OUTER TENT

The outer tent primarily fulfils the function of weather protection. The materials and coatings used depend on the intended use of the tent.

In the following, we have summarized all coating and material variants of our outer tents with their advantages:

In the following, we have summarized all coating and material variants of our outer tents with their advantages:

Silicone / silicone coating

A silicone coating can be applied to the inside and outside of nylon tent fabrics. It provides a high level of protection against harmful UV radiation and allows raindrops to simply bead up and roll off the outer surface. It also increases the fabric’s tear resistance, extends the service life of the tent and is a lightweight treatment.

With a siliconized tent fly, you should make sure your tent is well ventilated, otherwise condensation will collect on the inner walls.

Polyester / polyamide

Polyester and polyamide are synthetic fibers that have a low absorbency and quickly transport moisture outward. They are light and versatile.

MATERIAL GLOSSARY FOR OUTER TENTS

We have put together the following table to show you which combination of materials and coatings are used for our outer tents:

TENT FLOORS

The tent floor has to be very robust to be able to stand up to rocks, moisture, and creatures living in the soil such as ants. The material for VAUDE tent floors is tightly woven and reinforced with ripstop threads. The floors of our Ultralight (UL) tents are even resistant to the formic acid that ants secrete.

Material glossary for tent floors

The following overview shows the combinations of material and coating that we use for our tent floors.

GUYLINES

Guylines provide the necessary support for the tent and make it truly windproof and weatherproof. The linen material is extremely low-stretch and keeps its original length even after years.

With the aid of tent tensioners, the tent can also be tightened after it’s set up. Some tent tensioners even glow in the dark to make operation easier. Since the distances to the pegs vary, the cord length can also be adjusted.

GUYOUT POINTS

Tents have a variety of guyout points for attaching guylines. These are attached directly to the outer tent and serve to distribute load peaks and stabilize the tent so that it is protected from wind and weather. The more guyout points there are (depending on the tent construction), the more stable your tent will be.

POLES

Poles form the basic structure of a tent and lend it its shape. They shouldn’t be too heavy, but at the same time they have to be able to withstand high forces from wind or rain. All of our poles are easy to handle and quick to set up.

Materials

VAUDE only uses quality aluminium poles with internal rubberbands. Aluminum is lightweight and flexible and will bend long before it breaks – an important safety aspect. Broken poles often cause severe damage to the tent material due to the sharp-edges at the break.

If a tent pole should break, each tent comes with a repair tube. So a broken pole can be repaired quickly and easily even during the tour.

BRAND NAME COMPONENTS

For our tents we use high-quality components from the South Korean manufacturer DAC (Dong Ah Aluminium Corporation). The company is a leader in the development of new product solutions for tent poles. Like VAUDE, this partner attaches great importance to social and ecological commitment.

We have even agreed on a development partnership with the manufacturer DAC. This allows us a better and more extensive use of the complete DAC – “know how” in new developments.

The Dong Ah Aluminium Corporation, with its headquarters in
South Korea, has been a driving force behind the tent industry
for over 25 years now. Its founder, Jake Lah, is a qualified historian
and economist, art and nature lover. All of this is reflected
in his company too. Not only does it showcase a multitude of
innovations and produce numerous proprietary machines, it also
demonstrates great dedication to social and ecological projects.
As such, the company’s grounds host a small botanical garden and
an art collection, as well as an observatory and a test center for
wind and snow load testing.

Combination poles:
Various pole diameters can be combined. Thinner segments in the
middle poles simultaneously enable steeply sloping tent walls (=
greater utilizable space with thicker segments) and a flat arch in
the middle (= more head space with thinner segments).

Pressfit:
The connector, whose diameter is increased by 0.02 mm, is
pressed into the pole segment. This means that the ferrule is
connected tightly to the segment without requiring otherwise
common centre punching to attach it. This damages the aluminium
and is often the starting point for material fatigue.

Featherlight NSL:
The diameter of the pole segment is smaller and increases in
size towards the end from which the connector is attached.
This is usually the weakest point of a pole. The greater diameter
increases the strength at this point, simultaneously making the
segment thinner and thus lighter.

Green Anodizing:
For the first rinse, it was possible to replace fresh water with purified
water. Phosphoric and nitric acid as well as 90% of mineral oil
based detergents were cut down on.

DAC TOYS:
DAC TOYS bring the new and more secure structures.
Sunflower Hub is a small and clean machined aluminum connector
with threaded inserts. By adjusting angles and connecting various
numbers of poles, tent designers can get more flexibility in designing
innovative user friendly tent models.
Swivel hub and H-Clip strengthens tent structure by allowing to fix
cross section of tent pole at any given angle.

DAC NFL: New Featherlight
NFL poles are THE new standard for ultralight backpacking tents.
They come from the same ultra-precise production process that
originated in the Pressfit poles and was refined in the NSL line.
They have wall thicknesses about 25% thinner and outside
diameters about 2-3% larger than the NSL. This makes them the
lightest tent poles for their stiffness and strength in the world.

Pegs

Pegs are used to stake the tent to the ground and tension it properly. They are made from materials such as steel, titanium or aluminum, and differ in size and shape. The most important factor when you’re deciding which type of peg to use is the type of ground the tent will be set up on. The harder the soil, the harder and thinner the peg should be.

All VAUDE tents are delivered with the number of pegs that allows the tent to be pitched for the first time. However, depending on the destination and travel time, ground conditions (grass, pebbles, sand, snow, stone) and climate change.

Here completely different pegs (aluminum, steel, iron, plastic) in different lengths, thus also different weight are used. We can hardly cover these diverse possibilities and ask for your understanding that we leave the individual basic equipment to the customers.