Vango Backpacking-Tents vango Mirage pro Tent

Gift for daughter said it was great

We used this tent for wild camping on the West Highland Way at the end of April/beginning of May. Like most tents, it's advertised as being 3 man, but it more suited to 2 people plus gear. We had lots of room plus the porch was adequately sized for dirty boots, backpacks, cooking gear, etc. We were both able to sit upright comfortably in the tent and my 6 ft husband had plenty of room without his feet or head touching the tent inner. I have spine problems, so I was looking for something that I didn't have to crawl into!This tent is fairly lightweight at 3.8kg and can be split between 2 people for backpacking. You can pitch it outer first, which is handy when it's raining and then clip in the inner tent. They can be left clipped together for quick pitching next time. It's fairly straightforward to pitch, with easy to follow instructions. It did mention something about a groundsheet in the porch, but we didn't have that and it wasn't really a problem for us anyway. The tent packs away easily into an oversized bag which can then be compressed to reduce volume.The fabric is strong and the zips were sturdy and ran well. There was a small midge net opening on the inner tent and the ventilation was good, we hardly had any condensation in the tent at all. We found the tent kept the warmth in well when it was -1C at Bridge of Orchy and we awoke to find frost on the outside of the tent. We had moderate rain on one of the nights and experienced no leaking into the tent. The groundsheet seemed pretty tough on wonky ground, but you can buy a separate footprint if you are worried. We didn't bother to bring ours as we were conscious of carrying too much weight. The tent overall seemed very sturdy, and although we weren't pitched anywhere exposed, I would have trusted this tent to stay put if there were any wind.I would recommend this tent to anyone trekking and backpacking who is looking for relatively comfortable camping without too much weight.

The Mirage Pro seems something of a dark star in Vango’s extensive (but quite confusing) line-up of good-value trekking tents. The larger 300 I have is well-made, strong, reassuringly stable in wind, totally waterproof and very simple and quick to pitch, even single-handed. It pitches outer and inner together, which apart from speed is good for all those sod’s-law occasions when it’s raining when you arrive at the site. It’s a good roomy tent for two people but more of a squeeze for three, mainly because the porch can get crowded with more than two people’s rucksacks, boots and wet gear, although using one of the side flaps instead of the door does create more porch storage space. There are plenty of useful pockets inside and the good 110cm headroom makes it a pleasant space to sit out bad weather. The Mirage’s solid build and materials mean it isn’t very lightweight at 3.6kg – everything’s a trade-off – but that can be shared out if necessary. I’d recommend buying the separate footprint *if* you can find it, because it extends over the porch area – the tent’s own ground sheet is under the inner only. I’ve also doubled up and lengthened the guylines at the four corners for added peace of mind in high winds. I’ve yet to put the tent through seriously bad weather, but I’m confident it will stand up fine. At this price it seems a real bargain.