Tent pics...

[Polar Bear]

Hilleberg do not joint their poles but they have had problems with their 9mm alloy poles on Nallo 2 and 2GT models.   Oddly, or maybe not, the poles on a 3 and 3GT don't seem to suffer the same way.    Hilleberg are at least good enough to replace faulty poles though.

I notice that the poles on my new Nammatj 3GT are 10mm and not tapered, rather sleeved at the joins.   

[Salvatore]

Here

I could have slept in one of the tents, but preferred to sleep under the stars.


Mauritania by John Spooner, on Flickr

[perpetual dan]

a spacepacker! That takes me back 2n years!

I used to have one with a cotton inner. Lovely tent to sleep in, never any condensation.

Didn't cope with howling gales tho'. Got flattened by a gale in the lakes once - pole snapped when tent was crushed flat. Saunders replaced it free of charge.

I can't find any pictures at the moment  , but I have the one with a cotton liner from at least 20 years ago and its still going strong! I found the pole sprung back when the wind was strong enough to bend it in but flattened other tents.

[fhills]

The spirit 200+ is a cheap Hilleberg Nallo GT copy - only they failed to copy the poles and instead decided to engineer in an angled joint in the middle of each pole to concentrate all the stress and strain. Then, they decided to make this highly stressed piece of the pole out of the same thin/lightweight aluminium as the rest of the poles. Two out of three broke within 6 weeks (tent up and down almost daily in this time).
Vango consider poles to be 'consumables' and don't warranty them. Unfortunately, the tent was bought long before it got intensive use otherwise I'd be pursuing them under the 'not fit for purpose' banner.

Anyone else had problems with this on this tent? Was thinking of getting one. Vango did replace some fibreglass poles of mine on a cheapish tent years ago so they seem to have changed their policy.

Angled joint sounds odd - the small hoop on my Coleman Cobra has angles but it hasn't been subjected to much.

[GrahamG]

The spirit 200+ is a cheap Hilleberg Nallo GT copy - only they failed to copy the poles and instead decided to engineer in an angled joint in the middle of each pole to concentrate all the stress and strain. Then, they decided to make this highly stressed piece of the pole out of the same thin/lightweight aluminium as the rest of the poles. Two out of three broke within 6 weeks (tent up and down almost daily in this time).
Vango consider poles to be 'consumables' and don't warranty them. Unfortunately, the tent was bought long before it got intensive use otherwise I'd be pursuing them under the 'not fit for purpose' banner.

Anyone else had problems with this on this tent? Was thinking of getting one. Vango did replace some fibreglass poles of mine on a cheapish tent years ago (I did neglect to tell them about the truly horrendous winds one night in Barmouth) - so they seem to have changed their policy.

Angled joint sounds odd - the small hoop on my Coleman Cobra has angles but it hasn't been subjected to much.

If it's any help, I met up with a friend who had looked at our tent before we left and then bought himself one - he had exactly the same problem!

I was just going to get two replacement pole pieces (available online for c.£7 a piece), clean and reproof it and then sell it on with a hefty 'caveat emptor'. There is one tear in the fly to repair too but that should be straightforward as it's only a few inches long (sharp stick came through in high winds to scare the bejesus out of us!).

[Nightfly]

The spirit 200+ is a cheap Hilleberg Nallo GT copy - only they failed to copy the poles and instead decided to engineer in an angled joint in the middle of each pole to concentrate all the stress and strain. Then, they decided to make this highly stressed piece of the pole out of the same thin/lightweight aluminium as the rest of the poles. Two out of three broke within 6 weeks (tent up and down almost daily in this time).
Vango consider poles to be 'consumables' and don't warranty them. Unfortunately, the tent was bought long before it got intensive use otherwise I'd be pursuing them under the 'not fit for purpose' banner.

I very nearly bought a Vango Spirit 200+ for the extended porch. Glad I didn't now. Still looking. I like the MSR two man tents but pricey, also the Vaude Hogans which are a bit cheaper. Decathlon do good stuff at affordable prices so maybe I'll check them out.

[gordon taylor]

That's my Vango Spirit 200+ (note the bear locker at the end of the bench)

I reckon it's the best bit of kit I've ever bought, I think it's been pitched 200+ times all over the world, by nearly everone in the family.

