Vango Icarus 500 Tent Reviews and Details Page 17

Tent Reviews: Vango Icarus 500

Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Vango > Icarus 500 Reviews

Current Model?
Berths:
Weight:
RRP on date added:
Bedroom inners:
Living area groundsheet:
Pitching Style:

Discontinued
5 (more 5 berth tents)
10.20 KG
Ł150.00
1
Fully Sewn-in
In one

Average User Rating:

8.4/10 from 245 reviews

Viewed: 485698 times

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245 Reviews of the Icarus 500 Showing 161 to 170 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

By: Chilledgibbo Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 6 from 10

We bought this tent, with the footprint, canopy and carpet in the spring and first used it to camp in Scotland for 7 nights and we have since used it to camp for 11 nights in South Wales.

The best point is the space you get in a relatively compact tent which is easy to erect and take down. The canopy is a real bonus providing essentially that 'middle' space which is very handy for getting in and out of the tent in wet weather whilst letting no rain in through the door. I also found the canopy to be strong in fairly windy conditions.

I do have negative points however, and they revolve round the build quality. The inner tent lining is very thin: three inches have broken away from the stitching at the seams of one inner door, whilst there are other lengths that are threatening to break off and create new holes. This may well be due to some slight overtightening, but I would have thought that the possibility of this happening would be designed into the tent with some reinforcement.

The main door of the tent is fine when the canopy is up, but no doubt could be better sealed with extra velcro for when the canopy isn't there.

On the canopy itself, the anchor straps for the guy ropes at the front pole sleeve are located at the rear, instead of the front of the sleeve, so it effectively needs to wrap around the pole sleeve when being tensioned which feels completely wrong. This also twists the pole sleeve. I'm not sure whether this is a common design fault with the canopy or a one-off pint-fuelled Friday afternoon oversight in the factory.

The groundsheet footprint is useful, but why is it actually smaller than the groundsheet for the tent? This means that I've still managed to get the tent soiled with mud when putting it away. Unless the pegs are inserted well enough into the ground they could well pierce the groundsheet of the tent itself. The foot print also only has a lug for pegs at each corner, which is ok for flat pitching, but even on the slightest slope, evidence of the lugs straining the fabric of the tarpaulin have appeared and I expect soon that they could break soon if pitching on a sloping site is unavoidable.

Having a footprint which is the right size, with adequate peg lugs for reinforcement, lined up with the location for pegs to pitch the tent would at least give you a good idea that the tent has gone up straight and true and is tensioned right. At present, there doesn't seem to be much logic in its smaller size.

Overall the tent is hugely practical. Its just a shame that these issues have spoiled the experience. Otherwise I would have given the tent and accessories bundle a healthy 10.

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By: Helen04 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

Easy to pitch in about 20 minutes. In fact my husband did this on his own on the first use as me and the kids went to queue for chips at the van! The bedrooms in reality will only sleep 4 if you use 2 double airbeds. There are a good amount of storage pockets inside. We like the option of having a side opening door as well as the front door. The side door is great in the mornings to aid airing and drying of condensation. We have also purchased the canopy for this tent to give us an area to sit out in even when it rains plus we use it for storage of the cooker and table. I like the ability to 'open' the window from inside as other tents we have this is done on the outside. Easy to take down and fits in the bag with room to spare for any ground sheet you wish to use. I didn't score it 10 due to the bedroom space and the fact that without canopy it would be a tight squeeze for 4 chairs a table and your belongings if you needed to sit inside on rainy days/nights

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By: Peter ks Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

Great tent very roomy easy to erect in under 20 mins lots of storage pockets windows and vents. The only bad point is the flapping front door as many others have commented on. We use the tent most weekends in the summer and have found it to be very rugged .

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By: Lindyloo116 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

I bought this tent from Outdoor Megastore online (brilliant free delivery and service) and with a friend put it up on our school field in 40 mins reading instructions as we went. My only previous experience of camping was 30 years ago with a heavy canvas ridge tent and heavy poles. By contrast when we put Icarus 500 up last weekend at Cropredy festival it took 22mins exactly. The steward in the field came over to congratulate us on having a great tent; quickly erected!

There's so much room inside and the fact that storage pockets and curtained bedroom areas are ready fixed made it a doddle and so user friendly.The weather was foul all weekend but the tent was fine. Great to stand up and walk from one end to the other without stooping. That was a key reason for choosing this tent over others. Room to have the kitchen storage unit, calor gas double burner table and set of 4 plastic drawers of food as well as 2 fold up chairs and food box etc. Plenty of room for double blow up airbed in either side of bedroom divide. Great for us 2, ok for 4 but 5? We did remark that you could easily sleep 2 more in the living area though if you kept bags in the car or our quick pitch Gelert.

I did buy the canopy but didn't use it this first outing. So easy to erect with just 3 hooped identical poles.Can't wait to go out again.

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By: Ritchie rich Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 4 from 10

Poorest tent for manufacturing quality I have ever had the misfortune to own, scorch marks where heat as been by it in the factory dirty footmarks on the inner tent looks like seams were sewn by a 10 year old, frayed ends of fabric showing from behind the stitching. Took the tent back to the retailer and it was changed but the replacement was just as bad, only reason I'm giving it a 4 is because of its ease to erect and its mesh side door which would be handy with the wasps around.

