Vango Colorado 600 Tent
Product Review & Walking Gear Test

Colorado 600 Tent Vital Statistics: Weight: 19.4 kgms SRP: £200.00

Vango says:"The Colorado makes excellent sense for those families who have given it a try and want to take the whole business a little more seriously. With the sleeping area in the tunnel and living area in the dome, the Colorado range combine comfortable sleeping areas with large living space."

Features to Note:

• 6 berth (in comfort)
• Fire retardant: the flysheet, inner tent, mesh and groundsheet have been treated with a 'Fire-Retardant' treatment to reduce the possibility of ignition from naked flames.
• Protex 3000 polyester flysheet that is durable, totally waterproof and reliable
• Seam taped flysheet for long lasting protection
• Flysheet first or "pitch-as-one" for quick and dry pitching
• Mesh ventilation on inner tent reduces build up of condensation; keeps bugs out
• Bath-tub inner groundsheet provides total climate protection
• External continuous pole sleeves for easy pitching
• Colour coded poles and pole sleeves mean the correct poles easily go in the correct pole sleeves.
• NEW skylight panels in roof which allow maximum light into the living area
• Crystal Clear' windows with internal covers which allow maximum light into the tent as well as clear outside viewing
• Twin ventilation on porch reduces build up of condensation
• NEW riser groundsheet in porch area for additional comfort and adaptability
• 3-pocket valise style carry bag that is easy to pack and go
• Packed Size (cm): 65x38x27

In-use Test:

The Vango Colorado 600 is a dome style tent with extended tunnels at either end holding two sleeping bays. The dome and tunnels are formed with the commonly used tent pole system that comprises several short lengths of tent pole connected to each other with elastic that slot together to form longer poles using metal sleeves.

Both sleeping pods have built-in bath-tub floors as you would expect, and the living area has a semi-bath-tub floor that clips to the flysheet.

There are five mesh windows that open and shut with zipped 'curtains' plus two clear plastic windows (one in the roof) also with 'curtains' that, combined with the light blue material, makes the internal living area very bright and cheerful.

The carry bag has three pockets (one for the flysheet, on for the sleeping pods, and one for the poles and pegs) and folds up to form a stylish piece of luggage.

The Vango Colorado 600 tent was tested during a refreshingly spring night in The Peak District.

Erecting a tent of this size and type really needs at least two people (though it is possible on your own with a bit of practice). Providing you remember to slacken off all the tensioning straps and don't mind 15 minutes of patient pole threading you should be able to get the whole thing up and ready for use in about half-an-hour.

The internal accommodation is plentiful for 6 people. The two sleeping bays - one 2 berth and one 4 berth - both have robust bath-tub floors and provide plenty of room for sleeping. Each has internal stowage pockets (two pockets in the 2 berth end, and six pockets in the 4 berth end) for all those night-time essentials - such as a torch and a teddy bear.

The central living area does not have a ground sheet sewn-in but the tent does come with pseudo bath-tub style ground-sheet that clips into position and is remarkably effective providing you do not have running water entering the door area. If you do, it is probably time to move your tent!

The height is plentiful for all but the tallest person to stand upright and there is a plastic ring from which to hang a battery powered light.

The whole structure felt strong and stable and there are plenty of guy ropes and tensioning straps to hold the whole down in high winds.

Taking the tent down again was pretty straight-forward though dethreading the poles is always much easier with two people - one pushing and one pulling. Everything folded-up and went back into its storage sack with relative ease.

Vango do say that you can leave the bedroom pods in position when dismantling the tent and this would be my preferred option. If you do this though, getting the tent back into just one of the pockets in the storage sack when it is designed to go into two does take a bit longer.

Indeed the time you save putting the tent up with the sleeping pods in position cancels out the extra time it takes to put the tent away again. I guess it depends whether it is raining or not!

Buying Advice:

Overall, the Vango Colrado 600 offers a really good level of accommodation for 6 people and performance from a tent that has plenty of windows and is bright and cheery to be in.

At 19.4kg (42lbs) you will need two people to carry it very far but on most commercial campsites you would expect to be able to pitch your tent close to your car so this is not a problem.

If you don't mind taking a bit longer over the pitching and dismantling operations - this tent offers a high level of camping accommodation at a competitive price.

Ideal for a family planning an extended stay in one location.

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What do you think?

Have you got a Vango Colorado 600 Tent?

We would love to hear what you thought of it - good, bad or indifferent. Perhaps you simply disagree with the verdict above - or feel an important feature has been negelected.

Let us know by clicking this link - What I think of Vango Colorado 600 Tent - so we can publish your important views below.

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• We have purchassed this tent unused and can't wait but I can't find diameters to know how big to rent a pitch, and how to erect it x

Joann Rawlings, Staffordshire

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