 

[Oscar's dad]

The spirit 200+ is a cheap Hilleberg Nallo GT copy - only they failed to copy the poles and instead decided to engineer in an angled joint in the middle of each pole to concentrate all the stress and strain. Then, they decided to make this highly stressed piece of the pole out of the same thin/lightweight aluminium as the rest of the poles. Two out of three broke within 6 weeks (tent up and down almost daily in this time).
Vango consider poles to be 'consumables' and don't warranty them. Unfortunately, the tent was bought long before it got intensive use otherwise I'd be pursuing them under the 'not fit for purpose' banner.

I very nearly bought a Vango Spirit 200+ for the extended porch. Glad I didn't now. Still looking. I like the MSR two man tents but pricey, also the Vaude Hogans which are a bit cheaper. Decathlon do good stuff at affordable prices so maybe I'll check them out.

Good plan.  Decathlon  

EDIT: see reply #35 of this thread

[2_Flat_Erics]

That's my Vango Spirit 200+ (note the bear locker at the end of the bench)

I reckon it's the best bit of kit I've ever bought, I think it's been pitched 200+ times all over the world, by nearly everone in the family.

 

  At first I read bear as beer. Now that would be my type of campsite 

[rr]

Our £50 Netto cheapo, 6 person and too big for the garden so pitched on the green at the front. It was my birthday and we had dinner in it.
I also have a jet packer plus

[PH]

My TN standing up to all the Hebrides can throw at it


And I like it's big doors

[LEE]

The spirit 200+ is a cheap Hilleberg Nallo GT copy - only they failed to copy the poles and instead decided to engineer in an angled joint in the middle of each pole to concentrate all the stress and strain. Then, they decided to make this highly stressed piece of the pole out of the same thin/lightweight aluminium as the rest of the poles. Two out of three broke within 6 weeks (tent up and down almost daily in this time).
Vango consider poles to be 'consumables' and don't warranty them. Unfortunately, the tent was bought long before it got intensive use otherwise I'd be pursuing them under the 'not fit for purpose' banner.

I very nearly bought a Vango Spirit 200+ for the extended porch. Glad I didn't now. Still looking. I like the MSR two man tents but pricey, also the Vaude Hogans which are a bit cheaper. Decathlon do good stuff at affordable prices so maybe I'll check them out.

I've been on the verge of buying a Spirit 200+ for 5 years and this is the first bad review I've seen.  There must be thousands of them out there.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Taken 2003 whilst pitched at Ceret during a tree-bending storm that lasted all day.



The tent is a Saunders Spacepacker.  It did exceedingly well.

[Quisling]

I've got one of these Jetpacker and Jetpacker Plus the one with the single pole.  I bought it for backpacking as it's only 1.4kg, but getting in/out is tricky.  At least you can take the inner down and pack away before the flysheet if it's raining.  I used it up in Snowdonia last weekend.  Still a great tent, but if you want to cook in the minimal porch you have to lie on your tummy and hang out the door.  I like the idea of something a touch bigger with a side entrance for non-back packing.

Edit - it's the Jetpacker I've got, not the bigger one

[CrinklyLion]

[Butterfly]

Fabulous!

[CrinklyLion]

We had to borrow a friend's garden to put it up in, but it has been tested and proven to be a 4 monkey tent, so long as they're good friends.  And you could just about fit three Crinklies in it, whilst the cubs are small anyway

[Kim]

 

[clarion]

Marvellous.  That's rather exciting.

I notice that there was some trampolining happening in the background.  Is this an essential part of helping with the erecting of this tent?  If so, I could foresee difficulties...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Oh dear, Clarion, how could you fail to understand? Trampolining is an essential part of life.

[CrinklyLion]

Although I might struggle to fit a trampoline on the rack.....

[clarion]

Oh dear, Clarion, how could you fail to understand? Trampolining is an essential part of life.

Yes, I see that.  But can one get a trampoline in the panniers?

Actually, scratch that.  I tour with Butterfly.  She's probably already packed one

[Cudzoziemiec]

Well, the bouncy-stretchy bit should pack down ok, it's the frame and the sides that are going to be a problem. As you're camping, you'll have a tent, and tents have frames, so there is room for something to be improvised.  Sides? Don't need them, just make sure you bounce somewhere soft and, er... bouncy!

[pcolbeck]

My TN standing up to all the Hebrides can throw at it


And I like it's big doors

Which TN is that ? The big door looks ace.

[andrew_s]

Which TN is that ? The big door looks ace.

Solar 2.2, by the look