It takes a couple of pitches to really get the hang of setting up the Chinook - arriving already pre-set for all-in-one pitching, but once you get the hang of it you can half the estimated 12 minute pitch time. Pre-curved geodesic poles are routed through flat sleeves to give the dome shape with a further pole routed centrally from door to door and adding both stability and height. On first pitch this can be a little confusing as there's no colour coding of the poles and the pole sleeves are interupted in places by guy points. Where this happens the pole has a choice of channels and although there are tabs to show the entry and exit points for poles to follow it's by no means obvous on first pitch. The layout can also lead to poles accidentaly being threaded the guyline loops where the cord attaches to the material.

The Chinook 200 is a "real" 2 man tent rather than a 1 / 2 man tent, with the vestibules giving the storage space necessary to realistically accommodate 2 people and their kit and in practice one vestibule will easily hold a pair of packs. Internally you get pockets at both head and foot ends, sitting above and below the air vents, and a hanging loop inside the doors for lanterns or headtorches.

What you gain in storage and stability, and it is a very stable tent, you lose in weight and at over 3.7kg the Chinook really has piled on the weight. Of course the tent can be split between two people but in practical terms this defeats the object of having an all-in-one pitching design and in real life the Chinook is probably best suited to use on camp sites rather than a tent to carry around on your back where there are lighter alternatives. Likewise with an RRP of over £250 the Chinook is moving into a price band where it's competing with more specialist and lightweight tents, not least from Vango's own Force 10 tents.
Overall we can't fault the build quality, design, stability and height, and without the efficient but initially confusing Vango TBS tensioning system it's simple to pitch all-in-one once you've worked out where the poles go. Twin entry and vestibules make a real difference in real life scenarios both in terms of access and storage and with the Chinnok there's a decent amount of room for two people and enough head room not to feel constrained. Used for car based camping the Chinook 200 is ideal, but at 3.7kg it's a bit on the heavy side for a "lightweight" option and at £255 it's in a highly competitive price band.

Price: £255.00

Weight: 3710g

Colour: Grasshopper

Features:

• Pitches as one or flysheet-first
• DofE Recommended Kit
• Flat pole sleeves
• Semi-geodesic construction
• Front and rear flysheet doors
• Line-Lok guyline runners
• Multiple reflective points
• Flysheet door can be opened as a vent

Pros: Headroom, twin doors and vestibules, stability

Cons: Poles not colour coded, pockets at foot end difficult to access. Weight and price (although street price of £200 is nearer the mark)

Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.