Vango - Helvellyn 200

TLDR - Vango make solid cheap tents. If you want fancy go MSR or Nemo. Mid range Terra Nova Wild Country make some exceptional stuff. Avoid OEX. Alpkit make some cracking stuff. For convenience go dome style self standing tents ( ie elixr or Nemo Dagger or MSR) I work in a hiking shop in Scotland and I'm an avid keen hiker and camper. One thing I'd suggest is the tent you use to wild camp, if you care about it, I wouldn't take it to festivals. This is for me any way. My tents are precious you wouldn't see me putting my nice MSR or Nemo tent in a boggy field full of drunks. Personally I'd take any old Decathalon tent to a festival one with a front entry and cross bar easy peasy. Any way wild camping it's a whole different box of frogs. I'm not going to tell you the best because that is largely dependent on what you want out of a tent. So here are some questions you need to be asking yourself and what your priorities are. Am I back packing long distance or do I want luxury? - weight - pack size - Head room - strength of the face fabric Am I a fair weather camper or am I putting my tent through serious duress? - strength of the tent - hydrostatic head - construction of the tent (so these are how the poles are orientated) - shape effects how well it handles wind (wedge low profile = better for wind however less room for you) Do I want free standing or a tent I have to tension? - free standing is great for convenience - tents you have to tension are normally lighter and more Packable. Do I need storage? - Somewhere to store gear from the rain - Vestibule for things like beer and festival stuff Where am I camping? - depends what you mean by wild camping - is it campsites - am I camping on a windy peak or near a loch/ lake Few more things to consider. -I'm sorry but no one is back packing or wild camping in a 3 man tent. You go wild camping in England in a 3 man tent chances are you'll be moved on very quickly. In Scotland. It's very different. 3 man tent you're not bringing very far and I'd be surprised if you can find many spaces in Scotland to put a big 3 man tent. Also do you want to carry a 3 man tent? I certainly don't. You CAN break it up a 1 Carey the poles 1 carry the top sheet and 1 carry the inner. -2 man is a much more sensible option. -Make sure your camping mat fits in it. -Most or if not all 2 man tents are going to be fairly straightforward to put up if you know what you're doing -Go to a hiking shop and ask the folk there. You can actually get in them and have a look yourself. - side entry is a lot easier to climb in and out of. Couple tents I'd suggest that are roughly around your price range I'd say £250 + that covet these aspects 1. Good head room, strong, easy to put up, spacious However they lack in packablity and wouldn't make the best pack packing tents. These normally have 2 side entries. 2 vestibule for cooking in and a cross bar or dome style tent for better space MSR - Elixr 2 Terra Nova - Helm Compact 2 Wild country - Axis 2 (they may not make these any more) 2. Light weight is always going to cost more or you're going to have to compromise on headspace and luxury. Lighter back packing tents tend to be single pile or a 2 poke wedge style tent Terra Nova wild country - Coshee 2 (small wedge - tiny pack size but not a lot of head room) MSR - l hubba hubba like the elixr but light and more expensive Vango - Helvellyn (cracking inexpensive 2 man with decent head room and front entry) 3. Cheap and cheerful no frills place to get your head down for festivals (this is what I'd pick) Quecha - 2 man HM100 (self standing cross pole 2 man. What more can you ask for ) Vango - Nevis 200 (bit of a darling in the hiking/ tent world everyone has a soft spot for this tent. 1 pole bang. Up. Inexpensive. Easy tent and isn't too heavy. Top picks for me. If it was up to me if you want strong and longevity get the MSR Elixr. Little bit of the heavier side but it can handle a lot. If you want a reliable tent thats solid for medium length backpacking and wild camping. Get yourself a helm compact 2 Cheap and cheerful - anything by Vango is going to be solid. Avoid OEX like the plague their stuff is dogshite. I'm sorry they have some serious major design flaws. Avoid the Phoxx 2. Alpkit have some decent tents around that price range - for example the Auronaught 2. Bonus if you made it this far https://www.ddhammocks.com/collections/tents?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=google_shopping_ads&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21929368775&gbraid=0AAAAAD-IR3dVnNRUuSjzhMDqi_nR2JXg9&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_dbABhC5ARIsAAh2Z-TBB2Q7VWM_b9wkYJ452ExPlpsaw1A2Hp7gwwht6DVUNVt8JbEmWt4aAqscEALw_wcB These guys sell big pyramid tarp style tents. That require one pole and some of them are for entire families. They range from £100 to £150+ they also have midgie nets and ground sheets you can use in conjunction with. Great for a bit of everything. And they have your superlight backpacking/ wild camping stuff I hope that helps.

This tent is well known for changing its name every couple of years. Try searching for the Vango Helvellyn 200 or do an image search and you’ll find the names of the other iterations from years ago. I had the Helvellyn 200 and it was a solid tent. Very good in wind. I only got rid because I didn’t like the way you had to enter and exit the tent. Much prefer two side doors now.

Indeed there are subtle differences, and I believe the inner changes colour too if you go far enough back, but you asked about YouTube reviews of the tent. YouTube reviews of the Helvellyn and its older iterations will be the same as the Hydra as reviewers tend to focus on stability and usability and the setting up and taking down etc. No reviewer will do another video just because the HH increased when all the other design aspects are the same. It’s a solid tent, have no fear in buying one.

Naturehike or any vango within budget. You won’t go wrong with vango. My first wild camping tent was a vango and it lasted years. I was going to get it repaired, I loved it that much but now use a terra nova or wild country helm.

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.