Outwell Vigor 3 - 2019 Update - Hands on Review

Review Score

This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.

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Outwell Vigor 3 - 2019 Update - Hands on Review Videos

Outwell Vigor 3 - 2019 Update - Hands on Review Photos

Our Review

This year, I am doing some hands-on reviews of smaller tents; the tents are ideal for throwing in the back of your car when the weekend weather is suitable for a spot of quick camping.

One of the small tents I was impressed with last year was the new Outwell Vigor. Luckily, Outwell kindly agreed to send us a sample for a hands-on review. :-D

Pack Size

The problem with large family tents is that they are heavy and bulky to transport. This can make them difficult if you want to get away quickly, and perhaps you are only a single parent, or just one parent is available to take the kids camping.

Fortunately, the family can use a range of smaller tents for quick weekend camps.

Compared to a large family tent, the Outwell Vigor 3 pack-size is enviably tiny.

Weighing just over 8kg and only 64 cm long and 21 cm wide, this is a perfect size for a spot of grab-n-go camping.

Pitching the Outwell Vigor 3

When you first get the tent out of the bag, the flysheet and the inner tent are separate, which is how most small tents are. After the first time you pitch it, you could keep the inner tent connected to the flysheet if they are dry, saving you pitching time in the future.

The Outwell Vigor 3 comes with several poles, both fibreglass and steel. However, you only need the fibreglass tent poles to pitch it.

There are only three long tent poles needed to get this tent upright. There are two additional small fibreglass tent poles that you slot inside the tent. I guess they are to add more stability to the living area. However, they are an unusual inclusion in a tent, and I forgot they were there when taking the tent down.

The tent poles slide into colour-coded slots on the tent. You also clip the flysheet to the poles.

This last step is important before opening the tent door, as I had problems with the door zip catching. However, I hadn't yet clipped the flysheet to the poles. Having done so, the material might have been pulled away from the zip a bit better.

Tent Pitched

The extra height in the living area of the tent makes a big difference when you need to get changed.

Inside the tent, there's just one bedroom, as you would expect in a small three-person tent. This inner tent has a sewn-in groundsheet. There's also an extra groundsheet that you can attach in the living space. This has a fold-down-flat entrance to the tent so that you don't trip over it.

The Front Porch (or would have been!)

Another feature of the Outwell Vigor I like is the design of the front door that can be converted into a front porch. This is what the two steel tent poles are for.

That's not that uncommon on tents, but nice to see it on this small tent. A difference with the Outwell Vigor is that the door can have extra side material attached, providing you with a little more protection.

Unfortunately, the tent had no guylines to keep the poles upright. I was expecting two additional guy lines in the tent bag or already attached to the base of the door.

I don't know if this was an error with the review sample I was sent or if the tent doesn't have those guy lines as standard. I'll find out and update this review with the answer.

Verdict

I still really like this tent despite a few niggles.

• Missing guy lines for the front porch. (See above: Outwell have confirmed that the Vigor tents should have these).
• Front door zip catching (though, probably my fault).

This was just the first pitching of the tent. We shall use it this summer, and I'll come back and update this review.

Full specifications and further details can be found on the Outwell website.

Alternatives: Outwell Vigor 3 vs. Easy Camp Blizzard 300

If you like the shape of this small tent, but want something even easier to camp, then you can find an inflatable version by Easy Camp, known as the Easy Camp Blizzard 300.

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