The Capri 400 is described by Vango as a four person weekend tent with ideal space for sleeping and living.
The tent comes in a 64x31x34cm stuff sack which is pretty compact for a 4 person tent of this size - it will easily fit into a shelf in an airing cupboard or in a wardrobe if space is tight elsewhere.
The complete package weighs in at 14.50kg, so not for the backpacker but still easy enough for one person to lug from cupboard to car and so on.
Pitching the tent by pumping up the airbeams is quick and easy and takes about 10 minutes once you’ve worked out where the valves are and how to work the pump. We really do feel that this is the way forward for larger, family sized tents which can otherwise take an age to erect. The four main tent pegs are a bit weak, the tops bent easily when hammered so it’s worth investing in some spares to ensure you’re not caught short on your next outing.
Inside you get two inner bedrooms and a compact living space. The bedroom areas would take four small people on four narrow beds - you would have to like each other a lot though. More realistically the Capri 400 makes a comfortable tent for two adults and one child.
Head height in the bedrooms is good, there are two separate entrances and decent ventilation. Vango say they’ve built a ‘lights out’ dark fabric into the bedroom spaces but you’ll still need your eye mask if you don’t want to be woken up with the dawn chorus, it is a tent after all.
The living space is adequate for two adults and a child. Again good height, plenty of windows and a choice of two openings – front and side. If you want to go away for longer than a weekend and you have the money we’d recommend investing in the side awning.
One of the best features of the Capri 400, especially when you consider the UK climate, is the front built-in canopy. This gives you a decent amount of space to shelter in the rain or to get some shade from the sun as well as somewhere to store muddy boots and various other bits and pieces that you wouldn’t necessarily want to, or need to put inside the tent.
The Capri 400 stood up well to the rigours of the wet and windy Cornish weather and was nice and stable for a largish tent. Quick tip: If the wind does get up close the ventilation flap below the side window, this will stop the draught howling through.
Weekend over, deflate tent. Just open the three valves and the Capri 400 drops to the ground in a matter of seconds – no faffing with cumbersome poles here.
Getting the tent back into the bag it came so neatly packed in was a battle we unfortunately lost when the heavens opened and we decided to make a hasty retreat to the car, tent chucked unceremoniously into the boot. When we got home we had another go at it – there’s definitely a knack to rolling the tent up in such a way that you expel all of the air from inside the tent and from the airbeams themselves, once you’ve got the knack the tent and pump will squeeze back into the bag with a bit of force.
Overall a really decent weekend tent for a small family or couple and also a viable tent for much longer stays - we used this tent for ten days straight and aside from a slightly cramped living space it performed admirably well.
