KAZOO Venus Tent Review – High Quality, Excellent Waterproofing But Tiny

I was really looking forward to getting my hands on the KAZOO Venus Ultralight Backpacking Tent and writing a long, comprehensive Kazoo Venus tent review. KAZOO advertises itself as a constantly innovating company pushing the envelope on what is possible in terms of high quality tent manufacturing. To quote the KAZOO website the company was ,,built on the values of integrity, passion, innovation, and reliability”. Let’s see if the Kazoo Venus tent reflects those values!

Their Venus series is definitely one of the most eye-catching backpacking tents when it comes to design and gadgets. Long gone are the days when ultralight tents were dull, plain looking heaps of canvases. Sporting a top bracket design with particular attention to high quality accessories, this tent has the ability to delight ultralight backpackers and family weekend warriors alike.

It has been a pleasure field testing this yellow beauty over the last days. Tasteful, refined yet practical, the KAZOO Venus Ultralight Backpacking Tent is destined to become one of the industries most recommended waterproof tents.

Let’s look at what the KAZOO Venus Tent can offer. We found this tent to be an extremely well designed, truly waterproof tent but little short on space.

Pros and Cons

The Good:

• Top quality accessories. Strong poles that click together, sturdy stakes.
• Comes with a ground floor.
• Two small, covered vestibules on either side.
• Fast and easy to pack away.
• Good internal height, I could sit up comfortably.
• The rainfly on the top covers the mesh very well.
• You can see the quality at the stitching of the seams.
• 3000 mm HH waterproof rating.

The Bad:

• Longer assembly time than I would expect from a single person tent.
• On the heavy side for an ultralight tent.
• Little short. I felt my legs touching the wall while lying down.
• Even though it is marketed as a 2 person tent, I can’t see myself sharing it with anyone.
• I liked the zippered mesh between the inside of the tent and the vestibules. However when you open them it seems like a little too much and they can get in the way.

Who is it best for?

Sitting at the higher medium price category of ultralight backpacking tents, it is best suited for hikers looking for quality and longevity. Solo backpackers, a father looking to take his son on a short camping trip will all revel in its efficiency and waterproof qualities.

But, it is a triumph in tent design, but at the cost of weight and portability. The tent is on the higher end of portability for a solo backpacker. The KAZOO Venus tent is a triumph of design and style, but at the cost of weight and portability.

What impressed me the most is the high quality material of the tent. The ripstop polyester fly just looks waterproof. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will have a solid, dry night’s sleep even during the wettest nights out in the wilderness. The zippered mesh doors between the vestibules and the inner sanctum are most excellent!

The inner height of the tent is 1 meter, which is fine. I have seen taller tents, however I never had the feeling I was restricted. On the other hand the inner room is supposed to be 2.1 meters long. I seriously doubt this is correct. When I laid down my feet were touching the wall. This can be an issue, as in case of condensation the water can appear on the feet of the sleeping bag.

How waterproof is it?

The KAZOO Venus Ultralight Backpacking Tent came in a neatly packed bag. For me the most important was to see the 3000 mm waterproof rating. They offered basically total waterproofness and they did not disappoint. At this rating we should expect to keep dry even during all night storms.

When I run my fingers through the ripstop polyester it is evident how well designed this tent is for its price category. It is a totally different ball game than for example the Night Cat Backpacking Tent. This one is definitely not an entry level waterproof tent.

Next to the polyester breathable walls, the KAZOO Venus waterproof tent also comes with a waterproof fly and a perfectly sized ground tarp. I really appreciate that the fly covers the whole tent, in fact it creates a small vestibule on each side. I have seen far too many inferior products where the rainfly just covers a tiny area at the top, which causes leaking on the sides. All in all these two accessories add a lot to the waterproofing and safety of the KAZOO Venus.

You can read more about how waterproof the Kazoo Venus is compared to the Naturehike Mongar 2 here.

Is It Worth Its Price Tag?

The KAZOO Venus Ultralight Backpacking Tent cost a little over  $110 when ordered from Amazon. In my opinion, Kazoo Venus tent is worth every penny you spend on it.

I would call this a mid-range waterproof backpacking tent. I have seen products for twice this price, and honestly they were not twice as good.

