Vango Helium Superlite 200 Tent Review

Way too small for two and really, too small for adult-sized humans. Might as well tarp it and save a bunch of weight and have a shelter with some room, cause this one is sorely lacking in that.

A tarp is the perfect shelter for when you don't need one.
A tent is for the rest of the time.

Sadly, Vango is not the innovative company it once was and they have sacrificed to much in the Helium 200 trying to compete with the TN Laser.

Edit to add: From the given floor dimensions, the floor area should be 20.4ft2 (1.9m2). Still on the small side for a 2p tent.

What a disappointment, but life is full of them. Thanks for the review.

One nagging issue. You noted that, "The two corners or angles in the main pole improve the usable interior space by making the side walls steeper and decrease the risk of a pole breaking under stress," and there was some additional comment to the same effect.

Could I suggest that with one or two elbows used to create angles in a hoop, when the hoop is subjected to high stress from distortion by wind, it will fall disproportionately at one of the angles. When the angle happens to be formed by an elbow, a piece of prebent pole, there is also the likelihood that the bending process may make it weaker than the straight portion of the tube material. Combine these two factors, and the result is more likely pole breakage in high wind, either at the angle or slightly removed from it where the elbow joins the straight pole tube. So I had trouble accepting your last conclusion.

This risk can be reduced by having more angles to distribute the stress, as with Roger Caffin's angled hoop tents, by high radius elbows, by reinforced elbows as with the EMP Kilo, and guylines from the angles to the ground, as often used to support tents subjected to high winds. Or, by really high quality elbows. Given what you experienced with the quality of the inner fabric, I wonder if one could expect high quality elbows.

Great review and photos. Thanks, again.

"Then I suppose I didn't really need a shelter that night I stayed 100% dry under my 8×10 silnylon tarp during an 8 hour thunderstorm with nonstop rain and howling winds in North Carolina, USA."

No, I did't claim the converse of "A tarp is the perfect shelter for when you don't need one" to be true. However, I do claim the inverse to be so.

The quality control issues of the inner tent are unacceptable in any backpacking tent, let alone one so expensive at $440 American. I see none of that on my new SMD Trekker at $225 American.

Hi All – Thanks for noting the original surface area measurement, and for Addie for correcting that so quickly.

Thanks to the rest of you for the added comments. I would generally agree with most of your sentiments that $400+ is a lot to pay for a cramped tent with bad ventilation and inner-tent durability concerns.

That being said, there are probably some users who have a higher opinion than the rest of us. Consider adventure racers in wet and windy climates. Compare this tent to the Vaude Power Lizard UL and several Terra Nova tents. The Vaude is about the same price and weight and was rated Above Average. Terra Nova tents are the same price and weight, or more expensive and lighter,. The Vango's fly is more waterproof than many of these UL tents (5,000 mm compared to the more common 1,500-3,000 mm). You can set up the fly as one, so the inner stays dry; there is the no drip door, TBS cross bracing for strong winds, fast setup, small footprint and no guylines needed.

The TarpTents also have a waterproof rating of 1500 mm. So what's not to like about the lighter, cheaper Scarp? Water misting through or dripping. Roger (and others) have voiced their desire for high water resistant sil-nylon to avoid this shortfall.

Kristin and I slept in the Helium Superlite 200 for about 50 nights. Even if it was cramped, we never worried about the wind or rain being too much for the tent to withstand. I can't say that for other sub-three pound tent I've seen or used (though you may have examples). The durability issues were inconsequential in the big picture.

A few changes could make this tent much better – longer stakes, a high ventilation window, and maybe two "elbows" or struts at the head for more headroom. These would contribute greatly to the performance without adding a lot of weight.

Hi Franco,

Thanks for the added details about the TarpTents, specifically the Scarp (solid inner, 1200mm rating). I have two TarpTents, the Contrail and Double Rainbow, and love them both.