Vango Project Hydrogen Air Wins Prestigious OIA Award

The winners of the UK Outdoor Industry Awards 2020 were announced on Monday night, with Project Hydrogen Air winning the Tent and Awning category.

Finalist were selected from 120 new and innovative product entries by a prestigious judging panel of outdoor retailers, journalists, and gear testers.

Following Project Hydrogen Air’s nomination, the tent was on display at the recent Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC, Birmingham in February for the approximately 90,000 visitors to cast their vote on their favourite products.

Project Hydrogen Air was created following years of dedicated research and development to launch the world’s lightest twin skin tent with AirBeam® technology at its heart.

With a total weight of just 0.7kg and a trail weight of 0.68kg, it is the first-ever AirBeam® technology tent in the Vango technical collection.

Project Hydrogen Air has already claimed the highly sought-after Outstanding Outdoor Gold Award Winner in the Best Tent category by Outdoor by ISPO and has been tested in Patagonia by Vango Ambassador and around the world cyclist Mark Beaumont.

Mark Beaumont commented:

“I was honoured to be the first person to take the new Vango Hydrogen tent on expedition, to the stunning lake district region of Patagonia. We were packing ultra-lightweight on a technical gravel bike-packing route from Chile to Argentina. The tent stowed away smaller than my sleeping bag, yet is surprisingly roomy, with space to sit up (and I am 6ft 3) and bring my clothes and kit inside, out of the weather. Once pitched, the tent was tougher than I expected when it got windy, which Patagonia is famous for and the super lightweight fabric was fast drying, so it was ready for the next night in the wilderness. This is an amazing bit of kit, that will be with me on many more adventures.”

Vango Marketing Director, Rob Birrell commented:

“We are delighted to win an OIA award for Project Hydrogen as it celebrates the pioneering innovation which Vango continually strives for and is a Vango AirBeam® first within our technical portfolio. The whole Vango team are proud to win such prestigious awards for a project that we have been developing for quite some time.
Mark Beaumont was our first choice to test Project Hydrogen as it’s perfect for bike packing. Hydrogen uses AirBeam ® instead of traditional tent poles, so it perfectly packs into a pannier or frame bag with its one litre pack size. It means you can literally carry your home on your bike wherever you go escape the world and relax the mind.”

Project Hydrogen is part of the Vango lightweight innovations for 2020, giving adventurers the freedom to explore with the lightest kit possible to enable outdoor adventures.

The collection includes Ozone and Wrath rucksacks, Cobra sleeping bag and Aotrom mat, as well as our Ultralight Heat Exchanger Cook Kit and Atom stove.

View the full collection here: https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/content/128-lightweight