VauDE Hogan Ultralight Tent

[Joe]

Just got given a VauDE hogan UL tent to have a play with. For those that don't realise I work in Outdoor store retail...so you may assume vested interest...but we don't currently stock this tent (hence me getting a tester from supplier) so there is absolutely no gain for our store, for time being you would have to purchase elsewhere! I just thought if i was reviewing it for one party why not share results on here as well.

So far I have got it home and pitched in lounge room for a good look over. First impressions are that it is very light...the manufacturers claims of packed weight of 1.8kg was only out by 50grams on my scale...which is pretty fair I reckon. Inside it is much roomier than I first expected. Im 6'1" in old measurements and I can comfortably sit upright inside the tent with heaps of headroom to spare. Plenty of foot room too. Side by side fits my dodgy DMH thermarest ripoff and my Exped Downmat 7 with a little room spare so the 2 man rating is fair. Floor is nice solid feeling material (40 Denier Nylon with 10,000mm waterhead according to manufacturer) however I would still use (and am going to cut) a ground sheet. (Tasadam...I still owe you for Tyvek)

Solid inner is one feature I find really nice, there is very few tents on market at this weight with full solid inner. I know it's been debated as to the merits of solid inner but I personally prefer them.

Vestibule is slightly smaller than the 2nd arrow, just enough for 2 packs but not a lot of room left to do anything else. I prefer this style of vestibule to that of the Moondance and WE Dart though if I had too cook in it I would do so confidently.

The poles look OK, they are no name style though, would have been nice to see DAC...the whishbone hub style pole is nice but nowhere near as nice as the DAC Featherlights used in the Moondance. The wishbone hub system used in the Mont is much lower profile and generally feels sturdier...but that said I have no reason to doubt the reliability of the VauDE.

The real test will be next weekend when I get it out for a test, and if my annual leave gets approved the OLT in a few weeks. I will update here with any further information on this little tent as I go.

Manufacturer Link: http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-de.sf ... /157582270

[kanangra]

Thanks for the review. Let us know how it goes in the field. Is it a dome or tunnel?

K.

[Franco]

Is it a dome or tunnel?
It's neither. It is a modified A frame. One "A" frame pole at the front and a ridge pole extending over the front pole to give a protected entry.
Beefy poles, 7001 aluminium 9.8mm thick.
Franco

[Joe]

Franco do you have the rest of that review? what were the other 2 tents pitted against the hogan?

[Ent]

Content removed by poster

[Franco]

Joe
That was from Google Images. No I do not have the rest. Note the date
The reason I posted that shot is because you can see the inner as well as the fly.
Franco

[Amanda]

We've stocked them for a while. I own one and have sold quite a few. Most people including myself seem pretty happy with them as a roomy one person tent or light two person tent. Best features seem to be that there is room to sit up in them and no mesh inner. Biggest complaint I've heard is that the vestibule is too small.

[Joe]

Yeah the vestibule seems on the small side...I don't know why they didnt add more material and ditch the extra pole...don't need the height in vestibule.

[Franco]

It only has two poles. The bit over the vestibule is part of the ridge pole and is there to give you a protected entry.
Franco

[Joe]

First night sleep in the Hogan UL last night. Very impressed. Pitched on rock slab with no chance of pegging out properly (see footnote), previous occupant had reduced the guy ropes to 2 which was just enough to reach couple of nearby trees to stretch fly out.

Myself and wife slept with comfortable room, it was big enough that I would sleep with another non marital partner no worries, there was around 25cm gap between our sleeping mats with enough clearance to not touch the steep side walls of the tent.

Condensation was extremely minimal for two people in a small tent. Outside was very cool and damp overnight so I was expecting a LOT worse than what I found. Barely enough to make my tek towel damp when i wiped it out this morning. I did have the small ventilation gap at top of outer door open about 15cm to allow ventilation. The way the ridge pole extends allows this to be done with full shelter still provided unless in very inclement weather.

I would have fit my pack in vestibule over night along with wifes on top but it was easier to leave them in the hut. My one complaint would be that the vestibule is a touch small if using as a two person. For single person usage it is spot on.

Very easy to setup, on soft ground (ie not rock slab) it would be very quick. Once pitched without pegging you can grab it by ridge pole and move its position easily, so if you aren't happy with placement its a very quick fix.

I am seriously considering this tent as my next purchase, the combination of weight, headroom and solid inner are a winner for me. Its perfect size for solo jaunts and has enough room for the wife to snuggle in too.

Footnote: I pitched on a very poor tent site purely because it was within 10 foot of the hut. Having taken 1.5 litres of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourdy blend that was basically mine alone to drink I didn't trust I could locate the far more suitable tent site in the dark with a skinfull

[Joe]

It only has two poles. The bit over the vestibule is part of the ridge pole and is there to give you a protected entry.
Franco

Technically it only has a single pole. With a wishbone hub.

[DaveNoble]

I saw one of these tents pitched inside an outdoor shop in Sydney - I think it was in December 07 or Jan 08 - and my first impressions was that it seemed a nice design - quite roomy for a light weight tent. I did think perhaps that the materials were perhaps a bit light for use in really rough conditions (NZ mountains or SW Tasmania). But I guess its always a compromise between strength and weight.

Dave

[Joe]

I spent 4 nights in the Vaude last week doing the overland track. Majority was fine weather but cold overnight (fly zipper and door were frozen one morning) spent one night in the rain. Overall I am very impressed with this tent. Ventilation is superb, the ridge pole in the vestibule is enough to leave the door open slightly while still being sheltered even in rain.

The way the fly clips on means that in morning it was easy to just unclip and flip the fly over when I got up for first pee and by time breakfast was over and I was ready to pack up it was totally dry.

Plenty of room inside to sit upright, flannel bath, change etc.

I am pretty much sold I reckon. My only small gripe is that in high wind it would be a little hard to pitch the fly. However in every tent on the market there is some form of compromise and I am happy enough to make this one.

One trick i did do was to use my walking pole to hold the bottom two corners of the tent apart. doing this the tent becomes totally frestanding requiring no pegs whatsoever. I did peg the fly out at the two centre peg points though to stop it hanging too close to inner.

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[Franco]

Joe
Clever use of your trekking pole. I am amused by the fact that on that same platform (or the one next to it) is where I used my Rainbow "freestanding" with the trekking poles. (possibly the only time)
When MSR first posted pictures of the Carbon Reflex (same design as the Rainbow ) they had a picture there of the tent freestanding with trekking poles. So I posted a pic of it at BPL pointing out that not only they used the same design as the TT they even copied that "freestanding" trick. That picture has disappeared since...
Franco

[Joe]

Just received my Hogan that I purchased. The 2009 version has a set of two small poles in the foot section that hold the base of the inner tent up and away from your feet. Pitched it up on lawn at home and threw the downmat in to have a look and it gives a good amount of room at the foot of the tent now. A simple inclusion that works really well. Hopefully get a night out in it soon to give better review but it looks like a real improvement.