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I have, at last, been out in my Outwell Nevada 3; my younger son and I spent a night near Bakewell in the Derbyshire the Peak District.  It meant that I also got to try out the Aztec Canopy 1 Pole (why they don't call it the 1 Pole canopy, I do not know!!) that I bought for just £19 from Outdoor World, Warrington.  Many owners of the new Nevada 3 have quickly realised that it desperately needs a canopy of some sort to prevent rain from getting in the living area, and the two main contenders have been the the Aztec and the Vango Large Sun Canopy.  For what it's worth, here are my findings.

I've helped pitch the Large Vango Sun Canopy a few times as a friend of mine has one to go with his Orchy.  It was a similar experience with the  Aztec.  Both are less easy to position than the extension to my Outwell Minnesota 4 as the Minny's extension has clips that fasten it to the poles on the tent giving a fixed point of contact.  It also helps that the Minny's extension has steel poles therefore its shape is rigid hence there is less fiddling.  But because both the Vango and Aztec canopy have guys that go over the roof and down the sides of the tent, rather than clips that fasten to the tent's poles, there is more messing about trying to get it in the right position; it can be done but it's just more of a faff!

Anyway, my seven-year old and I got everything in position and it looked and worked fine (I will put some photos with my review of the tent).  But when we settled down to bed I discovered that the inner tent (sleeping compartment) was stretched rather tightly by the outer tent and that it was not easy to fasten the zip to the bedroom.  As I lay in my sleeping bag, cursing Outwell's quality control and wondering where I'd put the receipt, it dawned on me that the fault was mine.    The guys of the canopy that went over the top of the tent were squashing it down slightly and so, equally slightly, causing the sides to bulge; it was this that was causing the strain on the inner.

As I thought a little more I realised that this could be less of an issue with the Vango Large Sun Canopy as it has two poles.  With careful positioning of the guys on the Vango canopy (slightly spread-eagle) you could pretty-much make it free-standing.  This would make the tensioning function of the guys going over the roof of the tent less crucial and so they wouldn't need to be as tight and so not push down on the tent.

(Are you with me?  This is very long-winded!!)

To conclude, I don't think that you should discount the Aztec; it is cheaper and you just have to give a little more thought when pitching it.  What I may do is fasten some clips to the afore-mentioned guys and fasten them to the rear pole instead of pegging them down.

I hope this helps.  Don't hesitate to ask any questions for clarification, though it may take a day or two to reply as we having problems with our internet connectivity at the moment.

Glad you got away in the Nevada - have you got any pics of it?

I found the tent a doddle to pitch solo but struggled a bit with the Vango large canopy - managed it in the end! The issue you had with the iner tent - I am assuming the Astec goes right over the tent? With the Vango the edge (with the elastic) just goes over the front pole so does not affect the tension of the inner at all - I found that by using the pegs holding the side guys  as a temporary anchorage point I could fiddle with the canopy till it ws right then peg the side guys out properly. Your idea of attaching clips to the guys sounds like a good plan.

Hi, fostermum.

The Aztec doesn't have the elasticated edge like the Vango does.  I had the roof flap (for want of a better term) going over the middle pole as well as the first; I got the impression that if I had taken it further forward the gaps at the side would have been too large.  I'll check that again, however, on Friday I just did what I advise everyone on this forum not to do....pitched it for the first time when actually camping.

Quote: Originally posted by Former Scout on 06/9/2009

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........... on Friday I just did what I advise everyone on this forum not to do....pitched it for the first time when actually camping.

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Thanks for posting the link to the pic - looks great - much better match than the Vango black one I have

I see what you mean by the back guy though going across the bedroom pod - it might be worth you having it further forward though as you said you might end up with very big side gaps. Or would a central clingon with an extra guy taken right across the back work? I'm sure you'll solve it with a bit of trial & error. Just re read your original post and the idea if clipping it to the rear poles sounds a good one - perhaps a combination of that plus an extra guy for stability might be the way forward?

edited to add -

Great review btw - I love your opening sentence - my sentiments entirely!!

Hi Former Scout

Thanks for the feedback on the Nevada 3 with the Aztec canopy and also the photos.  I've just returned from my first camping trip with my Nevada 3 and Aztec canopy from a very wet and windy Cornwall - that was a baptism of fire!  A very exposed site, but the Nevada 3 stood up to the wind and rain brilliantly.

I love my Nevada 3 and it worked great for 2 of us for 5 days, and we could easily manage longer.  We only put the canopy up for one night as the wind was horrendous.  It was great to see your photo as I can see how to pitch it correctly and yours looks pretty much the same as we did.  We had no idea how far back it was meant to go, but we also had the top just going over the 2nd pole and this seemed to work fine.

Thanks very much for the feedback.