Vango - F10 Helium UL 1

Hey folks! I would love to hit the wall of your critique or read about some of your experiences with the tent models I've been considering. TL:DR at the bottom. To provide some context, I'm an avid hiker and biker, with a recent leaning towards various bike trips rather than pure trekking ones. Some of them are typical biking trips you may initially think of, just biking and stealth camping in the mosquito country around the Baltic Sea. However, most of them are more like a trekking with a bike. Riding an MTB allows me to cover longer daily distances and easily skip the boring parts of the hiking trails in the mountains, leaving more time to enjoy the scenic parts (and, finally, the descents are fun!) or the tricky, rugged trails not meant for bikers. When a loaded bike lands on the backpack, limiting the base weight becomes essential. Thru-biking could be a goal in the future, but I'm not at that level yet. (Ideally) Everything has to fit into my 25/35L backpack and a 15-inch kayaking bag on the handlebars, covering temperatures from -5 °C to summer heat. Compared to a typical thru-hiking setup, I need to carry extra: a slightly larger FAK, a set of protectors, and a repair kit (including tools and spare parts). While I optimized the rest of my kit in a UL way, the shelter is now the most significant issue. Since I'm biking, I have no trekking poles with me. When I add the weight of all the guylines, pegs, and poles, maybe a groundsheet, most shelters end up with a total weight of around 1kg and various price tags. Simple and fast setup is a great bonus when I ride until it gets fully dark. While I have no fixed budget, I'd love to keep it within 250-350 EUR (I have the whole winter to snipe the sales). I know that many people in the EU boycott US products now, but let's be honest - I may prioritize a similar EU product over a US one if it's in a similar price range. Still, I won't give up a perfect US product just for the sake of boycotting it, lmao. With no poles, tarps don't work well above the tree line. On short trips (or those where I expect to be able to sleep every second night somewhere under the roof), I can bring my old Salewa PTX bivy bag (1st gen.). In such a case, getting my down bag slightly wet isn't a big deal. The biggest issue is the ticks. Last summers are getting warmer and warmer in Europe, while the winters are lacking frosts. I had some bad luck riding in sleeping bags around Berchtesgaden this season - even when I slept on a bench in that bivy, those MFers somehow managed to sense me and get into the bivy. Similarly in south-western Poland. Permethrin could be an answer, but it's not the best LNT-wise, nor is it legal everywhere, iirc. On longer ones, a tent is unavoidable. I want not only to be able to sleep inside it (otherwise I would opt for a low, coffin-like bivy tent hybrid) but also to sit straight and cook something under the fly in case of bad weather. Reliability in winds is nice, but not so crucial. The majority of my trips take place in the mountains of central and eastern Europe. The Balkans, Scandinavia, and Scotland are one-offs, and I typically expect to ride in a group (sharing Hubba Hubba with someone else). Cheap, Chinese wonders are typically too small for me. Gave up single pole Lanshan or the NH Tagar. Fancy American ones are the opposite of cheap when I add the customs and taxes. I narrowed down the choices to MSR Freelite 1 and Vango F10 Helium UL1. I'm pretty satisfied with the HH and the workshop that performs repairs under MSR's warranty in my town, and I have a general idea of what to expect from the Freelite. With the extra groundsheet and all the guylines and stakes, the total weight should still be around 1kg. If the ground were too hard and rocky to stake it out, I could get away with just anchoring it to my bike in calmer weather. I checked out the DD X-Dome 2, which my friend recently acquired, and I'm not convinced that 1+ would be sturdier than Freelite, considering it's over double the cost and possibly even slightly heavier. On the other hand, \~10 years ago, I used not-so-light Vango tents and liked their wind-resistance. Those heavy, plastic poles were heavy but nearly unbreakable. Gusts during the thunderstorm could have flattened the tent entirely, but it popped back up just fine. The quality was okay, and the floors were so sturdy that an extra groundsheet was unnecessary. However, it was sometimes frustrating to properly pitch them on hard soil full of underground rocks (with nothing else but my belongings to use as a deadman anchor). It was easy to tighten something too much and mess up the fabric around the zipper. That said, with a lower profile, simpler pole design, and the TBS, it should handle the potential winds better. I may be a bit sentimental and overlook the drawbacks of tunnels due to the last few seasons spent with (semi)freestanding tents. Has anyone here used the newer Freelite 1 (aluminum poles, DuraShield fly) or the Helium UL1 and can share some thoughts? Am I overlooking some great alternative? TL:DR 185cm / 6'1? A guy looking for a tent weighing up to 1kg for biking trips in Europe (no hiking poles!). From the mosquito country to multiday enduro trails in the mountains. Freelite 1 (aluminum poles, DuraShield version) and a groundsheet, or Helium UL1, are on the table. Still, maybe I'm not aware of any good alternatives? Looking primarily for the bad experiences (since the reviews focus on the good ones) with either of the mentioned tents. EDIT: Fly must be stealth camping -compatible. Good warranty (and service) within EU, especially in Poland, is a good bonus.

I still have my F10 helium 1 but went to an xmid 2 and then an xmid 1. I liked the helium but the headroom was an issue in bad weather or when the midges are out.

I have a helium 1. Love it but headroom is too restrictive for me now. I got a Durston x mid 2 and it is lighter, more room, easier to pitch but won't fit in the small places my vango does so I bought an x-mid 1. Still bigger. The helium 1 could sometimes get a wonky pitch and was very flappy in the wind. I once spent 12 hours in mine in bad weather. Still love it though and won't sell it. It is just too difficult for me to get in and out of now

F10 Helium UL1 or even 2 is still below that weight. Naturehike Mongar 15d is like 1.8kg. Phoxx is not a sit up tent. MSR might be worth a look, same design as the Naturehikes for more money and weight though

I posted this in a similar question earlier, but as it seems to be about the tent in question...... I recently purchased the OEX Bandicoot 2, but unfortunately, I had to return it due to a manufacturing defect in one of the pole hubs. The design features a small round metal ring with three holes tapped into it, and in my case, the machining was so poor that the thread simply wouldn’t hold. After the return, I decided to go with the Vango F10 instead, which, in my opinion, has a superior hub system. While examining other hub threadings, I noticed they all had quite a bit of room for improvement in terms of tolerance. This raised concerns for me; if a hub were to fail while on the trail, there wouldn’t be a realistic way to fix it. I was genuinely disappointed because the Bandicoot appeared to be a great option at a competitive price point. Perhaps my experience was an isolated incident, but it certainly made me hesitant about the brand and its design.

I'm assuming you're UK? Something by Vango or berghaus from GoOutdoors will do you fine. No reason to spend money if you don't need it (I killed a Vango tent in 3 weeks last year though so if it's more than an emergency tent then you may want to) Warning - last year camping in the black forest was near impossible without booking. I crossed it twice and it was slammed everywhere. The Vosges in contrast was lovely. Nice and quiet by school holiday standards so I'd head there first.