Hilleberg for JMT 2017?

[Richie S]

I suppose it would be pretty easy to set the tent up and set the sprinkler on it for a while and you could have some confidence either way.

[James holden]

Richie …

a sprinkler will show any basic leaks …

but only prolongued testing in constant heavy rain will ID other issues

as you can see in the photo above theres a significant amount of splatter inside the fly onto the inner

its not from any leakage, gaps or poor HH (TN has one of the better tested HH)

basically my backyard is a mud swamp right now and all the moisure from it and my warm body is condensing the moment it touches the fly which is cooled by freezing rain

as the rain pounds its shaking loose the droplets and thats dropping on the inner … The good part is that everything in the inner is dry

if this was a single walled tarp or tent then your bag might be pretty damp by now and you might be getting wet

some issues only show up after hours (or even days) of constant  rain ….

ill have had the tent out for several straight days with this kind of mostly constant rain by the time i conclude the test and make dry it to make a few mods/repairs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xir75O0Z0k

;)

 

 

 

 

[Jason E]

I used an Akto for my 2015 JMT thru hike as the Enan was new and I couldn’t get it in time. I would highly recommend the Enan though. Hilleberg tents are the best. I have had my Akto in every kind of weather including very, very heavy hail storms in mountains in Japan, JMT, and the Winds to name a few. The Enan is based off the Akto so I imagine they perform the same but the Enan has better ventilation and sloped ends. On the JMT, my buddy was in a BG Flycreek. One morning I was still in my tent waking up and he stated that the night had been crazy and he thought his tent was going to seriously fly apart. I asked him why and he asked me if I had not felt the hail storm. I had woke up but just thought is was raining really hard but my tent was not showing any signs of really crazy weather and went back to sleep with out even thinking anything about it. I got out of my tent to 3″- 4″ of hail every where. In the Winds at Peak lake I ran into similar experience. The buddy on that hike brought a Tarp tent by 6 moons designs against my recommendation. That night he had his tent nearly blown away and woke me up yelling for help. He was panicking and trying desperately to re-stake his tent. That morning he said he did not sleep and it was the most terrifying night of his life. ( He is in the Army by the way.) All I had to do was knock snow build up off once that night as the Akto is flat on the ends and not great in heavy snow storms because it will collect on the end. Easily removed without leaving the tent though. Another feature that I love is the fly goes up first or with the inner tent inside. Being able to remove the inner is great. It is nice to be able to pack away the inner when the fly is soaked. They both dry very fast. I did not seam seal my Akto and it has never leaked. We had 3 nights in a row of heavy rain on the JMT. I also own a Saivo that I use in the winter when I am with other people. My Akto has seen heavy use going on 4 years now and it is still in great shape with many, many years of use left. The size for a 1 person tent is very roomy. I would say go with the Hilleberg. They are the best! I have tried a lot of other solo tents and nothing comes close in my opinion. There are lighter choices out there, but it is nice to not have to worry about a tent failure when you need it most. I often am in locations that I would find myself in a very life threatening situation if my shelter failed on me. I don’t have to worry about that happening in a Hilleberg. Good luck and enjoy the trail. The JMT is amazing.

[Glenn O]

I have roughly a dozen nights in the Enan. I like it ok, though I have struggled to keep a really taught pitch, which I knew would be a weak point going in. Waffling on whether to keep it or move it along.

[Ben C]

I’m not familiar with the tent, but it seems like there are a lot of better options.  You can go a lot lighter.  You can go a lot cheaper.  You can get a lot more room.  You can be just as storm-worthy I suspect.  I have used a trailstar in the Sierras with a lot of success.  A friend took a Duplex with a lot of success; it held up to winds surprisingly well.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I’ll stick with my Tarptent Moment DW. I like its design better than the Enan and feel it’s more “wind-worthy”, not to mention its ability to become a true 4 season tent with the optional Crossing Pole.

Like the Enan the Moment DW has a fly that extends low for better weather protection, rain or snow. And it had double doors/vestibules plus good top venting and end vents.

And if you look a “The Tarptent Thread” you will see my mod of the X-ing Pole run under the fly for more snow load and wind load strength.

 

[Franco Darioli]

“That night he had his tent nearly blown away and woke me up yelling for help. He was panicking and trying desperately to re-stake his tent”.

The tent did not fail, the one that set it up did.

[Richie S]

The Enan is a great tent. The only negative is that a thick inflatable mattress can leave your face a little close to the mesh inner. The tent itself is top quality, a breeze to put up quickly, and pitches inner and outer together so the inside will stay dry in a storm.

I wouldn’t say the options are any better. It’s just a matter of personal choice. Build quality is probably just one notch about tarp tents, but then you pay two or three times the prices for that. It’s an easier pitch that the various mids.

It’s basically almost all the robustness of an Akto at a lower weight. The only difference I’d say in terms of dealing with snow would be the upper vent on top of the zip. There’s none on the Enan.

[Tom M]

Wow, forgot about this thread I started. Haven’t forgot about the tent issue. Here’s where I’m at now.

HMG Ultamid 2.

I’ve gone all around, was dead set on a Zpacks Duplex, then the new Skurka High Route from Sierra Designs (due largely to price, but also curiosity) – which looks quite nice really. But light, space, head room, bombproofness and low weight of the ultamid have me hooked for now. I also like the idea of being able to tromp in to one side with my boots on and not worry about crudding up my sleeping area on the other. The height gives me room to move around and maybe even sit in my camp chair (whatever that will be) while I wait out to storm.

Need to find bathtub floor to fit one half the space for my sleeping area. Suggestions?  Great comments all. Thanks!

 

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