Vango Micro 3

Someone lent me this tent for as long as I needed it. Judging by the weight I can tell why. I tried to use it on the D of E and it leaked and also weighed a ton. I notice Gelert does a very similar tent (Nakina Plus), but has changed the steel pole with fibreglass poles, this might make it lighter.

The other problem is when re-packaging it there are four little poles in the corners that stay connected to the tent so you have to make sure you get them all facing the same direction (or unroll it and start again!). This tent is supposed to be a 3-man; there were two of us in this tent and we had to put our gear in survival bags outside (don't know where the thirrd man would go!). The other point is the roof on this tent is very low at the sides so you have to watch you don't suffocate!

I was trying to locate spare parts for my 15-year-old Micro 3 and was astonished by the previous review - as a long term user and owner I couldn't disagree more.

The tent packs small and can be pitched in under two minutes by one person. It's a single pole tent with two roomy vestibules and large doors (for its size), low profile makes it stable in wind - the tension bands help here. Sleeps two comfortably and three in an emergency.

The inner can be detached for wet packing but other than that it stays in. Packing down is no problem. The tent is small and light (not ultralight) and stands up in pretty much anything the UK can throw at it. The only place I wouldn't take it out is high in a Scottish winter.

It's a pity Vango don't make them anymore.

I was on my way for a hiking holiday. The person i was borrowing the tent from let me down at the last minute, so on the way to the station i brought the Micro Three.

I got to the campsite about midnight. I read the instructions by torchlight and put it up straight off in under five minutes. I've had this tent for about eight years now, maybe more, I don't remember. It's never let me down. I lived in it for three months with no hassle. The only problem I've ever had was somebody walking into it and tearing a seam open, but these things happen and it's easily fixed.

I've also had my Micro 3 for 15+ years and it's been absolutely awesome. Definitely NOT heavy, really easy to put up on windy mountains and also the sturdiest tent in storms. My mistake was to take it to a festival where someone trod all over it it, so if anyone knows where to get a new flysheet...

Excellent tent; very compact and light, but sturdy enough because of the tension band system and abundance of guy/peg points. Lack of headroom would be a problem if you were weather bound and claustrophobic, but spacious for a lightweight other than that.