Who Is The Vango F10 Project Hydrogen For?

The whole bike pump thing makes this absolutely superb for bikepackers who, if they know what’s good for them, will already be carrying a pump with them on their adventure. For backpackers, well, it’s not so great, because that extra bike pump is going to weigh far heavier than a tent pole and the pump bag doesn’t quite get this thing to the sturdiness you’d want in any rough weather.

Materials and Construction

The Vango F10 uses some impressive materials. A twin-skinned design, it uses a 7 denier, double silicon-coated ripstop flysheet (5000mm HHH), a 10 denier PU-coated ripstop nylon ground sheet and then a 7 denier mesh inner.

“The whole thing packs down to a size not much bigger than a Pringles tube.”

It features a porch that’s big enough to hold a backpack and pair of walking boots, a small vent above the zipped entrance and then a small carbon pole that props up the foot of the tent. The supplied pegs with our sample were a mix of sturdy titanium stakes, which are meant to be used for the top corners of the tent, and pin-like ones for the foot end and guylines.

Then of course, there’s the airbeam. With just a small bike bump fastened to its common Schrader valve, it’ll take less than a minute to have this pumped up to the right pressure and amazingly sturdy.

Tester’s Verdict

Will Renwick, editor of Outdoors Magic

“I used this in Snowdonia and was impressed by the design. It’s so easy to pitch (and pump), you can take it out of the bag and be ready to climb into it within two minutes.

“There’s a lot of headspace. It’s actually one of the taller one person tents I’ve come across actually. That does, however, mean that there’s a big surface area for the wind to catch. Still, I had this up on a rather windy (though not gale force) and wet night and it was absolutely fine.

“The sleeping space, while quite narrow, was still fine for me, with enough room to get a rectangular mat inside. I’m 5 foot 10 and didn’t find my head or feet touching either end of the tent when lying down. The porch space is big enough for a backpack and your boots but, with them in it, you’re not left with much space to cook.

“One thing I would say is that the materials are so lightweight that you really do need to treat this thing with care. I had a sample from Vango that had obviously done the rounds with other gear testers and it did look a bit worn out, with a couple of rips here and there. That’s usually the case with ultralight gear though, I guess. You’ve got to take care with it.”