Vaude Terratrio 2P Tent
Product Review & Walking Gear Test

	Terratrio 2P Tent Vital Statistics: Colours: Green Weight: 2.45 Kgms SRP: £175.00

Terratrio 2P Tent

Vital Statistics:

Colours:
Green

Weight:
2.45 Kgms

SRP:
£175.00

Features to Note:

Fly: 70D Polyester 190T, Polyurethane coated 5,000mm
Inner Tent: 70D Polyester 190T WR
Floor: 70D Polyester 190T, Polyurethane coated 6,000mm
Poles: Al 7001 T6 alloy, 9.02mms
Pack Size: 50 cms x 22 cms

In-use Test:

The Terratrio 2P is a new tent from Vaude designed specifically for the UK market, using the same AL 7001 T6 alloy pole system as the more established Taurus.

It's a geodesic design, available in just one colour - green - and supplied with inner and flysheet attached.

Pitching is pretty straight-forward - although the instructions at first sight are a little ambiguous. Nonetheless - even first time, I pitched it in about 5 minutes. The (two) poles are actually on the outside - which is a bonus if it's raining. Minor niggles are that the tent pegs are a little hard to get into the ground (and even harder to extract). Also it took a little while to adjust the guy ropes to get good separation between the fly-sheet and the inner all round. Some parts of the pole system are fixed into the outer which makes packing it a bit difficult.

Once up, the Terratrio is very stable. The yellow interior (plus grey floor) make for a very pleasant feel inside. There is certainly room for two people whose gear can be stored in the excellent porch area and also inside at the lower end of the tent and in the 2 pockets. No doubt in order to save weight, the tent is higher at one end - where two people (5'10-ish) can sit-up quite comfortably.

Condensation was not a problem with one person sleeping in it during a relatively mild UK Spring night.

There's one door but that has a dual opening so one side can be left closed if conditions demand it.

I've not been using it long enough to comment on its durability - however I always try to use a protector for groundsheets and would do so in this case as well.

Buying Advice:

The Terratrio from Vaude is an understated, efficient tent - great value and a fine option for backpacking and/or mountain trips.

What do you think?

Have you got a Vaude Terratrio 2P 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 Vaude Terratrio 2P Tent - so we can publish your important views below.

• At 2.45 kg its not a light tent by modern standards but...... Its free standing up in one wind and weather proof for 3 seasons. Once practiced 4 to 5 minutes is normal set up unless it's blowing a hoolie. Tail pegs first before poles is my method in that situation. Always insert both poles before engaging the single eye ends ( these use blind sleeves at one end ) I use mine solo so its huge Vestibule cooking in the lee of the wind is easy with optional left or right openings . Even without the guy lines and just ground pegs its very stable . With its tough as old boots especially when the foot end is pointed into the prevailing wind. My biggest criticism are the 2 10 inch sewn in foot poles which limits how compressed you can make the tent . Overall these are super value much overlooked tents

Lee Miles, Ipswich

• Initial impressions were quite positive - simple to pitch, reasonable weight for solo carry, aerodynamic shape to shed wind. On continued use - both poles failed catastrophically under calm weather conditions about 10 trips in. First time in sub zero conditions in the Cairngorms, second time on a calm Spring trip in the Knoydart. Not ideal places for a gear failure. The main ridge ends abruptly in a sharp nub that engages with the flysheet under tension - when exiting the tent, this regularly carves a bloody furrow in the back of my admittedly large and bony dome despite me being only 5'8". Reasonably priced initially, but given its performance rather an expensive mistake. My advice would be to avoid - save the pennies and buy something better. Picked up a Vango MTN-2 for only a few quid more by shopping around - slightly heavier, but bomb-proof, with no more bleeding scalp wounds in the morn.

Andy Ball, Aberdeen

• I have used the Vaude Terratrio tent twice, in two different types of weather conditions. One was during a dry still night, whilst the other was during a very wet and windy one.

The tent was very easy to put up. I managed to put it up, as just one person, in just over 15 minutes. The majority of this time was because I didn't have enough hands to hold all the parts so with 2 people helping putting it up, the process would have been a lot quicker, but it is very doable with just one!

The instructions helped vastly in putting it up too, with very clear illustrations of which way around the poles are inserted into the tent.

It was also very easy to ensure the inner and flysheet weren't touching, with a guy rope and compression strap (which I hadn't seen before on a tent, but worked very well) on either side. It was very easy to tension the guy lines too, which improved the ease in erecting the tent.

On the second occasion, the conditions were torrential rain and strong winds. In the morning, everything inside of the tent (the groundsheet and the tent body) had remained stone dry and the tent was still in good shape. During the windy conditions, no draught was entering the inside of tent and it wasn't lifting at all either, maintaining its good stability.

The Vaude Terratrio has one tent entrance/exit at the front which can be accessed from both sides. The front end can also be totally taken off, to expand the porch area, which would be ideal on a hot summer's day. Also, there are tags on the zips which improve the ease in opening the exit, even with gloves on.

The tent is good for space as long as you sleep the correct way round. In order to get maximum space, you must sleep with the 2 people's heads closest to the door as the sides slope down at the rear end, leaving little room. However, there wouldn't be a lot of space inside the body of the tent, if both people in this 2 man tent had a large rucksack to store in there, which could be a potential problem.

Another possible issue that I saw was that I am 6 foot and if I were much longer I would have struggled to lie straight as I was almost the whole length of the tent.

The porch is a fairly good size but again is reduced with two big backpacks in them. However, there is no ground sheet attached to the porch so I'd be careful leaving rucksacks out there as they could be affected by dew and there is nothing worse than a wet backpack during a long walk.

Breathability was very good within the Vaude Terratrio. With two people inside, I didn't notice any condensation on the walls of the tent, and it didn't get too stuffy either, which many tents do. Although I wasn't carrying the tent on a hike or any kind of expedition, the tent felt very light when it was all packed away, so I don't think there would be any issue of weight if used on a long walk. It is also packed away into a reasonably sized bag which wouldn't have any problem in being held under the lid of a backpack. With the compression straps along the bag the tent comes in, it can be compressed into a smaller size, which is ideal for carriage.

Inside the tent body, there is a long chord extending the entire length of the tent which is ideal for hanging any damp gloves on or attaching a torch onto. There are also 3 pockets near the door end which are deep, and good for storing any phones/key/sweets etc that you may want at easy access.

Overall, I think this is a very good tent and I would recommend it for anyone who is using it on a campsite or garden. However, it may not be the best choice if you need a lot of space for bags and other necessities of a long expedition as room can be limited. It is very easy to pack away too which is good for a quick getaway after a very warm, comfortable night in the Vaude Terratrio 2P tent.