Hilleberg Tent thread

[Alistair B]

Few things more miserable than a mesh tent in a sand storm..sand gets everywhere and the wind alone can justify a four season tent. Take sand stakes especially as you are taking a tunnel tent. The little pegs that come with the tent just don’t do the job if you are on sand. Good luck hopefully great weather no wind and no sand!

[Stuart .]

I have my (snow and) sand stakes packed. I was planning to take my Allak, but I switched to the Nammatj in case there’s extended periods stuck inside.

[Crow]

The irony of this picture from this morning, after a night of car camping in the summer with my Keron 3, humors me.  But what can I say?  It’s a darned comfortable tent!  Not as light as my Anjan but if weight is no issue, this is still my favorite in any setting.

[Stephen M]

The Keron looks nice Casey, it’s as tough a workhorse as your Mercedes.

I am still very impressed with the Keron 4gt I use with my buddies for winter camping.

Did you use the Anjan much yet? I finally got around to using the used Nallo 3gt I picked up to replace it.

[Crow]

@stephen-m Yes we have used the Anjan a lot this spring and definitely like it. The GT vestibule is a nice advantage when it’s rainy. Definitely a different beast than the Keron – I can imagine what a nice middle ground the Nallo must be. The Anjan is what we’ll take on a thru hike and gives you a lot for the weight. Will probably use it next week and take a couple pictures.

[Stephen M]

I am glad you like the Anjan Casey, the GT makes so much sense for multiple occupants.

[Andy Berner]

I picked up a nallo 3gt recently and the slanted back wall hits my toes(6’1 size 14 shoe). This was going to be used as a winter tent. With a pad and winter quilt the quilt is going to get compressed.

Any input for what I should get? I figure the Keron and kaitum would work. How about an unna, staika, allak?

Andy

[Stephen M]

Hi Andy,

Any of the tents you mention will work at your height. We used a Kaitum 3 for years and loved it, the Keron so far has been great.

Try the Nallo with your head at the foot end and see how it works.

[Stuart .]

Definitely the Keron or Kaitum will work with the vertical doors on both ends. Be aware that the Kaitum has a significant taper from the middle to the doors.

The Staika and Allak have mostly vertical side doors, but the head and foot ends are sloped. I am 5’9″ and would sleep solo diagonally in winter. For 2P you would find either too narrow and too short.

On paper the Jannu has the longest footprint, but the foot end has the most acute angle of all the Hillies I’ve tried, and the door also slopes inwards. I felt it had less useable space than the Nammatj 2.

Edit: You asked about the Unna not the Jannu, but I’ll leave the comments in place. One last piece of data for you: apparently the Soulo was designed.with the founder’s 6’4″ son in mind, but I don’t see many 6’+ people comfortable in it. Certainly how you sleep (back, side, front) has an influence, as does the pad thickness, but I will say I have never enjoyed waking up with an inner in my face. The Soulo works for me. The MLD inner nets for the Solomid and Cricket do not. Comfort is relative.

[Crow]

When picking a winter tent I first considered the Jannu, but decided I wanted to be able to fit two 50″ wide rectangular pads, and the foot end gets a little too narrow or the Jannu. I thought about the Staika, but after seeing the inside space in pictures and hearing reviews about it, I changed my mind on that too, as I never felt a real need for a freestanding tent anyways.  Finally, I was torn between the Keron and Kaitum.  Finally I decided that the extra pound and a half was probably worth it for the tradeoffs – materials are all more durable on the Keron and I wanted an overkill tent that could see me through any winter conditions.  Probably the Kaitum would have worked out okay too, but I’m really happy to have chosen the Keron.  It really is a zero compromise tent – there is nothing left to be desired, aside from lighter weight.  It is exceedingly comfortable and you will never feel any doubt about this tent holding up.  The Keron is Hilleberg’s flagship tent – if weight is not a dealbreaker you will love it!

Now that I have the Anjan as well, I can imagine the red label tents like the Kaitum as being a middle ground between the Keron and Anjan in terms of materials and construction.  I’d still like to see/try a Kaitum for comparison, but I *really* like the Keron, and am happy to own it and will never let it go.

I picked up two leaking Exped Megamat LXW’s at an REI garage sale yesterday and patched them, so now have a 60″x77″ wide 4″ thick R9.5 sleeping surface that fits in the Keron and is the most comfortable night of sleep ever and makes the tent seem more appropriate for car camping, though it is blatant overkill, haha.

Spent last night in the Anjan but didn’t get any pictures…

[Andy Berner]

Thanks guys for the input. Gonna put it up for trade. If no bits I do sleep on my side mostly so the Nallo might just be fine. Really like the idea of not using a bivy anymore to.

[Stuart .]