For me there are several factors why this tent is worth the price. For one, the waterproofing can’t be argued with. It is solid, the walls are completely waterproofed, the fly covers a large area on the tent. The moment you whip out the fly you know this is not one of those cheap kid tents, you are playing in the big leagues now. The magnetic snaps on the poles ensure an easier assembly. Not to mention the tent comes with an excellent ground tarp. No more fears over a rock or piece of wood piercing through the tent when you set it. If I am whipping out some cash for a waterproof tent, I want to see high quality design and craftsmanship with premium accessories. The KAZOO Venus tent delivers above and beyond in this regard.

The Inside

The Kazoo Venus tent has one inner room with a vestibule on each side. The vestibules can be separated with a zippered mesh wall. When sleeping inside I got enough air, absolutely no problems with breathability. However I have the suspicion that the vestibule would be too small for two people. I slept alone in the tent, and it was just the right size.

If you go camping with your child, then you can interpret this as a two person tent. However two adults would struggle to sleep comfortably inside.

If you are looking for a larger 2 person tent, check out the Naturehike Mongar 2. Or my personal choice, the NightCat Pop Up Tent.

I am really grateful the company included a waterproof footprint in the package. I hate storing my stuff in the vestibule. The wet grass makes my bags dirty and wet. By putting down the footprint first I can keep my things dry without storing them in the inner room and making the space for sleeping even smaller.

Breathability

I truly felt like I was sleeping under the starry night sky, without anything coming between me and the fresh night air. This is the sign of excellent breathability!

The Kazoo Venus tent has two little mesh stripes at the top. This certainly adds to ventilation. The inside walls are made of breathable nylon, with the doors having almost mesh entirely.

If you need to let the air blow through and ventilate the tent, you can just leave the door open. If you keep the inner door closed, it will protect you from bugs and mosquitos while still getting great ventilation.

The Rainfly

The superior design of the KAZOO Venus tent shows in the size of the rainfly. It is large and covers a really large part of the tent. With the dual waterproof defence of the wall and the rainfly you are guaranteed a dry shelter even in the heaviest rainy nights.

To attach the rainfly to the poles you have to get a little hook into the plastic circles on the poles. These are very durable and sturdy, I had no questions about their durability and design. The hook has a little reverse point to avoid it from popping out. These little details are exactly why I felt KAZOO put the effort into designing a great tent.

The Stakes

The tent comes with 16 stakes in total. I am happy with them. They look very durable and quite sturdy. They are not the easily broken straight aluminium cheap stakes usually waterproof tents come with.

The tent came with three poles, they are one of the best I have seen in tents at this price point. They are dark fibreglass, with metal and magnets snapping together at the ends. I have no proof of this, but I suspect it to be the case. Since the poles came together with a snap and very little effort, plus they stayed together while attaching the them to the tent wall. This is usually a dreaded moment and when the real quality tent pole design shows itself. But these poles passed it with flying colours.

The Seams

I have found the seams to be perfectly sealed. As you would expect with a tent of this price, the seams are dual stitched. There were no visible faults in the stitching and I also didn’t notice any leaking in the morning when I got up. On this front the tent gets and A+.

Of course you can apply a seam sealant if you want, but there is no need in my opinion. I didn’t do it before my first night inside and the tent stayed completely dry with the seams doing a perfect job.

Weight And Portability

The packaging is pretty neat. A little big for an ultralight tent. However I really liked the strap across the tent inside the bag. It was so easy to wrap it around the tent once I folded it up. I instantly knew that I will manage to put it in the bag. This was a huge relief, as I am completely useless when it comes to packing away my tents. I usually can’t fold them to be small enough to put them into the package seamlessly.

I really enjoyed this small little touch, it made packing away the tent much easier.

However one of the criticisms I can put against this tent is its weight. In total it weights 2.4 kg, which I quite big for an ultralight tent.

One of the ways you can adjust this is to leave some of the accessories behind. For example you can survive without the ground sheet. Also you can leave half of the stakes at home, and still get an okay security with he tent on the ground.

Even still you don’t solve what I would consider the biggest weakness of an otherwise great quality, excellently designed waterproof tent. 2.4 kgs is pretty big for an ultralight tent, with a size that makes it comfortable for only one adult. Imagine if you are a coupe, the space will be either really tight or you have to bring another tent along as well. Not an ideal scenario!

Conclusion

All in all I recommend the KAZOO Venus tent. It absolutely seduced me with superior design that takes care of even the smallest details. If you are looking for a single person backpacking tent with great waterproofing, the Kazoo Venus tent is exactly for you! Let me know in the comments if you tried out this tent, and what your experience has been like!