I have just used this tent in a very wet Torquay and found it to be very leaky. I'm not sure if it was from the rain or from condensation. The water was virtually pouring in (well, maybe I am exaggerating, but it was a lot)through the roof in the living area. I found I couldn't sit in there or store anything in there. Also everytime I opened the door (side one) rain/water poured in from the top of the door onto the ground sheet. Luckily I had put a breathable groundsheet over the tent one and this mopped up a lot of the water. If I had not had this the tent would have been full of puddles. I bought this tent as a weekend tent after much research and excellent reviews on this site and I am trying hard to like it but am disappointed, if I'm honest. I camped in the peak district a few weeks again in storms and felt very vulnerable in the winds. A VV500 in the field blew down. We put extra guy ropes and tent withstood conditions. That was the first time I had used it and I was still positive about the tent as most tents suffered that weekend. After this week though I am thinking that perhaps I bought the wrong tent. Any suggestions because I do want to love this tent. On a more positive note the bedroom area which I had to myself stayed dry and cosy but I had nowhere to cook etc........I was with tin tenters and they did all the cooking. How smug where they????!!!!!
We have a Vango Colorado 500 (dont think its the same) and have had no similar problems although it is a 3000HH. We were in Scotland a few weeks ago and we had 1 wet and windy night but it stood firm.
2000HH is only the industry minimun standard. 3000HH is the norm now - Outwell are 5000HH. However it does look like you have a faulty one. I'd take it back and change it, preferably for an Outwell, if you can.
The breathable groundsheet that "mopped up" the rainwater coming in from the open door probably didn't help with the condensation as then you had a sponge on the floor of your tent which would have made sure that when it got warm inside you had more condensation to drip back on your head!
You are going to get condensation in any tent when the weather is bad.
It could have been the groundsheet, I didn't think of that. We did get some condensation in the Peak District storms but not half as bad. That time we used the breathable groundsheet in the bedroom. The main area groundsheet got very wet and muddy which is why I thought it would be a good idea to use the breathable this time. Actually it dried quite quickly and made the tent much cosier and was better than the puddles I had last time. I appreciate there will always be condensation but have never found it to be a problem in my outwell tent and have had pretty bad weather in that one as well although have not used breathable groudsheet in it.
I had a similar problem in my VV500 last weekend in the peak district. Terrible condensation - but I put this down to wet dogs and having to keep the doors shut due to awful weather. Didn't have a condensation problem with it the first time I used it. I also have a breathable groundsheet in mine too, which I do intend to change to picnic rugs simply because it does get very very wet between the two layers.
My vw 500 was full of condensation one morning last month.I had pitched on a very damp area and also had a heater on in the living area .I think this dried out the ground .it then settled on the cold roof causing condensation .probably more ventilation could be the answer.
Wet items inside tent create condensation. If you had a soggy breathable groundsheet inside that "dried quite quickly", where else could the water vapour go except to condense on the inside of the flysheet? If it`s raining outside, the air is already saturated, and the flysheet cold.
The basic rules for reducing condensation are to ventilate as much as possible, keep wet items out of the tent and to not boil kettles etc. A zipped down tent with a soggy groundsheet on a rainy night gives perfect conditions for a great deal of condensation, sorry. It would happen in any tent. Just be grateful there was just you...the condensation would have been worse with three or four of you breathing away inside!
The trick to not having water pour into the tent when you open a side door is to thwack the inside a couple of times before you open it, btw.
I bought this tent this summer but have'nt had the time to use it yet, i also bought it based on favourable reviews, this is the only negative thing i have read about this tent i'm a bit worried about it's suitability now
Thanks for your replies. I feel reassured now and think the problem was due to the breathable ground sheet and also the weather conditions. I did use a fan heater as well but only for about 10 mins each night so that probably compounded the problem. The condensation didn't spoil my holiday and the tent was lovely, warm and snug all night. Realistically if you go camping in October in Britain you have to expect some bad weather and the problems associated with it. I have just put the tent up in the garden to dry out properly as it has been opened out in the garage until now and I am trying to figure out a way that I can squeeze in some more camping before winter. It doesn't look likely unless I sleep in the garden as I have to work weekends. On nights this weekend and am meant to be trying to sleep. I think you will like the tent max250 so don't worry. Good job we can get advice on here to sort out any 'novice' problems.
Okay i'll try not to worry untill next summer so i can try it out and see if i get soaked or not, i'm not brave enough to go camping past september hotel time for me after that