Wired UK – September 2019

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EXTRA LIGHT_ (left)

Vango Cuillin 300

The Vango’s geodesic

design feels reassuringly

stable, despite the

incredibly light weight ( just

4.2kg), and it packs down

to a tiny 22cm x 50cm.

Its double-layer design,

which keeps the inner pitch

and flysheet together,

means pitching is very

fast. The ripstop 5,000mm

(HH) waterproof material

laughed in the face of the

downpour – in fact the tent

was dry enough to pack

away less than 15 minutes

after it had been drenched.

8/10 £330 vango.co.uk

BLACKOUT SPECIAL_ (above)

Ohnana Rayve II + Fan

With a simple two-pole

dome and separate top

flysheet, it’s the most

rudimentary tent on test,

but it pitches in less than

five minutes. The shiny,

spaceblacket-style coating

prevents absorption of

infrared light, keeping the

interior cool and dark –

great for sunny weather,

but in the Monsoon

chamber, the side vets let in

huge amounts of water, and

while the 4,500mm water-

resistant fabric held out

nicely, the seams leaked.

6/10 £141 ohnanatents.com

INFLATABLE FRIEND_ (above)

Quechua Air Seconds 3 XL Fresh and Black

Weighing in at 6.3kg, this is hefty for a small tent, but in its

20cm x 58cm bag, it’s easily transportable and it inflates

in two minutes. It’s 118cm tall at its highest point, has two

doors and two porches, and has lots of space for luggage –

it’s still a bit of a squeeze for three people, though. It also

features a blackout lining, which is a total game-changer,

especially if you plan on getting in at dawn. The sealed-

seam 2,000mm PU-coated polyester flysheet aced the

Monsoon test, and even with one of the zips left exposed,

water didn’t penetrate. 8/10 £149.99 decathlon.co.uk

WIRED tested three foam-free chillers

to see which deserves a place in your

camping kit. We emptied four bags of

ice cubes into each cooler, added cans

of warm beer, set the timer for 30, 60,

120 minutes and 12 hours, and assessed

the cooling abilities of each. (WIRED

cannot guarantee the number of beer

cans remained the same throughout.)

INFLATABLE ICER_

Quechua Fresh Compact 36 Litre Ice Box

This smart cooler uses a self-inflating design, which

insulates using a layer of air, and squashes flat

for storage. It’s not waterproof, so will leak if you

don’t use the special liner – a £7 baggie you buy

separately. After 60min, it was by far the coldest of the

three, although the Hydroflask had less meltwater.

8/10 £39.99 (bag); £7 (liner) decathlon.co.uk

ECO BUCKET_

Igloo Recool

A welcome antidote to the foam and polystyrene cool

boxes that generally end up in landfill, the Recool

uses recycled tree pulp and AKD wax, which makes it

biodegradable. It didn’t keep our ice solid for as long

as the others on test, but it stayed rigid for the whole

day – and as it costs about the same as a six-pack

of beer, it’s a bargain. 6/10 $10 igloocoolers.com

CLASSY COOLER_

Hydroflask 15 Litre Unbound Soft Cooler

With its adjustable straps, semi-rigid walls, YKK

AQUASEAL zippers and welded seams, this is an

impressive piece of leak-proof kit. The interior uses

an FDA food-grade BPA-free liner, and the outer is

dry-bag style 420D nylon, and it kept our ice solid the

longest – but we had to mark it down over the price:

it’s really expensive. 7/ 10 $224.95 hydroflask.com

065 GEAR

3

WAY

COLD

WAR

09-19-GEgear.indd 64 11/07/2019 23:03