Vaude Taurus 2 Tent Review

Update: The Vaude Taurus 2 has been discontinued. Instead we recommend the The North Face Heyerdahl 3, which is a 3 person, 3 season tunnel tent.

The Vaude Taurus 2 is a 3 man, 3 season tent which weighs in at 2.69 kg. The tent construction is a Curved “A” Reinforced Ridge which is very stable and offers good internal height at the door. The Taurus 2 is an all-in-one pitch which enables the tent to be pitched by one person fairly easily regardless of weather conditions. Although listed for 3 persons we do feel that most users will use it as a 2 person tent, as it’s a great tent for 2 people camping.

Buying Quality

As with all Vaude tents, the Taurus 2 has a really good feel about it. The build quality is excellent, it has reinforced stitching, well sealed seams, the fabric in which the end of the pole sits is thick and durable.

The quality of this tent goes beyond the fabric and stitching. The Taurus 2’s poles are Yunan branded poles, made of durable T6 aluminium alloy. The tent comes with 10 pegs, each weighing 13.5g. The pegs are Y-shaped anodised aluminium. The Y-shape makes them strong and helps to stop them from twisting in the ground. Anodised aluminium is treated so that it has a thicker “oxide” layer, making the pegs harder and more durable. This means the pegs can be made lighter and they will last for years.

On the whole this is a tent that feels like it would last a life time for the average camping couple. It feels like Vaude have pulled out all the stops to ensure this tent is the best it can be, without having a huge price tag.

2 Man and 3 Man

Vaude list the Taurus 2 as a 3 man tent and you could fit three using the configuration shown above. We think that the Taurus 2 is a comfortable 2 person tent with room for gear or a very cosy 3 man tent! There is plenty of room to sit up at the front and the back, although lower than the front, has a nice amount of room thanks to supporting poles sewn in to the flysheet.

The ground sheet of the Vaude Taurus 2 is a well sealed bathtub, made of 70D Hydroseal coated polyamide 5000mm. This means its really quite durable and will last for a long time.

Inside there are 3 internal pockets for storage and a cord at the apex for hanging a lamp or wet clothing.

Naming of tents can be hard work but we do wonder how this 3 season, 3 man tent, is named the Taurus 2 – surely naming it the Taurus 3 would be better? Also its confusing because the Vaude Taurus 1 is a 2 man tent, as is the original Vaude Taurus – we don’t think naming is a strong point for Vaude  😉

Spacious Vestibule

Something we have found with other tent designs, such as that of the recently reviewed Nordisk Pasch, is that there is always a comprise between internal space and vestibule size. However, the Taurus 2 seems to buck the trend and as well as a good size interior also has a rather room vestibule area.

The area is big enough to cook in and store your gear. You can enter the tent through zipping either side and could actually remove the vestibule if required, though it would leave the internal section door open to the world.

Unzipping the fly from the top of the vestibule gives you a handy vent of almost any size you want, this is handy as it’s the only vent the tent appears to have. This vent goes hand in hand with the dual layer inner door which like most allows you to remove the fabric layer for warm days without letting the midges in to bite you. The Taurus 2 could be improved with the addition of a small vent at the rear, which would improve ventilation.

Pole and Pin, a New Olympic Event?

One common feature we see in Vaude tents is the pole and pin mechanism use in the arching pole, in this case across the front of the tent. The idea is fairly simple, pull the pin (attached to the tensioning cord) and put it into the end of the pole, such as to make the desired curved “A” frame of the tent. Then simply pull the tension cord to the desired tension.

The reason we think this should be an Olympic sport is that if you don’t put up this type of tent on a regular basis it’s quite hard to do. It’s a task that requires practice and strength.

Our top tips for getting a gold medal in the Pole and Pin event is to firstly detach the inner from the the front corners of the tent, now hold the pin section like a corkscrew, begin bending the pole and introduce the end to the hole. Then with your thumb over the two sections apply pressure, this should straighten out the connection and allowing them to fit correctly. Now simply reattach the inner and tension the poles.

Seasonality Disorder

The Vaude website and description says the Taurus 2 is a 3 season tent, but the stuff sack of the tent says 2 season. This could confuse some people, however we are certain that the Taurus 2 is a 3 season tent. Maybe the Taurus 2 has a seasonality disorder!

Quality and A Great Price?

The Vaude Taurus 2, unlike some we have reviewed, doesn’t seem to be one of compromise, it offers a nice height at the front and small poles sewn into the flysheet ensure it’s roomy at the back of the tent. There isn’t any feel of claustrophobia with the Taurus 2, plus it is a very sturdy lightweight tent. Add to this the quality of the build and its a great buy.

With an RRP of £230 (August 2012) the Taurus 2’s cost is about average for the 2, 3 and 4 man tents we stock. We think that considering its fairly low weight, good build quality and the size of the Taurus 2 that the RRP should actually be higher than this, making it superb value.