4-Season: Hilleberg Akto vs the rest

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Christoph.

 

Not sure why you think a scarp slow to pitch. It’s not.  Have you pitched one?

I’ve owned a Scarp 1 for 7 years. Used for many weeks in Scotland.

Also used a Terra Nova Laser for a fortnight in Scotlandand  once a borrowed an Akto. ( Which I’ve seen many many times with other users)

Just used a tarptent Moment ( my wife’s new toy) for 10 days in windy Scotland.

( We also have a Notch and SS2! – we backpack/cycle together and separately…)

I’ve seen a friend’s Enan in use too.

The Scarp, despite appearances, is the quickest of all to get a decent taut solid pitch in bad weather.

The others all need more tweaking to get a tidy pitch, and the single ended models,(Enan/Moment/laser) seem to need more precise alignment with wind direction to shed wind best and be stable. The box ended Scarp and Akto are better. ( Also more secure due to extra pegs).

The weak point of all the Tarptents construction wise is the No3 zips. All can separate under point tension in my experience, though not permanently damaged, it’s a pain to rezip. Repegging will take excess tension off the zip if it happens.

If you want simple fast, reliable pitching, with snow handling ability, I’d go for a Scarp. Of all the tents we’ve used, it’s the one we agree we feel happiest with.

But the build/material quality of Hillebergs is superior to Tarptent, but you pay for that with weight gain. ( And worse condensation due to fewer mitigating features)

My next choices for your specific usage would be Akto and then Enan. Then Moment.

For lightness and liveabilty in widest range of conditions, the Moment is a really good choice.  Extra line/big stake on the windward pitchlok is necessary in strong wind.

 

Setting up the Scarp.
This is in ideal conditions, still it does set up faster than some.

The Moment is faster again (for me) but in the end the difference is less than a minute.

My problem with Hillebergs: For any given (especially short) trip, you can probably find something lighter/more comfortable or (if need be) lighter and more stable than the best suited Hilleberg. There is only a very slight chance that the Hilleberg will be spot on for that particular tour, particularly weight-wise. On the other hand, you probably won’t find a better and more comfortable allrounder (for all the trips you can imagine for yourself) than a Hilleberg. But the question is: Do you really need an allrounder to handle the diversity of any adventure that is just a fortnight or so long? Are you prepared to pay the financial and weight penalties that come with such versatility?

The obvious snag is the hefty price: If I had no tents already and were to purchase an Enan, Akto or Soulo, I would probably attempt to use it as my only tent until my bank account had recovered. But whichever I chose, it would be too flimsey for some of my needs or too way heavy for others. Or even both, simultaneously. But because flimsey is more dangerous than heavy, I would most likely end up with the Soulo.

On the other hand, if you spent Soulo money on two other tents at opposite ends of your own lightness-stability scale, you would still get fine quality – and often also  tents better geared to your respective trip. Overall, you could have more bandwidth for a lower weight penalty. (An equally or more stable Soulo alternative can weigh less, at the price of some comfort. And when it’s not needed, you can probably take a tarptent boasting way, way more room and air and lightness than a Soulo could ever offer.)

I think a Hilleberg (Akto or Soulo, depending on your beefiest needs) is for uses that really require as much of that bandwidth as can be achieved with a single tent… because your project is something like a world cycling tour. In that case, you wouldn’t want to risk Himalayan death in a tarptent… but neither would you want to endure weeks of unnecessary discomfort in central France due to the low height of something like my Wechsel Pathfinder.

Even if your mind (and the minds of your loved ones) does not embrace such a concept as a tent budget with an upper limit, I think a Hilleberg will rarely be the best possible choice for any individual trip… unless that trip is a fairly long and significantly diverse one.That’s when comfort becomes such an overriding priority that it’s worth biting the weight bullet for Hilleberg versatility. Of course, the definition of ‘long’ (enough for that) is entirely subjective and personal.

But it’s worth bearing in mind that Hilleberg always seems to follow a certain route – determining the target stability/weather-proofness for a particular tent, and then adding (a lot of) features that make it more comfortable in more benevolent weather. That’s where all the weight comes from. The Enan might be the exception, having evolved in a different way. But I don’t think the Enan is strong enough for Christoph’s purposes anyway.

Is there any merit to using DCF in Mids vs a silnylon mid or a four-season tent? Ryan Jordan keeps pushing them and it comes across as mere sponsorship, but it seems like a discussion is warranted.

Servus Christoph! :)
Have a look at the Big Sky Chinook, might be perfect if you are not a very tall person. But even then, the 2 person Chinook is a great optioan for Winter-Solo camping.

Greetings from Lower Austria,
Max

I think the Pathfinder is a great tent for a shortish winter outing, but especially suited to warmer-season use in areas where high winds or mountain storms can be expected – on the nicer days, you would spend more time outside it, and the low height wouldn’t really bother you. It’s a tent that will stand up to the worst weather. I’ve never read a report of one collapsing. But whether *you* can stand being in it (stationary) for three days of such weather is another issue. On the other hand, of course, the weight is kept bearable due to the low height – lower, lighter, arguably even more stable than a Soulo.

All in all, I like Wechsel’s concept of four seasons much better than Hilleberg’s – four seasons including summer (which Hilleberg tends to forget). But the old Zero G line has been discontinued. Some tents aren’t produced in that line at all anymore, while the rest are now made of Sil/PU rather than pure silnylon. One 2016 Zero G that is worth a look is the Forum 42 – between the Hilleberg Allak and the Hilleberg Staika, both functionally and weightwise (but again, with more provisions for hot weather). Price is € 650, but tremendous deals are currently available.

I doubt very much that if a Notch is correctly set up (that is put in tension once the fabric has cooled down , not mid afternoon) it could sink like that.

This is mine with iced  snow on it :

it is with the previous fabric but silnylon does not stretch 20cm on a 1 meter span…

The Wechsel Pathfinder was also sold as WE Dart 1 but that has also been discontinued.

To me, it looks like a pop-up. You have to erect the inner first with poorly connected poles, then throw the fly over. Have fun doing that in a storm. Then you hope it stays up.

Cheers