... Good luck

[BUSMANMARK]

Hi stephen,i have just baught a new tent,its the gelert saturn 4 also known as the vector 4 put it up in the garden last night it has a sewn in ground sheet sleeping area at each end and quite a large living area between,as i camp on my own i intend to just put one of the sleeping pods up so giving me a larger area for table chair cooker and of course my scope its quie easy to put up on your own about 30 mins its £99.00 from argos oh yes im 5 10 and can stand up in it ok.