Walking Equipment and Accessories

Vango F10 Krypton UL2 Tent | Review

A solid and spacious 2-person expedition tent that will effectively repel dreich conditions but not weigh you down on the trail

Why We Chose the Vango F10 Krypton UL2 tent: lightweight, roomy, good quality materials

Scottish camping gear stalwarts Vango have been at the forefront of tent design for over half a century and, in the F10 Krypton UL2, they’ve created yet another quality product. This roomy 2-person single hubbed pole Geodesic tent is part of their Force 10 Expedition range – shelters crafted with the highest quality components, ripstop fabrics and lightweight Korean poles for multi-day trips on rugged, technical terrain.

Who is the Vango F10 Krypton UL2 tent for?

This is a lightweight but spacious shelter that, thanks to its decent space-to-weight ratio, makes a great option for two-person backpacking adventures. From our testing, we’d say it’s best suited to three-season use.

With a trail weight of 2.1kg, this is light enough for lengthy, multi-day missions, especially with the parts split between two people. OK it’s not as light as some of the raft of featherlight freestanding tents that have emerged in recent years but it’s not heavy either and it’s certainly robust and sturdy, all thanks to its high spec materials and geodesic, forked pole structure.

Fabrics

The F10 Krypton UL2 two person tent features super strong, proprietary 15 Denier ripstop fabric, designed to repel the worst of the elements while keeping the weight down in your pack. It has a 3,000mm Hydrostatic Head which, combined with its fully taped seams, makes the F10 Krypton UL2 qualified to withstand the wettest of weather. The groundsheet is made from 70 Denier nylon with a HH rating of 6,000mm, so you can rest assured no moisture is getting in through the tent bottom either.

A nice touch also worth mentioning is the alpine green colouring, which adheres to the wild camping code when it comes to blending in with the surroundings.

Features

All of Vango’s Force 10 Expedition range feature high level vents, a top gear loft for storage, large side pockets and internal stash pockets to stow the inner doors when they’re rolled back. There are large vents at either end of the tent, anti-snag zips and plenty of guylines and pegging points.

It pitches inner first with the pole slotting into the corners and then little hooks that allow you to quickly attach the mesh inner. You then throw the fly sheet over the top, fasten the cross poles to the fly at each end and peg down. Pitching takes a bit of getting used to at first but once you’re familiar with it, it should take no more than five minutes.

Overall, it’s a spacious structure with plenty of room for two long and large people to lie down side by side. The walls are steep walls and there’s headroom to sit up too. The porches on either side are both the same size and are each big enough to stow a large rucksack and boots while still giving room to cook.

When it comes to striking the shelter, it stuffs quickly and easily into a wide mouthed stuff sack, while compression straps tighten everything up nicely.