Chris Townsend spends some time under the lightest shelters for backpacking
Vango’s Adventure Tarp is designed mainly to be used as an extension to a tent, which it does very well. Used on its own the unusual shape means thought is required to pitch it so it provides good protection. I found a tapered ridge the most effective shape. That this tarp isn’t really aimed at backpackers is shown by the heavy steel pole and pegs. The pole is fixed-length too, which isn’t very versatile. The Adventure Tarp does have taped seams and attached guylines and is easy to pitch. The tarp alone is relatively heavy but the price is low, making this a reasonable choice for experimentation or for extending the door of a tent for base camp or car camping use.
First published: June 2013
