Vango Equinox 250 Tent Reviews and Details

Tent Reviews: Vango Equinox 250

Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Vango > Equinox 250 Reviews

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

Yes
2 (more 2 berth tents)
4.30 KG
Ł170.00
1
Standard
Fly first

Average User Rating:

7/10 from 4 reviews

Viewed: 20197 times

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4 Reviews of the Equinox 250

By: Panners Reason: I've used one Made in: 2010 Rating: 2 from 10

My first experience with one of these tents was with a 1998 model which lasted me 12 years until summer 2010 when the UV light finally got the better of it and there was no more space to apply tank tape to the splits. If you ask anyone who knew me with that tent I was not able to sing its praises high enough.

Anyways, I decided for a replacement I would have this updated model. Now I must say at this point I spend at least 8 months of the year in the tent as I work away from home and really do not like paying the Ł50 a night B&B costs, plus my diet is better in the tent. As such, you could say I am aware not to over tighten my guy ropes, etc. And am fully conversant with erecting and breaking down the tent.

So I've been using the new tent for the last four weeks and instantly decided it was not a patch on my old version, yes it has more gimmicks like the luminous tapes, colour coded poles (more on those in a bit), small pockets that I will never use, and a so called rain gutter and flap that diverts rain nowhere and the zip always catches the flap. In addition the zips are now cheap and do not have a metal tab, so what if you want to put on a small lock just to deter nosy parkers? I had to add my own split rings and wind around thin strips of tank tape and an amount of super glue.

Other failings I have noted are the removal of the 2nd eyelet on the straps which connect the flysheet between the poles at ground level - they were very handy for adding extra pegs in stormy weather. Same goes for the 4 outside corner adjusting straps which used to have D rings and made adjustments very easy. I have again added my own split rings to make things easier.

There is only side adjustment to the flysheet on one side now. The inner door has only a small mesh at the top so it's always damp in the morning.

There are only half the amount of guy lines there used to be, and the adjusters for those that are there never stay in place when you take down the tent so next time you are fumbling around trying to re-set them. I fitted my old aluminium ones and added some of the old guy lines.

The first drizzly day, I arrived back to find water had got through the flysheet stitching and made its way down the slack tension bands into the inner, again remedied by the application of tank tape over the offending area.

I honestly thought that after spending Ł200 on a tent that I would not have to go out and make refinements to the thing.

When the tent was built up, it always had a bulging and rounded bottom pole section on the left hand side at the porch end, no matter how much time I spent repositioning the thing.

Finally, after only four weeks use, and taking the tent down - after first ensuring all straps and lines were loosened off, I removed the last peg and the outer orange pole just snapped! Now I find that poles are not covered by a warranty because they are classed as 'fair wear and tear'. Four weeks is fair wear and tear? You decide.

So to sum up, this tent is advertised as part of the mountain range but it cannot stand a mild UK September. Full of useless gimmicks and cut corners.

The shop I purchased the tent from six weeks prior to it failing did not want to know and Vango have not responded to my polite telephone message nor my follow up email.

Finally, just to reiterate, the pre year 2000 version I had was probably the best tent I've owned - no gimmicks, no frills, and rock solid. The poles were like a dogs back leg when they were done but lasted more than a decade.

3 from 3 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: Barb1404 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 8 from 10

I find it easy to pitch on my own, with the poles sliding easily through the sleeves. The big porch, 2 doors, loads of storage pockets inside the inner tent are all great features. My only problem so far is the tent pegs - the v cross section ones have smallsharp edged hooks, and I cut my hand painfully and bloodily when I tried to pull it out of the ground. Also they were extremely difficult to get out of the ground later, the aforementioned hooks being to small to hook on anything on to to get them out. I t took me 45 minutes to dig out 6 tent pegs. The other pin type pegs were of metal so soft it was very difficult to hammer them in without bending them (compact dry turf with very few stones). I have informed Vango who weren't very interested that I'd hurt myself, but are going to send some more pegs.

1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: Paul039 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2007 Rating: 9 from 10

I have used a 2007 Equinox for long weekends in the UK and Summer Cycle touring in Europe.

I concur with all the points made in the other review. It is quite a lump at 4.5kg [with the porch groundsheet]

The Porch is almost as big as the inner tent. Easily Large enough to cook in if the weather is lousy.

You do need to take a little time to make sure it's pitched with the poles in line or you run the risk of putting a permanent bend in them. That really is the only niggle I have with the tent.

Ventilation is very good, the double entry to the porch is extremely useful, The inner is ample for two in comfort. Overall it has proved to be an excellent tent.

1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

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

This is the first time of using this tent but it really performed well during our cycle tour.

After separating the inner from the fly we managed to compress it to a size smaller than a sleeping bag. The poles can be folded down to a very short length allowing the tent to easily fit into a pannier. The porch size, once the tent was erected, was also large enough to store two bikes in as well!

The fly pitching first was brilliant as we could take cover as soon as it was up, unpacking or packing our panniers under shelter.

Condensation in the inner was present in a very small amount but expected due to wetness and coldness of a British November. The outer tent was bad but this was probably exacerbated by the stringing up of a drying line in the porch.

On the whole a brilliant tent so far

1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

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Manufacturer's Description

Exceptional storage and a spacious sleeping compartment make the Equinox an outstanding choice for climbers, trekkers and adventurers. The classic, 3-pole tunnel construction combined with TBS® is an extremely versatile and high performance design offering excellent weight-to-space ratio.
Flat external pole sleeves

Materials:
Flysheet : Protex® SPU-RP 3000 durable, silicone elastomer coated ripstop polyester
Groundsheet : HD nylon 5000 groundsheet extremely strong, tough and durable
Poles : Powerlite 7001-T6 alloy poles lightness and strength combined with flexibility and corrosion resistance

Specification:
Capacity: 2 person
Total weight: 4.30 kg
Trail weight: 4.10 kg
Pack size: 48 x 21 cm
Pitching time: 15 min

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