What the manufacturers say:
The Vango Tarp is a lightweight solution for extending your tent’s living space. Robust and simple to pitch, allowing you to extend your outdoor haven.
Features:
- Vango Protex® 70 denier polyester flysheet, 3000mm HH - Highly waterproof, durable and reliable fabric. Exclusive to Vango
- High visibility guylines - Easy to see in low light conditions.
- Fire retardant fabrics - Meets European EN5912 safety standard
- Factory taped seams - All flysheet and groundsheet seams are factory taped, giving a water tight seal
- Price £65
Vango 3x3m Tarp tested and reviewed:
As tarps go the Vango 3x3m offering is a classic. It's what most people will see in their minds at mention of the word tarp; a square sheet of waterproof material with holes at the corners and along the edges. As tarps go it's not the lightest and doesn't have the multitudes of tension and hanging points seen on the latest hi-tech designs, but it's more of a space extender than a stand alone shelter and it doesn't come with a hi-end price tag.
The tarp itself is only a fraction of the overall weight as it comes with a pair of extending poles to support a standard "A" style setup. Solidly built and with a point at each end the poles account for the majority of the weight but once set up and pegged out they prove very stable and give enough height to stand up along the centre line.
We tested the Vango 3x3 both in both sun and rain, used as a standalone sun-shade in the North York Moors and under 12 hours of non stop rain at the Outdoors Trade Show and it proved its worth in both cases. Under the persistant rain as an extender for a twin bivvy/tarp set-up it made the difference between being able to sit out in the evening or spending half a day bivvy-bound. That's the beauty of this tarp; It's solid, even under wind, really does hold off the rain hour after hour and it's simple.
OK at almost 3.3kg it's not a lightweight tarp but if you're car based rather than backpacking it goes up in seconds, pretty much anywhere, and provides both sun and rain protection while giving you the room to spread out a bit.