Vango Rosewood Tipi Tent 2018 From  £549.00

We have got good quality and design goods with great service.

Moreover, with reasonable rasp

As an experienced glamper I have had bell tents, tipi tents (with a centre pole), a yurt dome.(geodesic wigwam) and the Lotus Belle.

I look at a tent for pack size/weight, setup time and effort, pack down time and effort, quality, space, performance and aesthetics.

In terms of pack size/weight and packdown it is best in class.

In terms of setup it is equal to a best in class bell tent or tipi tent but different - far fewer pegs but a more fiddly non-central pole. It can be done by one person in 20 odd minutes once you know how to insert the last aluminum pole into the steel A frame - only keep a peg on the opposite side and not the near or centre pegs on that side to relieve tension on the outer/upper roof fabric.

The quality is high getting a high performance set of modern features and whilst the fabric is thinner and poly cotton not cotton (or shingled tarp in the case of the yurt dome) but that is fine, indeed a positive producing the best in class pack weight and size.

The groundsheet does feel minimal compared to the usual 540g/m^s but is a bathtub and insect protector unlike basic bell tents and yurt domes and works fine with the footprint and carpet with no need to provide additional rugs that are usual in the other aforementioned structures and increase load size and volume. All in all, this balances out.

In terms of space it is equal in class to a yurt dome and better than a lotus bell having no central pole. It is more like those than a traditional tipi tent since the walls are more vertical and the ceiling more horizontal - an excellent piece of design and a huge plus.

My first qualm is performance. It feels less solid and robust than any of the aforementioned structures, I suspect it will handle high winds and gusts less well, especially since the upper/outer roof could act like a parachute. Full guying is recommended at all times I would say. They recommend taking down the sun canopy in high winds and whilst that makes sense that would also make water ingress into the tent in bad weather far worse.

That brings me to the first design flaw - the doors should unzip from the centre out rather than as they do, as even with the sun canopy up there can be some small water ingress into the tent upon entering and exiting.

Second the canopy either needs redesigning to be wind proofed or changing just to a wind proofed weather protection entrance way and then maybe the doors do not need changing.

I have not used this in intense sun yet. On the one hand the double roof is a natural sun shade but inexplicably not emphasised in the marketing literature. That is a great feature. There are no air vents in the sleeping area and that might be an issue. The unexplained dark inner ceiling and wall make it easier to lie in but, I suspect, would create a hotter experience than the tan or white material used pretty by everyone else - for sure better than any nylon tent but those are not its competitors. Then again why is the window shade a light material ruining the blackout effect of the dark material elsewhere? (Yurdomes need sunshade as well as ventilation sunshade but perform well given that). There is no need for the ceiling to be the chocolate brown of the walls it could be the same light colour as the upper/outer roof. That would still provide sunshade and make it easier to light at night.

This brings me onto the the final criterion of aesthetics. The dark ceiling means I need far more lighting and gimmick lighting such as lasers and projections have a far poorer aesthetic. The dark wall and ceiling mean that open windows or open doors are essential during the day with a potential loss of privacy. The brown colour makes the internal space more oppressive and less welcoming during the day.

Outside the tent looks better without the sunshade up, why are there no promo pictures of that? I think the tent would look better all in the same light colour and then no windows would be required.

Not one of the aforementioned tents has ever earned 5 stars in my view, as I have yet to find an ideal tent.

This earns 4 stars as I regard packsize/weight, setup, packdown, quality and space as very important, it still has great aesthetics compared to any normal tent. There are some design flaws including IMV the colour, canopy and doors which I can live with (I hope).

There is still a serious question mark over performance but this is designed by an experienced scottish tent manufacturer so I am giving it (and really hoping I am correct) the benefit of the doubt over performance in high sun and high wind conditions.