Hi Folks,
Just camped for the first time in our brand new Vango Idaho 400 and thought i would post a few comments which might help people who were considering this tent.
It is excellent quality for the money (just under £100) as you might expect from vango. The SIG is robust and although we used a rug over it to help protect it it seemed fairly solid. Size wise it is very comfortable for two in both the sleeping and living areas. The sleeping area comes with a fabric dividing curtain that can be removed if not needed and this is supposed to split the compartment into two 2 person areas, But in reality (as with all tents) you would be hard pushed to get 3 people in it let alone 4. Would probably be ok for a couple and one child, although to get a double airbed in means the curtain being pushed over a bit.
The living area is full height (190cm) and spacious with two good sized doors, one at each side of the living area and a largeish window at the front. One of the doors has a zip at each side and unzips upwards to be secured at the top while the other one is a single zip door which zips 3/4 of the way around and folds back sideways (if that makes any sense). The inner sleeping area has its own SIG in additon to the SIG for the whole outer tent so double protection against bugs.
Putting it up was a piece of cake and had it not been for the fact that one of the poles had a broken shock-cord (brand new and straight out of the bag) it would have taken about 20-25 mins which is pretty good for the first time; would hope to get that down to about 15 mins with a good pole. Nice sturdy design as long as the guy ropes are pegged out well. They have a slightly odd design in that they are atached to the top and bottom of the pole sleeves; bit confusing at first but once you work it out it is a really good design. One tip, make sure you peg out the window and ventilation flaps properly, especially the one that sits above the sleeping area. I didn't bother, thinking it wouldn't make a lot of difference and we ended up with a few drips coming into the sleeping area from where the dew had collected in the flap. The same thing happened with the window although this wasn't so bad as it only came into the living area. Will know for next time! We had a bit of rain one night and didn't get any leaks.
Couple of small bugbears with the tent. The SIG continues along by the bottom of the doors but even with considerable pulling and repositioning of the tent we could not get the SIG tight enough to close the big gap between the door and the top of the SIG which left a big gap for flying things (and possible small animals) to get it. perhaps a couple of bits of velcro to hold the door against the flap might be a useful addition. There was no replacement shock-cord supplied, although you do get a spare guy rope (why would that be so essential!) and a repair kit for the SIG. This perhaps wouldn't be such a problem for people without a broken pole!
All in all this tent represents good value for money and provides a good level of sleeping and living accommodation for two and possibly three people for long weekends or perhaps weeks away. It might prove a tad too small for any longer than that.
Cheers, John
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All differences equal, systems for people - Not the other way around.
(Robb Johnson)
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Topic: Vango Idaho 400 - field report
It's good to hear that it was easy to erect (apart from the pole problem!!) because I bought it as a quick weekend getaway and needed something quick and easy. Will have a look at the sig/door situation when I get as I have some of those sticky velcro pads which I might be able to use.
