Flux 400 Review

Review by Scott Johnstone ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… At the start of the year Vango launched a revolutionary new product line named ‘Airbeam’, the concept of this was to produce tents which had inflatable tubes as opposed to the regular fibre glass or aluminium poles. This range allowed people to erect tents more quickly and easily and eradicated the problems faced by bent or broken poles. Vango have now developed a new series named ‘Vango Airbeam Flux’ to extend the range of options available to people. I was asked to trial the ‘Flux 400’ model, a spacious 4 berth tent in a tunnel design. I received the tent and immediately noticed that even for a 4 berth tent when packed down the bag was rather on the large side. This is fine though as it is not designed to be a backpacking tent rather more close to your vehicle, whether it be on a campsite, back garden or wild camping. The pack size however is due to the dual action full size pump that is tucked away inside the complementing bag. The pump is more than up to the job required and makes inflating the tent a breeze. Also in a convenient toggle back are the pegs, these are not typical aluminium pegs but steel so it does take a bit to bend them which is very beneficial when wild camping as you will not always be on a nice soft bit of land. Pictures: Top Right: Flux 400 as it comes in box Middle Right: Flux 400, Omega 350 & Banshee 200 Bottom: Flux 400 next to soup can for size  Erecting the tent could not be easier; you simply peg out the 4 corners of the main tent (Not the canopies at the ends), insert the pump into one tube at a time and give about 10 pumps until the very handy pressure gauge reaches 3 PSI. Once inflated you peg out the remaining loops and peg out the guy lines if required. The instructions say you can give another few pumps but when fully erected 3 PSI is rock solid so I did not feel the need to increase the pressure. Now that the tent is up it becomes apparent why it is so big when packed down, as it is simply gigantic when pitched. There is more than enough room inside for four people and a nice spacious porch area which could easily accommodate kit for four. I first pitched this in my garden to get a trial run of how everything worked and to get a general idea of the size etc. and initially I was most impressed. Packing away is just as easy due to the shape of everything and the inner tent being left in situe due to the design of the fully enclosed floor. Above: Tent as it comes out the bag and pump with pressure gauge and pegs. Below: Valves, inflating, partially inflated then fully pitched.  The real test for the tent was when I took it camping for two days to Glentrool, on the West coast of Scotland as part of an event organised through BushcraftUK.com. This gave me the chance to give it a thorough testing and gather the views of other like minded individuals. This is where I discovered the major drawback of this tent and ultimately this design of tent. Due to the design of the door when it is raining the water will sit on the door and when opened will run into the floor of the porch. I tried several ways of opening the door to try and stop this but nothing worked and it just seemed to be down to the design. The full bathtub floor makes this even more of an inconvenience as the water gathers on the vestibule and forms puddles which cannot be drained without taking the tent down. This is a major problem as it means that you cannot enter the tent without getting wet and all the kit stored in the porch will get wet. This, in my eyes, renders the porch useless for gear storage and effectively renders the tent a 2 berth with room for two lots of kit. Also, due to the enclosed floor this also means that cooking in the porch is probably not recommended as it could scorch the floor. The fully enclosed floor would however be good in good dry weather as this would make it more fit for storing kit and also give a place to sit when cooking, whittling etc. Above: Tent pitched at BCUK event at Glentroool There is a bug screen that can be zipped closed to act as a door that will keep bugs at bay but will still allow the air to circulate and the user to be able to see out of. I think the vestibule should be made removable but in a quick and easy way in the same spirit as the quick and easy nature of the tent itself. I would personally either secure it with some sort of zip or perhaps include a drain plug in the bottom that can be sealed, that allows the user to drain the puddles without having to take down the tent. The puddles might also come from the fact that the door is hard to close, there are two zips that run vertically down either side of the door but the bottom has Velcro along the outside, this makes it quite tricky to close and seal from the inside. Apart from this one drawback, the tent performed flawlessly over the entire weekend, the 3000mm Hydrostatic Head meant that no rain could penetrate into the inner tent so I was warm and dry all weekend. Again, the tent was very roomy inside and retained the radiant heat very well. while still staying very ventilated and condensation free. There is an option to have some of the inner tent door open with mesh and this allows ventilation. Even during particularly strong winds the tent stood strong, another advantage of using air filled tubes; they will deflect but will simply spring back into shape as opposed to bending or breaking. Everyone at the event seemed impressed by the pitch time and size but it is hard to give it full marks when there are puddles in the porch floor. Another little feature that I feel could be changed is the location of the lantern hanging point; it is at the front, next to the door, this is rather annoying as I use a candle lantern whilst in a tent but could not light it for fear of burning the door. With every other Vango tent I own the hanging point is at the back and means the lantern is free from touching anything plus you don’t have to try and avoid it when entering the tent.  Pros Very large sleeping area. Very easy and fast to pitch. Lots of room for kit to be stored. New style of pegs do not bend. High quality pump supplied with pressure gauge. Everything packs up neatly and easily. Windows in the porch are a nice touch. Very well ventilated. Holds radiant heat very well. Reflective guy lines mean less chance of tripping. Lots of pockets inside to keep gear tidy and easy to reach. Build quality is excellent. Cons The porch design allows water to fall in and collect in the vestibule. Drying the tent is difficult due to the puddles forming. Lantern point is at the front, not the back. Quite bulky when packed away. Door is quite hard to close as it is Velcro is on the outside. Above: Water that gathered in the porch & packed up tent Below: Airbeam logo on the side of tent. In conclusion I would rate this tent 6/10. However, I think with some of the improvements that I have mentioned in this review the tent could be much better. The main recurring issue is that of the porch design and if this was changed somehow I have no doubt that this tent would easily become a 9.5/10. I would say that this tent is suited more for summer and would definitely perform better in good weather and long light during the day. If some improvements were made I would have no hesitation on recommending the ‘Flux 400’ to anyone looking for a very high quality, cost effective family tent.