What do you get when you spend over £400 on a tent? The truth maybe rather disappointing!!!
In 2016, as I prepared for my first real tour, I became increasingly obsessed with having the right kit. To me that meant - lightweight, small pack size and functional. The tent, being one of the larger pieces of kit was top on my list to meet these criteria and my hunt began. I did need something that was not just a shelter, but had room enough to take me and my cycling kit. After looking at various options I stumbled across the Vaude Power Lizard, and as it was reduced in price I purchased it.
When the tent arrived I was impressed, and in front of my children, erected the tent in the living room. Despite the cramped conditions, I put the tent up and could see that this was a thing of not only beauty, but also of high tech materials. I was light (just over 1kg) and the inner had a magical gossamer feel. The pegs were also beautifully engineered - I've picked my teeth with bigger things. I was pleased and put the tent away ready for our first trial camping trip to the Isle of Wight.
The conditions were dry (early May), but we did get quite poor pitches - tucked away in a field on a slope. I put my tent up and completed my post ride chores. I did struggle to set the tent, I thought due to the slope, but the outer wasn't touching the inner. We left our pitches and went in search of food. On returning to our tents the sun had set and there was a noticeable chill in the air. Looking at my tent I could see that it had begun to "sag" and I tightened the guy-lines. Thinking no more of the "sag", I got into my sleeping bag and retired for the night. In the morning I noticed that once again the outer had "sagged" and was now stuck to the inner. No water had come through and the moisture was either condensation, or from the damp air. I blamed the "sag" and the condensation on the poor pitches and went home.
We left the UK at the end of July and headed to France - thoughts of damp tents forgotten, as the sun shone down. After a quick 50 mile ride, post ferry trip, we arrived at our campsite. The pitches were flat and the weather warm - perfect camping conditions. I pitched the tent and we went in search of food (my appalling French being discovered as I tried to order our first meal - sorry Den). On returning to the tents, I once again noticed that mine had got its familiar "sag" and the outer was slightly damp to the touch. Once again I tightened the lines and went off to sleep. In the morning the inside of the tent was wet! The outer was sticking to the inner and several drips had made it through. On this particular tent, removal of the outer from the inner is virtually impossible, so I packed the tent damp and we headed off. On arriving that evening I erected the tent, but had to wait and hour for it to dry before unpacking.
This became the way of things with the tent and the trip. Take the damp tent down, cycle, erect tent, leave for an hour to dry, repeat. Some days the inner groundsheet was so wet I had to wipe it down with my towel. I could have understood this problem if the tent had been £20 from the supermarket, but at over £400 I would have at least expected to keep dry. It was one of my big failings not to have done more research on the tent before purchasing. I have found a number of owners who have had exactly the same issue and Vaude have simply ignored their complaints. My only advice would be to only purchase this tent if you are travelling to a destination that has an arid climate. The slightest amount of humidity will cause this tent to fail on you. I upgraded the two end pegs, thinking that this may increase the tension and keep outer and inner apart - no luck. It is clear to me, and other, that Vaude slipped up on their materials technology here. Great concept, amazing materials, shocking performance - AVOID.