Vango Venture 500

Author's product rating:   

Waterproofing	Good
Durability	Very durable
How easy is it to put it up?	Easy

Advantages:	Good size, quite high, sturdy, easy to put up
Disadvantages:	Large and quite heavy when packed

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We bought this tent at the beginning of the summer 2005 from Gaynor Sports in Ambleside. It was only ever intended for use by two of us (my wife and myself) and our dog, but we wanted a bit of room to get dressed in and store stuff and most importantly we wanted to be able to stand up it. The Vango Venture 500 was set up and was a winner as soon as we looked at it.

Dimensions and Layout

The tent measures approximately 12' X 8' and is about 5'10" high at the highest point. There is a large porch at the front which takes up about a third of the length of the tent, and the rest is taken up by the bedroom.

The Porch

The porch is a good enough size to set up a table and two chairs to eat if required, as we have done in the past, and it has two entrances, a large one to the front of the tent or a smaller one to the side. There are also two decent sized windows, which you can actually see through and these both have curtains for privacy if required. I am 5'9" and can almost stand up in the porch. The porch has a seperate ground sheet which hooks on to the outer walls.

The Bedroom

The bedroom makes up the rest of the tent and is about 8' X 8' and is meant to sleep five, like I said earlier we have only ever had two and the dog but I suppose five would be possible if a little cramped. There is a divider that can be put in the middle of the bedrooom to make it into two bedrooms if required. I have no problem standing up in the bedroom. The bedroom has two doors, with mosquito nets, so you can have the two bedroom option and it consists of an inner flysheet to the outer tent with a built - in groung sheet. There are also five storage pockets in the bedroom.

Erection And Dismantling

This tent is extremely easy to erect and the wife and I can put it up in under twenty minutes now. There are four colour coded poles, two which cross over to make up the main area where the bedroom is situated, a third to hold up the front of the porch and forth little one to lift the headroom at the entrance to the bedroom.

Once the outer part of the tent is up and pegged you can get inside and hook the bedroom section in to the also colour coded hooks and fit the ground sheet in the porch.

Dismantling is just as easy as erection you take the inner part out first and fold each part quite carefully and there is no problem getting it all back in the bag.

What's It Like In Use

We only really go camping in summer but the British weather manages to throw a few tests our way still! We have just been up to the lake district this weekend and had some fairly stong wind and some rain. The Vango Venture 500 stood up to the wind brilliantly considering its size and height and as long as it is well pegged down it can withstand quite strong winds with very little problems.

We had a little rain this weekend and had no problems with leaks however we have been out in fairly heavy rain before and this manages to find its way through the material so I would not recomend it in the rain, however it is only advertised as a three season tent so this is to be expected. I have purchased a spray this weekend that is supposed to water - proof the tent material but have not tried it out yet so cannot comment yet.

The Vango Venture 500 comes with a very handy carry bag split into three sections, one for the outer tent, another for the inner tent and a pocket down the middle for the poles, pegs and a small spares and repair kit. When packed the tent is bulky to say the least and measures about 2' X 1' X 1' and is also quite heavy so that is why I only recomend for family car camping, you could certainly not go backpacking with this tent!!

Value For Money

We paid £89.99 just over three years ago now and, to be honest bought it as a cheap starter tent which I expected to have replaced by now, however the Venture 500 is still going strong three years, and a lot of use, on and to be honest still looks a lot like new, so I think it offers extremely good value for money, and I expect to still be using it in another three years.

Conclusion

All in all I would say the Vango Venture 500 is a very good buy and would recomend it to couples, small familys and groups of friends. It is handy having the option of one or two bedrooms and has plenty of room, including head room. It is very easy to put up once you have done it the first time and just as easy to take down again. It will withstand a little rain and very strong winds. It is extremely durable and like I said earlier, still looks like new really three years on. The instructions and colour coding of poles and inner hooks make putting it up the first time very easy also.

Thankyou for reading.........John May 2008