Review - Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P Touring Tent

Your choice of tent for bikepacking or bike touring makes a notable difference to comfort and speed, both on and off the bike. Go too big, and you'll be carrying extra weight. Go too small, and you might struggle to get a good night's sleep.

The Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P Tent looks to be the perfect size for the solo cycle tourer.

A spacious one-man tent

The Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P is branded (as the name suggests) as a large one-man tent, or a small two-man tent. I have heard of people using it for both, and the footprint of the internal area is similar to other super-light 2 person tents from brands like Nordisk and Telemark.

For me though, the tent is the ideal size for comfortable solo bike touring or hiking; and that is what I have used it for to date. Weighing in at 1,100 grams (including pegs), it is minimal in weight; and it has a tiny pack size (34 x 12 centimetres). 

Small enough and light enough not to be a burden to a solo explorer, it has enough room inside not to be claustrophobic; and enough room that you can bring luggage inside, to dry clothes and keep it safe.

The Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2 person tent is a generous solo exploring option

Ease of pitching

The Vaude Power Lizard tents have won awards for their innovative and simple designs. Their external poles and multi-point guy lines make them easy and quick to pitch; even in poor weather conditions.

The Power Lizard SUL 1-2 uses one arching beam pole, to which the outer fabric clips onto. Then at either end there are shorter straight poles, to prop up the 'tunnel' design.

To pitch the tent:

• You clip the outer (secured to the inner with simple toggles) securely to the central pole, and peg down the two ends of the hoop - with the hoop facing into the wind.
• Next, you insert the end poles into their pockets, and extend these out either side - angling the poles in slightly to give extra stability and tension on the central ridge.
• It is then just a case of pegging out the remaining corners, and adjusting the position of the pegs and inner, to ensure there is no contact between inner and outer fabrics.

I've pitched the tent in very blustery conditions, and it's been easy and secure.

My only negative comment is that there are only 8 pegs provided with the tent, so if you want to use the two guy lines (recommended in windy conditions), you'll need to buy two more pegs. It could also be worth investing in a few more heavy-duty pegs for the end guys, as these take quite a bit of strain in windy conditions.

Pitching the Vaude Power Lizard SUL is simple and easy, in most conditions

Ventilation

Ventilation has been well considered by Vaude. The Power Lizard's tunnel like design has two vents at either end, where you can raise and lower the outer to allow more through-flow of air.

The ventilation level can be adjusted from within, using the neat little zippers on the inner compartment. It is a very effective design, and has avoided any condensation build up when I've been testing the tent.

To further aid ventilation, there is a small vent on the door, which allows moisture to effectively escape from the porch area.

The end of the tent can be hitched up to allow for through-flow of air

The small zippers at each end of the tent allow access to the through-ventilation system

A vent on the door allows for moisture to escape from the porch area

Summary

Vaude has paid real attention to detail in the design of the Power Lizard SUL 1-2P Tent. From the pole design, to the ventilation and pack size; there is very little I can fault with this tent, and plenty of neat features to praise. 

Much like other kit that I have tested from the German brand, the build quality is superb. The outer fabric shrugs off water and wind, despite its light weight; whilst the poles look and feel very strong.

Finer details like the pole clips, guy line material and internal fabric tensioners, all help to add to the design. It is details like these that add strength and durability, despite the lightweight nature of the tent.

I'm impressed. This tent will save me around 700 grams of weight over the larger vestibule that I took on the 'Coasts and Cols Tour'; that's a fair bit less to be lugging up mountains. Yet, I feel that this will deal well with mountainous conditions, and will be a great option for my future wild camping expeditions. 

View the Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P Tent at Vaude.com 

Finer details like the pole clips demonstrate the quality of this Vaude product

The single entrance helps to minimise bulk, while also allowing a generous porch for stowage

There is plenty of room for one, and probably enough room for two

Everything is super light with the Vaude SUL tent - even the pegs