Andy, the only downside to the Keron and Kaitum is the length – 14′ if I remember correctly. Add a GT vestibule and you’re looking at close to 17′. I found it trickier to find suitable sites in summer than in winter when snow is the great equalizer.

I wound up selling my Keron 3 and replacing it with a Nammatj 3GT. Sure, I lose one door, but for the same approximate 14′ length, I gain the incredible extended vestibule. On an extended trip, the latter gives so many more options in my opinion. The Keron 3 is wider at the foot than the Nammatj 3, but I will only be using the shelter for two and the width’s not a concern.

[Crow]

I found that the length stops mattering as much when you stop caring about the ground under the vestibules.  As long as I get a good flat surface under the inner tent I’m happy – the vestibule can extend out over a slope and the bottom corners can be completely off the ground, or it can swallow a tree stump, etc.  I used to look for a spot that was adequately long, but now I just look for a spot that will fit the inner footprint, with enough clearance (though not necessarily level or good ground) for the vestibules.

Has anybody seen or used a Keron 2 or 2 GT?  They aren’t made anymore for some reason, but seem that they would really be an ideal tent size.

 

[Stephen M]

Looks like it will just about take two 25inch pads.

Might be worth calling Hilleberg in case they have an ex display model floating around.

[Crow]

Already tried that. :/

[Stephen M]

Your way ahead of me :-)

[Crow]

The Keron 3 fits the two 30″x77″ Exped MegaMat 10’s very well, with an extra ten inches of room at the head or foot ends for stowing things you don’t want to leave out in the vestibules.  These pads are ridiculous, but at $60 each it was a deal I couldn’t pass up and makes for a ridiculously comfortable night.  I’m used to waking up and turning over numerous times throughout the night, but that didn’t happen on these.  I think these pictures do well at showing how spacious this tent is.  Keep in mind these pads are four inches thick – most pads would leave even more headroom:

Here is a 2-person quilt shown (Big Agnes Saddle Mountain SL 15).  This tent could sleep 4 adults (albeit barely) with two such quilts aligned in opposite directions, since the foot end is narrower than the head end:

[Stuart .]

I’d imagine the fabled Keron 2 was phased out once the Kaitum was introduced, and also to let the Nammatj have its own identity. Let’s face it, Hilleberg have a bewildering range of shelters, many of which appear to overlap with one another. But the spec sheets don’t tell the whole story, and often you have to roll the dice or be willing/able to try out multiple models. That’s especially true in the 2P and 3P ranges. I’m fortunate that I have three Hilleberg dealers within driving distance, but that annoying little voice in the back of my head has what-iffed me into looking at models more often than I should admit.

My name is Stuart, and I am a Hilleholic.

[Crow]

Alright, got a couple pictures of the Anjan 3 GT.  Shown here in open “porch” configuration, with two rectangular Exped DownMat UL 7’s, a Big Agnes double sleeping bag (intended for use with 20″ pads that are ordered but haven’t arrived yet), and a couple short RidgeRests to sit on in the front.  I first staked the tent out normally, so the pegs were in place in the ground should I want to lower the outer tent wall if it started raining (and it/we later did).

[Andy Berner]

Looks great!  I picked up an Unna.  I have caught the Hilleberg itch.  Off to Colorado in a month and wanna use it over my lighter options.  We will see and ready for fall winter use!

[Crow]

The Unna has it’s appeals to me too.  I may have to get one myself at some point, haha.  I just posted in Gear Swap looking for a Nallo 2 and Akto. 9_9

[Stuart .]

Ugh, my last post vanished on me. Did you have any problems keeping the flysheet rolled up around the GT pole to create the open air porch? I notice that the Nallo and Kaitum GTs have toggles that allow the flysheet to be secured in place. It seems a shame they deleted that from the Anjan GT design either to keep the weight down, or to further differentiate the Nallo from the Anjan. Heck, I’d like that option on my Nammatj GT.

Card-carrying members of Hilleholics Anonymous unite ;-)

[Ken Thompson]

Wow. So years after I brought up the Enan in this thread there is still no review or bunch of photos of it in use,or at least showing it off posted. I am curious enough that I have one on order and will do a similar  treatment to what I did with the Unna years ago. Very little on YouTube either What’s with doing tent reviews without stating your height and not having a pad inside. That’s just lazy.

[Alistair B]

Green Hilleberg Suolo and footprint posted for sale in Gear Swap. Excellent condition, only five nights usage

[Tipi Walter]

I recently returned from a furnace 19 day backpacking trip and used my beloved red Hilleberg Keron as my usual solo tent and have a few pics to post for this discussion.

With both doors open the Keron becomes a heavy tarp with great ventilation.

Laying out my tent poles in a new camp before setting up the tent.

On the last day of every trip I unclip the inner tent from the tent fly so when I get home I can easily hang both to dry without having to unclip the wad at home.

[Author]

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