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Vango Banshee 200

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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 21:48 - 20 Feb 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

2E wrote:
Throw a airbed in it and your set, no worries.. i was impressed. Thumbs Up

Doubt I would fit in that diamond shaped 1 man thing though Laughing


I asked on a camping forum how wide the tent was down by the feet, they couldn't say, but did say there was room for a full size self inflating roll mat.
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 00:55 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dragging this thread up because I bought the afore-mentioned Vango Banshee after seeing this.

Used it for the first time this weekend.

Yes it weights 2kg. Yes it packs very small.

Putting it up was a pretty quick exercise. The 2010 model has short, external sleeves in the flysheet. You slide the two alloy poles through simply by pushing them from one end. There are two plastic clips on the longer one. Once the poles are hooked in, you errect the tent by pegging out either end. Then peg out the four guy ropes.

It isn't an inherantly stable structure. It relies entirely on the guy ropes to hold it up properly but is pretty stable once errected. I think it'll stand up to most inclement weather, the fabric has a 3,000mm hydrostatic head so it'll certainly stay dry and I reckon it'd take a fair old blow to knock it flat once the guyropes are out.

Could be issues with the flysheet touching the inner in a high wind but it's so waterproof, this shouldn't be a big problem. It'll only ever be condensation on the inside.

The inner tent clips onto the inside of the flysheet. You can leave it there once attached or errect the flysheet by itself.

It strikes just as easily and fits into the bag with no real drama.

I'm 6'1" and it is only just long enough for me. My feet touched the bottom occasionally but there is a good enough gap to prevent it touching the flysheet at that end.

There are two large vents at the front and back keeping condensation to a minimum.

You can fit two therm-a-rests in it. Two people can sleep in it but they need to be very good friends and it helps if one of them is small. You wouldn't get two of me in it but me and the GF were fine.

There is a little porch to the side of the sleeping area, big enough for two sets of boots.

Entry is from the side. There is just enough room to sit up in at the highest point it for dressing/removal of boots.

All in all, it seems pretty well put together, intelligantly designed and good value for the £72 I payed for it. It'll be ideal for my solo camping tour this summer with just enough room for me and my bike kit and not too much ballache putting it up and down. Also a good backpacking tent, each person carries 1kg. The JEEP of the tent world, Just Enough Essential Parts.
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ms51ves3
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PostPosted: 10:53 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once my Pro Action is past it I'll definitely be replacing it with a the Banshee 200.
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Swim41
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PostPosted: 22:43 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

stinkwheel wrote:
It isn't an inherantly stable structure. It relies entirely on the guy ropes to hold it up properly but is pretty stable once errected. I think it'll stand up to most inclement weather, the fabric has a 3,000mm hydrostatic head so it'll certainly stay dry and I reckon it'd take a fair old blow to knock it flat once the guyropes are out.


I've been thinking about the Banshee 200 for a while, mainly because of the pack size and weight, but also because I had assumed that the low profile would give it an advantage in windy conditions. I've currently got an elderly Vango Delta 200, which is a dome tent with fibreglass poles. This has stood up to some fairly windy conditions, such as the Anglesey coast in February, but in Thurso last year it was on the verge of being smashed flat and I had to use my bike as a windbreak. This was in what I imagine would count as a fairly gentle wind consider the exposed conditions.

Do you think the Banshee would fair much better? I had got the impression it was a fairly 'technical' tent for the more challenging conditions.

EDIT: I suppose if I want really windproof I should be looking at the Tempest or Spirit ranges, both considerably more expensive.
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2E
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PostPosted: 23:07 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

So would Vango be the best brand to go for... the banshee looks quite nice, but what about some of the other (read: cheaper) tents? Such as the JUNO Laughing
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Phoenix
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PostPosted: 23:11 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think from looks and design and what Stinkwheel says about it the £70 Banshee is almost identical to the £30 Coleman Bedrock so you don't need to spend too much, I think the really cheap Pro Action Argos tents are just too small for biking really when you've got all your kit to put somewhere.
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2E
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PostPosted: 23:32 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

How about an Army Surplus??

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Army-2-Man-Tent-/200469499997?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item2eace9d05d


Wink
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Klause
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PostPosted: 23:34 - 06 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can just about get two people in a banshee.

https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs489.snc3/26735_394794169259_511454259_3925296_7935752_n.jpg

https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs509.snc3/26735_394794114259_511454259_3925286_5968212_n.jpg

I'd have my vango spirit over the banshee anyday. Much more room, easier to put up, better design. Not that much weight difference but does cost more money. But Lee bought the banshee as it was only him in the tent. Where there was two in the spirit.
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 01:42 - 07 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phoenix wrote:
I think from looks and design and what Stinkwheel says about it the £70 Banshee is almost identical to the £30 Coleman Bedrock so you don't need to spend too much, I think the really cheap Pro Action Argos tents are just too small for biking really when you've got all your kit to put somewhere.


A few small but significant differences.

The banshee is 50% more waterproof. It has two poles which keeps the flysheet off your feet a bit better. The Vango pitches flysheet first (or indeed, the whole thing at once) which I see as a distinct advantage. The Vango one also has alloy poles rather than fibreglass and weighs half a kilo less. The coleman has two doors which is a useful feature.
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Grazoid
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PostPosted: 12:03 - 07 May 2010    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just joined the Banshee club as well. Very Happy

I was first shown one last summer by Bowser who as a fellow R1100GS rider was keen to share the fact that he had found a tent that fitted into the panniers.

Stopped off at the Cotswold Outdoor shop in Nottingham on Monday to just have a mooch at any likely kit before we go off for a weeks off-roading in Bulgaria tomorrow Very Happy and got talking to their Tent specialist. Hehad just scored a MacPac microlite for a fiver that weekend in a charity shop in Cheltenham and was returning his unused Banshee 200 to the shop ... one quick flash of the credit card later and I have an unused 2010 model for £50 quid and a full shop return warranty if I don't like it ... happy happy joy joy.

Off to the Stella Alpina again this year so a small tent for a solo jaunt will be a must have, and if I sell it after the summer will still likely get my pennies back Very Happy
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Old Thread Alert!

There is a gap of 1 year, 289 days between these two posts...

stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 01:34 - 21 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

My Banshee is now dead.

I lived in it for three months in the summer of 2010.

I used it for the whole of 2011.

I used it for camping up in Buxton three weekends ago. It got down to -6 and threw down heavy snow behind fresh winds.

The tent stood up to it all. Although if you pitch a vango banshee in drifting snow be aware that the air vents in the inner and outer tent align so some fine powder can blow all the way to the inner.

When I came to take it down. Five pole sections had developed stress fractures at the joints. Whole thing scrap, in the skip it went.

Definately worth what I paid for it. If I were to be buiying another, I'd get the 300, not the 200. It's just a wee bit TOO cramped for a prolonged stay although for backpacking or an one nigher, it's still hard to think what could do the job better in terms of pack size, weight, easiness to errect or weatherproofing.
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Dilyan
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PostPosted: 01:40 - 21 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you send these to the manufacturer's website - they might actually publish it. You are hardcore, I give you that.

The poor tent died like a pro then.

Where did you put up the tents? Buxton is not a small area Smile
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 01:45 - 21 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dilyan wrote:

Where did you put up the tents? Buxton is not a small area Smile


Out the back of the Duke of York pub.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 12 years, 39 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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