Anyone have experience with the Vango Banshee Pro 200?
Especially in inclement weather?
For the most part Vango looks well made and their “Wind 'n Rain Tent Test” video is pretty encouraging…300mm rain every hour in winds of 90km/h…
Thanks.
C.
Hi Carl,
Good testing is valuable.
See my reply to your direct enquiry to me.
Yup, thanks!!
Hi Arno. Unfortunately my Cloudup 2 never been tested in really windy weather. No problem with the waterproofing. But given that the flysheet is tautly held by the frame I’d think it would hold out pretty well in high winds, at least as well as the majority of tents out there. I’m 1.78m and find the upgraded one’s with the change in the frame to make the one end more vertical leaves me with more than enough space lenghtwise.
The Sunny 2 is great because it has thicker aluminium poles and the flysheet has a very solid feel, and I have sat out gale force winds in one of them. But there is the cost in weight.
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Hi, I am looking at the Naturehike P series. Are you happy with it ?
Hi and welcome, Larry!
I am very happy with my P-Series tent.
Admittedly, I have only used it once… but the design seems solid, it’s easy to pitch and take down, it’s light, and it has more space than I imagined.
Some more thoughts here: "Namping" - a Noob goes Camping
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Any one in the market for a good 2 person tent. Vango banshee Pro 200 on sale one one day only. R2800!!! (thats very reasonable) https://www.onedayonly.co.za/banshee-pro-200-two-person-tent.html
Do some googling on it as it is a very popular model, Last year I nearly went for this tent but opted for the Nature hike mongar (which I am extremely happy with). But if this sale was on back then… it would have chucked a spanner in the works…
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You chose well…
I am on the lookout for my first tent. Does anyone have any recommendations of 1 or 2 person tents costing around R2000 - R3000 that can withstand Drakensberg winds and rain?
I’m still having good luck with my Naturehike tents (Cloud Up 2+ and the Star River, which is the same as the Mongar really). Mongar is a solid 2 person size, decent fabric denier and better weight than the 2 local brands. Quality is good but a couple of hundred out of the price range. The Cloud Up range is a little tight on space as someone over 6ft, would need to size up by one.
First Ascent Starlight 2 strikes me as the nicest entry level tent you can walk into a shop here and buy. Cheap, well sized one man and not a nightmare with two and not stupidly heavy. Haven’t had any trouble with one yet.
If solidity in the mountains is a big thing for you, maybe take a look at the Vango tents. Scottish company so they are largely designed assuming you are going to see some bad weather. Good price and weight if you actually wanted a robust one man.
My experience has been around paying attention to the weight, a tent is going to be one of the three heaviest things you carry and this stuff adds up quickly. There is nothing worse to me than hiking while exhausted and broken with overkill equipment. Space can be great if the weather is bad, look at sizing up vs the number of people who are regularly going to use the tent. If it is likely to be actually used by two people, more than one vestibule and door is a game changer.
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@Katashi where are you based?
Point being if you’re in Gauteng at Woodmead Value Mart there’s a Trapper’s Trading that has several Vango Tents nicely reduced.
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@Carl Thanks a lot, I am based in Gauteng, so your advice is much appreciated.
I’ll make an effort to check them out.
I took @Carl’s advice and went with a Banshee pro 200 for R2100, the weight (2.3 kg) seems good and it seems quite strong.
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It gets good reviews and is the latest version of an all-time Vango favourite. Hope it gives you years of joy. 
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…current price R4250, nicely done!!!
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Agree, that’s a really great deal 
The Banshee always reminds me a lot of some of the Hilleberg designs, which is a good sign!
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Very nice looking tent for a GREAT price!!
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Flip was checking out First Ascents Black Friday deals and just spotted that they have a new 1 man tent called “Stamina”! Looks pretty good at the price too. I wonder how it will hold up in the berg? Anyone seen any reviews or posts about it?
The FA Stamina looks like a copy of the Vango Banshee (mentioned a few posts up in this thread). So if you read some Banshee reviews you would get an idea of its weather handling ability, which should be good (Scottish weather and all). One thing that I have picked up on the Banshee is contact seepage (feet touch bottom of tent, flysheet connects inner, feet get wet). You would have to look at the tent dimensions to see if that would be a problem for your length.
Also remember the tent is not freestanding, so you need good peg out points to make it stand up. This shouldnt be an issue in the Berg, but is sometimes a frustration in the Cape Fynbos.
I find it strange that they don’t mention the materials used in the flysheet and floor, making it hard to comment on the durability of the tent. I.e. whether it is nylon or polyester, what the “D” or “T” is. They mention the water column which seems fine, but the “D” and “T” numbers tell a lot more about durability.
My gut feel is that this tent should be durable and a bargain at black friday prices (R1600), but you will definitely find something lighter in the Naturehike camp.