Verdict
If you’re searching for small, lightweight windbreaks for picnics, sunbathing and eating al-fresco, the Vango Adventure Windbreak will do the job for a bargain price. It’s well made and light enough to take on a hike. The only question to ask is, will it be big enough?
Pros
Good value for money
Well made
Tough steel poles and strong sheet fabric
Packs down small
Cons
Only 3m long, not the standard 5m
Only 1m high
On motorhome holidays, when one of you is prone to sunburn and the other isn’t, what do you do? We think it’s worth investing in one of the many modern windbreaks available. They can provide a great way to keep fair-skinned adults and children safe from the sunshine, as well as providing a haven of calm air, making it possible to relax and enjoy eating and drinking outside the motorhome on windy days.
The best windbreaks to buy are lightweight and come in their own little carrybags, so that you can use them on campsites, at the beach and during country picnics. Made by well known outdoor camping gear manufacturers, the latest windbreaks use technologies developed for backpacking tents. This makes them more stable and lighter to transport than the screens of a few years ago.
In our quest to discover the best windbreaks to buy for motorhome touring, we assembled 14 of these new-style shelters on the Practical Motorhome test bench.
We looked for strength and stability, because it’s pretty pointless buying a windbreak that rips or flies away when the wind picks up. We favoured windbreaks that pack down pretty small, so that they can be put in the motorhome locker, along with folding camping chairs, portable barbecues, walking boots and other outdoor equipment. Given that we’re mostly touring, not planting ourselves on one campsite for a fortnight, we want windbreaks to be easy to put up and pack away, single-handedly.
Many people have dogs, so we prefer windbreaks that fit snugly to the ground, rather than having an ankle-height gap. Not only do these low-level gaps have the potential to let allow a chilly breeze or flying sand in – they’re an invitation to a dog to escape!
The cheapest windbreaks we tested were £20 to £30 each and varied quite a bit. In this group we looked at the Easy Camp Surf, costing £19.99, SunnCamp Windjammer, costing £29.99, the Halfords Urban Escape Camping at £20, the Olpro Picket Fence Windbreak at £29.99, the Gelert Breeze Blocker at £24.99 and the Vango Adventure Windbreak we’ll review here, costing £24.99.
Slightly more expensive windbreaks tested were the Trespass Windbreak at £33.99, Kampa Break at £39.99, Coleman Windshield XL at £49.99 and the Quest 7 Pole Family Windbreak at £49.99.
The most expensive windbreaks we tested were the Outwell Round Windscreen at £69.99, Vango 5 Pole Windbreak at £64.99, the Kampa Deluxe Windbreak at £89.98 and the Quest Windshield Pro at £104.99.
At just 3m long x 1m high, this smaller offering, from Vango, will be of limited use around the motorhome. But as a windbreak to take on days out, it’s a great piece of kit. The combination of tough steel poles, sturdy 3000mm hydrostatic head polyester, and a tiny 45cm x 10cm x 10cm pack-down size, makes this the ideal model to stash in a rucksack. Once up, the arrangement of two guy ropes per pole guarantees impressive stability – and it hugs the ground.
So if you take the Vango Adventure Windbreak to the beach with you, it will allow you to enjoy sunbathing flat on the sand, without the wind blowing dust into your picnic, face and hair. If you buy several of these, you will be able to make a dog-proof enclosure around the motorhome entrance, if you wish. It’s so quick and easy to put up and take down, that it should soon prove to be a handy bit of camping kit that you’ll use in gardens and at festivals, too.
Once up, the arrangement of two guy ropes per pole guarantees impressive stability – and it hugs the ground
Technical Specifications
Poles | Steel |
Flysheet fabric | 3000mm hydrostatic head polyester |
Size | 3m long and 1m high |
Packed down size | 45cm x 10cm x 10cm |
Guy ropes | 2 lines secure each of the three poles |
Colour | Grey |