Eschewing the sexy side entrance design of the insta hit MSR Hubba NX and Big Agnes Copper Spur, the Hogan SUL goes for a more traditional front entry. This isn’t as liveable, it makes the tent feel less open inside, especially when you’re sitting with the door open, but this is purely down to perception rather than actual dimensions.
Talking of dimensions, the Hogan SUL touts itself as a 1-2p tent. Despite being somewhat vague, we like what this means in practice. In backpacking terms, the Hogan SUL 1-2p can be considered a deluxe 1-man tent. Sure, you could just about squeeze two mummy shaped lightweight camping mats inside, but you would need to be extra comfortable with spooning your camp partner to do this.
The inner design tapers both in height and width towards the foot end, which sounds terrible but isn’t. There’s still enough room to make the taper practically unnoticeable, assuming you are sleeping at the correct (door) end. A small flat section at the roof offers 95cm sitting height, which is just enough for my 6 ft 2” frame. The 110cm width of the Hogan SUL at the widest end gives you ample space to sleep comfortably, with a lightweight mat and sleeping bag or a wider mat and down quilt.
Front entry vestibules are naturally smaller than side vestibules, and the Hogan SUL 1-2p suffers the same fate. You can squeeze one set of pack and boots in there with the pack standing on its end, but two sets is not happening. As a solo camper there is plenty of room for kit inside the tent though.
Stuff storage is generally excellent, Vaude have included a gear line which runs the length of the ceiling perfect for hanging soggy clothes or lights on and there’s a small mesh pocket overhead. Two further large mesh pockets either side of where you lie swallow all your night-time bits and pieces.
Talking of mesh, there’s much less of it than other ultralight tents, and specifically the offerings from MSR and Big Agnes. This is both good and bad, mesh can make the cramped inner of a 1p tent feel more spacious, as your view extends out to the flysheet. Lots of mesh is of course also beneficial on the few hot nights we have in the UK, the rest of the time you will wish for more protection from the wind. The Hogan SUL 1-2p strikes a good balance between the two, a slightly lighter weight solid inner extends way above a lying body, with the top half of the inner getting the mesh treatment for great ventilation and a general feeling of airiness.
Other important design features of the Hogan SUL 1-2p are similarly generous. Vaude include all pegs and guylines you need to pitch, pre seal the seams (with tape) and provide you with a luxuriously thick 30D floor which doesn’t require an additional footprint to pitch in anything but Astroturf. It’s rare for an ultralight tent to tick all these boxes.
Pitching is inner first which obviously has the knock-on effect of it getting wet if you’re unfortunate enough to be pitching in rain but it’s so quick and easy to get the Hogan SUL up that it shouldn’t be much of an issue. The freestanding structure allows pitching with inner only if you’re fortunate enough to not be expecting rain and the whole tent sits stable in the wind, despite being a one ended ‘Y’ pole design.
All this goodness weighs a total of 1.25kg which is excellent for the space and build quality on offer. Pack size is also tiny at 40 x 12cm which is a few centimetres smaller than the Copper Spur UL1 and MSR Hubba NX 1.
In summary, the Vaude Hogan SUL 1-2p offers a frankly luxurious amount of space for solo wild campers in a lightweight package with class leading build quality. The construction is arguably more suitable for the UK climate than other ultralight tents making this an underdog worth placing a bet on.
