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This summer I spent two weeks camping in a borrowed Vaude Taurus II, a remarkable light yet sturdy tent. After these two weeks I knew it for sure: I needed to get one of my own.

This tent comes in a sturdy dry-bag and weighs in about 2.5kg, which I found surprisingly light for a tent which is large enough for three people to sleep in. The package is also quite small – smaller than my bedroll.

The design of the tent is such that the poles are on the outside, and the inner tent is attached to the outer, so you can pitch it even when it’s raining, without getting the inside wet. The inner tent can be removed, so you can either set up the outer part alone (if you only need a rain shelter for your gear, for instance) or you can split the tent into two packages, which gives you some options in the way you distribute the weight when hiking.

The two poles are aluminum with an elastic cord inside – they nearly self-assemble! On the booklet which comes with it, it says “German Engineering”. And like many good products which come from Germany, this tent lives up to the quality of the engineering. Even though it was manufactured in China 🙂

Pitching is quite easy and can be done in only a few minutes. The poles easily go through the tunnels on the outside, and are thoroughly secured on both ends once assembled. It comes with enough pins to secure, although these are short, lightweight aluminum. Pitching the tent in muddy or loose ground may require bigger pins. The tent comes with two lines which are not entirely necessary under good weather conditions, although when properly adjusted they do increase the inner volume of the tent and provide better stability w.r.t. windproofness.

The design is lightweight, yet with minimal fabric and poles the interior is quite spacious. It fits three people, although I gather there’s not enough room to store three people’s gear inside. The inside measures 230 by 165 cm, large enough even for tall people. In the front half the tent is high enough to sit upright, although to the end it becomes really low, to a minimal height of about 30cm – just enough to put the feet-end of your sleeping bag.

Both on the left and right side are mesh pockets you can use for storing small gear like a watch, glasses, and the like. A really nice feature is the integrated clothes line on the inside, which spans about a meter or so. Great to dry wet clothes (or air out socks :).

The inner part opens with two zippers, and also comes with a mesh (also with zippers) for added ventilation and keeping out bugs.

The porch section opens up on the left, the right or in the middle, making entrance very versatile. The pole running along the top of the tent sticks out in front, and caused a nasty rash when I got up before getting out completely. Trust me, you will only do this once!

The inside of the porch is large enough to hold several pairs of boots, or perhaps a backpack.

Due to its lightweight design, some concessions had to be made. One of them being the small pins, the other being the rather thin bottom. Although it is very tough for its thickness, I wouldn’t use it without a separate ground cover. You could get the (in my opinion overpriced at EUR 30) floor protector from Vaude. I used a cheap tarp you can get at any hardware store – it fits multiple purposes when out in the boonies and if weight is a problem, you can cut it to size. And when it wears out, you can just buy a new one and it’ll still be cheaper 😉

All in all, I am quite satisfied with this tent and can’t wait to go camping again!

Some additional details:
Outer shell: 100% Polyester 75D 185T Polyurethan coated, 3000mm
Inner tent: 100% Polyamid 70D 190T
Floor: 100% Polyamid 70D 190T, Polyurethan 5000mm
Poles: Aluminium 7001 T6 11 mm
Pack size: 53 x 19 cm
Weight: 2.5 kg