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Hi folks, we have just spent a week in our  new Breckenridge so I thought I would let all of you know how we got on. Well, unfortunately for Vango it was not an experience I fancy re-living. Too simplify, I will list the problems we encountered, then anybody who wants to know more, can ask:

1. Not easy to pitch, unable to get square so there was always a couple of flappy panels.

2. Unable to apply much tension to some of the lines as they clip onto the poles and pull off if you try to tighten them too much (this also happens in the wind)

3. The arch/roof poles are shaped at the joints, which in the wind become wedged so they are very difficult to pull apart when taking the tent down.

4. The ends of the window poles rub against the tent in strong winds because the plastic cap simply falls off. Which long term I can see serious issues with, this also happens everytime you try to fold them down to block the vents. The rear ones simply dont stay down in the wind so you have no way stopping the wind blowing rain through the vents into the sleeping pods.

5. The groundsheet seems to small for the tent. No matter how we tried to reposition it, the inner pods pull the groundsheet up off the floor at a really nasty angle + the adjusters on the top were at the longest setting and still to short which meant the pod hung in a funny position.

6. Water gathers on the top window on the roof which is fine if you are around and can push it up to get the water off, but we went out for the day, came back and it had totally filled up, and had drooped a fair amount. In fairness it didnt seem to do any damage, but it cant be good for the stitching and just shouldnt happen in my mind.

7. It leaked beyond what I would expect around the porch joint, which meant if it was raining you couldn't have the door open unless you put a beach towel on the floor. But more worrying was that it leaked badly through the groundsheet joints where it looks like thay have tried to reinforce it for the pole rings on the outside. At the end of the trip, in one corner under the sleeping pod it was over half an inch deep in water. (The display tent where we got it from, also suffered the same problem we discovered when we took ours back today)

8. A small gripe but damn annoying. Just outside the door is a strap which obviously holds the two sides of the porch in the correct place. Well it was like a trip wire, especially for the kids. Not a big deal, but still an issue to me, especially if an adult tripped and went falling through the tent.

On the positive, it served our needs. It is big and flexible, as all the pods are idependent and detachable. Having 3 doors was usefull for ventillation. It looks cool and quite a few people asked how we were getting on with it etc. The Large Vango canopy extented the tent massively which was great, but as soon as the wind picked up it wouldn't stay in place so this could also be viewed as a negative.

Well thats about it. Anybody need anymore detail or any questions answered, just give me a shout.

Nick

ps....sorry for any spelling errors or poor English !!!

Hi Nick,

We got ourselves one of these for this season and have to say we were very pleased.  Are you sure there isn't something wrong with it as ours was very easy to pitch and I mean super easy 25 minutes for first pitch and it was sooooo easy to get true and square with good tension and not a ripple in the fly sheet.

We used it for 3 weeks in the north of Scotland and didn't have any leaks at all and the rubber stoppers on the window poles didn't fall off in the worst weather.

Vango is renowned for it's customer service and if I had the problems you describe I would consider I had a faulty tent and would see my retailer about dealing with it.  It is a new model for this year so I'm sure there will problems with some.  Luckily ours has been great and we are relly impressed.

Hi...........well Im glad yours is great, but the faults that I found with it im sure are not specific to the tent. 25 mins for the first pitch, dont mean to offend but Vango themselves dont quote those figures.

Anyway I'm very please for you, I personally think the tent is poor for £380.00

Regards

You weren`t on a slope or uneven pitch, by any chance? It does sound like one thing went wrong or was wrong right at the start, then you had an avalanche of subsequent problems leading on from this. Usually there`s enough adjustment in the ring and pin tension straps to allow for uneven ground and let the tent sit square....is this not the case for this tent?

Most add-on canopies should be taken down in strong wind, btw. Not a problem exclusive to Vango, alas.

It was on a slight slope but nothing more than you would find on most sites. In my mind, slope or no slope, it shouldnt have leaked the amount that it did and from as many places as it did. No point in having a tent which has to be put on a perfect pitch everytime to stop it leaking !!

In my opinion that is, others may disagree or be happy getting wet.......lol

Quote: Originally posted by tinbum on 18/8/2007

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8. A small gripe but damn annoying. Just outside the door is a strap which obviously holds the two sides of the porch in the correct place. Well it was like a trip wire, especially for the kids. Not a big deal, but still an issue to me, especially if an adult tripped and went falling through the tent.