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By: Ronin Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

Can only really echo the other positive comments posted so far; easy to put up, good living space and overall the tent seems very well made. Found setting up even easier with the footprint groundsheet to help position the tent. Also have the fitted carpet and it really does make a difference, makes the tent very homely.

I do believe there are a couple of things that could be improved, namely, the lack of netting for the front door and that the front door still flaps a little when windy, which you really notice at night.

However, for the price, I think all things considered it's an awesome tent! I have no regrets purchasing this tent and would easily recommend to others.

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By: Cml201 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 8 from 10

Just got home from a three night break with weather alternating from a thunder and lightening storm on night 1, horrendous winds on night 2 and blazing sunshine night 3, loving our British weather!

The tent was fantastic, took me 20 mins to put up on my own and about 10 to get down, was tough in the wind though to roll it up but managed :)

The bedrooms are warm and ideal for 3 with a walking space between the camp beds, 4 would be fine but I cant see 5 squeezing in.

The living area is very spacious and the pockets are great. As other people have said.Velcro, velcro, velcro, for the bottom of the doors and the side window. I used clothes pegs in the end for the window as the 2 velcro patches that are sewn on were not strong enough to stop the flapping and therefore allowed the rain to come through in force and puddle on the floor.

The water did pool between the footprint and the bottom of the tent, perhaps because of the extreme weather blowing up the skirt and I couldn't figure out how to remedy this, I did get a bit of a shock when I put the tent down to pack away and saw how much water was under there??! Perhaps it would have been better for them to manufacture the footprint in breathable material so the water would seep away?

Anyway, a great tent, single female (or male) friendly pitching and more than enough room inside to eat, cook, play games when our weather is watering the greenery.

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By: Victoria1 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

I use a couple of king poles that I had from another tent to put the front door up as a porch. You don't need eyelets, just put the top of the pole through the pegging points which serve just as well. A couple of guy ropes is all you need to finish the ensemble off.

This tent is generously sized for two or three people. I like that there is the same amount of head height in the sleeping pod as in the main tent. I also like the pelmet that covers the hanging straps, and that the bed pod is integrated and doesn't need to be fitted separately to the tent.

I use this tent in conjunction with the Vango Premium Extension. This makes the tent in my view, in changeable UK conditions where you can never trust the weather report.

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By: Tulip98 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

Had my first long camping trip in this a few weeks ago, it was fantastic. We had some awful weather with torrential rain and the tent coped wonderfully, with no leaks at all. The tension band system made a difference when the wind got up.

I also had the canopy with it which was brilliant for storage and also when the weather wasn't great, it gave us somewhere else to sit. The only thing I did notice withthe canopy was water collected under it and on top of the tent, but didn't cause us any problems.

I would say it would be a squeeze for five, but I have never had a tent which actually slept as many as it claimed it would,

The living area was brilliant and the storage pockets were really really useful.

I don;t know how it would hold up in really strong winds, as it doesn't have a rope from the middle of the front poles, but this would be easily rectified.

To sum up I loved this tent and would recommend it to anyone thinking of getting a a reasonable sized tent. It is easy to put up, easy to take down and provides a cosy camping experience. Fabulous!

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By: Mrs chip Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 10 from 10

We are new to camping and had no problem putting tent up. 20 mins. Also got canopy (another 20 mins) which gave us loads more space and was good to sit in and watch the rain! Really pleased with our purchase which easily took 1 double and 1 single airbed in bedroom (would take another with a bit of a squeeze)and plenty of room in living area for all the toys and bags. Would def recommend this tent. Can't wait to go off in it again.

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245 User Reviews of the Icarus 500 - Showing 161 to 170 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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Manufacturer's Description

Icarus flew towards the sun and this tent is also aiming high. Easy to pitch, ‘as one’ structure with generous living area, this tent will create an ideal base for your weekend adventures. The Icarus provides a place to hide when the weather is poor or a haven to return to after a long day in the sun.

Specification

Flysheet: Protex® 2000 polyester, hydrostatic head 2000mm, tape sealed seams, Fire retardant
Inner: Breathable polyester with central divider curtain
Groundsheet: PE, hydrostatic head 10,000mm, Sewn-in
Poles: Poweflex fibreglass poles
Weight: 10.2kg
Pack Size: 72 x 26 x 26cm
Colour: Ensign/Bluebell

Features

As one pitching simple and quick to pitch
Crystal clear windows allows maximum light into living room
Pre-attached guylines with guy tidies improves pitching and re-pitching speed
Reinforcement points extra strength on tension areas of the flysheet
Reflective webbing find your tent at night or in adverse conditions
Parallel zip door create a canopy for sheltered entry or shaded seating
Front over door mesh vents allow continual airflow to enhance comfort
Polyethylene 10,000HH groundsheet strong, sturdy, waterproof protection, Sewn-in
Comfort Colours darker over the bedroom for a restful nights sleep
Side Mesh Door allows door to be left open for insect-free ventilation
Heavy duty pole sleeves ensures even distribution of tension
Inner Pockets keeps those essentials close at hand
Handled carry bag for easy pack-and-go
Repair Kit for that unforseen tent emergency

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