In this review Alex Roddie takes a look at the Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 plus tent. He gives his full thoughts below.
When we reviewed the original Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 person tent some years ago, we found it “a tent that will stand up to severe weather… a top-quality tent”. The same applies to the Plus version, which adds an extra pole and extended porch.
Alex Roddie’s Best in Test
lthough this tent is designed for four-season use, at a low weight it’s an attractive choice year round. And the price of £410 makes it even more attractive. Highly recommended.- Value for performance and weight
- Living space
- Massive porch
- Ease of snow pitching
- Lower-spec fabrics and poles
| Quick specs | |
|---|---|
| Price: £410 Weight: 2.11kg Pitching: fly first Flysheet: 15D Nylon flysheet with a silicone coating on the outer and a PU coating on the inner. Inner: 15D nylon Groundsheet: 70D nylon PU 5,000mm HH Poles: 7.9mm aluminium alloy Pegs: 19x alloy C shaped, 2x pin Porches: 1 Inner Dimensions: 130x230xx100cm vango.co.uk |
At 2.11kg, the Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 plus is seriously lightweight for the level of performance offered. The weight savings come from the use of lightweight materials and poles. Although in the long term this may affect durability, in my testing – including multiple nights of winter conditions on summit camps in the Cairngorms – I found no cause for concern. The tunnel tent has a Gothic arch architecture for additional strength, and has many fully adjustable pegging points and guylines, helping to counteract the lightweight, flexible poles (and making it one of the best tents tested for pitching on snow). It comes with a selection of basic but serviceable pegs.
If pitched tail to wind it offers very good resistance to high winds (albeit less good than the Hilleberg Allak 2). In addition to the enormous porch, the interior living space is also extremely generous – much better than most of the other tents tested, with ample room for two.
Although this tent is designed for four-season use, at a low weight it’s an attractive choice year round. And the price of £410 makes it even more attractive. Highly recommended.