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Most tents have these (my tent included), to stop them being a trip hazard you would normally peg them down..... using the grounsheets pegs which have a flat ring on the top (so the peg doesn't stick up, they lay flat, level with ground) infact some tents have straps with eye ringlets to peg through them.

If your new tent leaks and it is pitched properly it is faulty,  if my Breckenridge had leaked I would speak to my retailer and if they weren't helpful I would speak to Vango.

You are right a tent of this price and from a very reputable manufaturer should not leak at all.  So you should probably deal with it rather than be unhappy with such a large purchase, which I have to say made our holiday with the space, stability and ease of erection (oh errr!)

Good luck anyway hope you manage to sort something out and enjoy your tent!

Quote: Originally posted by davedb on 21/8/2007

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You are right a tent of this price and from a very reputable manufaturer should not leak at all.  So you should probably deal with it rather than be unhappy with such a large purchase, which I have to say made our holiday with the space, stability and ease of erection (oh errr!)

 

I have done something about it, it is back with the place I bought it from along with photo's of the leaks. Trust me, the leaks we have had nothing to do with how it was pitched, it was leaking from the joints on the groundsheet. I may be wrong, but my supplier didnt seem to disagree with me !!

Quote: Originally posted by davedb on 18/8/2007

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Hi Nick,

We got ourselves one of these for this season and have to say we were very pleased.  Are you sure there isn't something wrong with it as ours was very easy to pitch and I mean super easy 25 minutes for first pitch and it was sooooo easy to get true and square with good tension and not a ripple in the fly sheet.

We used it for 3 weeks in the north of Scotland and didn't have any leaks at all and the rubber stoppers on the window poles didn't fall off in the worst weather.

Vango is renowned for it's customer service and if I had the problems you describe I would consider I had a faulty tent and would see my retailer about dealing with it.  It is a new model for this year so I'm sure there will problems with some.  Luckily ours has been great and we are relly impressed.

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We had similar experiences with a Breckenridge 400 last year:

Groundsheet leaked at one of the reinforcing corners. Seam leakage along back of tent (water dripping into bedrooms - not condensation), from roof window, round one end door and a raging torrent round the front window.

Bedroom pods did lift the groundsheet a little, but not too bad.  Pitching wise we managed reasonable tension but there was usually a slightly flappy corner.

Rubber end caps on windows also continually falling off!

Footprint was too small by about 40cm!

Due to the excessive leakage we got a replacement...but that had holes in canvas and we never got to find out if it leaked at the seams 'cause that one went back before it had ever seen any rain!

But a great layout.

Thank you Wombat, Somebody else that has experienced my problems. Funnily enough, since posting my review, a friend of a friend bought a Vango Vail. They too have taken it back with leaking problems and just general poor quality.

It seems that Vango have fallen into the same trap as most industry today. They charge the earth for what really is a load of crap, and if you ask me that fact that they take them back without argument has nothing to do with the company being great at customer service, but more to do with them knowing that their product is crap. The shop we bought ours from didnt even question me, just said yep the photos confirm it, he didnt even want to test it...he also said he wouldnt offer me a replacement as he thought it might be a problem with all of them as the display model showed similar signs of leaking.

Now people can question how I pitched it etc or say the pitch was not level but I'm telling you it was nothing to do with that. Im in my 30's and have camped all my life, I know how to pitch a tent. The two tents I have mentioned have serious design faults if you ask me and I will never be buying a Vango product again..having said that I havent seen the new range which I have heard are good, but we bough a  Cabanon in the end, hoping its a case of you get what you pay for.

Regards

Hi Tinbum, do you mind if we add your review of this tent to here please, so that all can see?

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/preview.asp?id=9

Cheers  Ratty

Are there any more experiences with the Breakenridge? We exchanged our potentially faulty Killington 900 last summer for one of these and havn't used it yet (plan too soon). Hope we havn't bought a lemon!! I see Vango don't list it as a current model on there website and most retailers have it discounted - I thought it was a new model last year?

Is anyone aware of a recall or any issues?

Thanks,

Mark.