Hilleberg - Allak 3

I like the concept of the tent, especially the option to strengthen it with my trekking poles since i'm used to have a full freestanding tent with 3 arched (hilleberg allak), which is pretty heavy but super robust. can someone say if it is possible to use a trekking pole on both sides of the tent, or just the entry side? In the videos and pictures i only see the entry side.

I got rid of the Abisko for a Soulo. I’m 6’2”. I’ve got an Allak and it’s great but it weighs about a ton and a half.

We’re on the same page. Fantastic tent all the same. I took it (on my own) to Vatersay, next to Barra. A decent-sized gale came in off the Atlantic. I don’t know what else would’ve stood up to it. And I’d decent space for the 24hrs it took to blow out.

I have an Allak as well, which I use sometimes during the autumn and winter for kayak camping, or for when my partner comes out in the fells with me, as we can then split the weight of the gear. I agree it’s really too heavy for a solo hiker; I’m always surprised when I see people out solo in the mountains with one. It’s not just the weight, it’s really bulky when packed too!

Yeah I do love it too, it’s a sort of luxury item for me when I’m out kayaking. I love having that extra space to spread out, especially when the weather is bad, as you mention. You can’t go wrong with a Hilleberg :)

Whilst a proper four season tent (eg Hilleberg, Terra Nova, Fjallraven) will have a temperature inside that’s a few degrees warmer than outside (my Soulo/Allak tents are usually around 3-5°C warmer than outside), you shouldn’t be relying primarily on your tent to keep you warm; that’s what your clothing and sleep system are for. So you really need to be focusing on getting a sleeping bag and mat that are rated for very cold temperatures.

Personally I’d say the Nammatj is actually overkill for the UK, with the Nallo being more appropriate. The Nammatj, as well as their other Black Label tents, is literally designed for high altitude expeditions and Arctic/Antarctic environments. It’s a great tent, obviously, but there’s no real need to be carrying that weight around in the UK when a Red Label tent is more than sufficient :) I’ve camped with my RL Soulo and Allak all over the UK, throughout the year, on mountains and along exposed coast on sea kayaking trips, and they’ve always been fine. Hell, even my Yellow Label Niak was fine in 40mph winds in Scotland last year.

People shit on hilleberg prices till they use a hilleberg in less than ideal weather. I’ll tolerate the price for the long life and ability to handle some nasty weather. Most places in the states below tree line don’t need one though.

Hilleberg, TarpTent, SlingFin, Samaya. Real expeditions are more likely to choose Hilleberg. Their strongest tents are not super light, but they are made to withstand serious weather.

I swear by my Hilleberg, but that's a terrible deal, even on a great tent.

Get a Hilleberg! 😂buy once cry once.

Hilleberg is the tent for severe weather. They have different lines depending on how you want to trade weight versus sturdiness. None are "ultralight", but that is not what you are looking for in extreme cold/winds/snow.

I hunt in Alaska we always use a Hilleberg

Hilleberg makes fantastic tents. Not cheap though.

If you really want to buy once cry once, the best tents available are probably from hilleberg. If you want a very decent budget one to start out and see what you like and don’t like, I’d recommend naturehike

Completely disagreeing with this. This is a well known influencer site and list. So, it is merely a sales pitch. Lets check out the list: North Face Stormbreak. 200$ for a polyester tent in 2025! Half of the amazon junk would be more resistant to weather, and weighs half. It is an amazing tent, but only if we are in 2000s. Kelty, is it half covered in mesh, it is horrible in summer and it cannot stand winter. Then there is Hilleberg. Top of the top winter tent. If the list contains a Hilleberg I dont think there would even be a place for MSR in the list. The list then should be dominated by other Hillebergs. Also, where is the Zpacks, or Xmids? Where is mongar, or lanshan? Those are amazing <1 kilo tents .. some of which are on amazon. I agree, Amazon has a lot of junk. But also a lot of very high quality products not paying influencers. There are many better tent makers outside of this list and for many of the items in the list, they are indeed amazing products. However, for many I dont think their brand name justifies their price in 2025 anymore.

Ok let me pitch on the list then: This is an incoherent list: contains tents with different sizes and persons count, so it is creating more confusion than being helpful. Apart from that several of the tents there have well known problems: \- Hilleberg is a winter tent; if you rely on this list and buy it for a summer holiday you will die. \- Elixir does not use seam sealing and instead use a sealing technique mostly seen in cotton fabric tents, and it is known that it leaks. So late autumn it is a dangerous tent. \- North Face Stormbreak is a very old, reliable tent, but uses polyester, so it weighs around 3 kilos. You can easily find a tent with the same specs, much better material for half the price and would weigh around 2 kilos. \- Rei and Nemo tents in the list are all dome tents, which are literally replicas of each other (i would even say knock offs of Big Agnes there with inferior build quality). Many of them are half covered with fabric instead of mesh in their inners, which is terrible for summer. Always go for as much mesh as possible for summer. For early autumn, late spring they are probably good. But definitely master of none. I dont know how they are in a "best" list \- Kelty again is an old reliable tent, but has pole sleeves, so setting it up is a chore. It is covered with fabric again, so not so good for summer, would be good for mountain weather in the summer though. Still, material is outdated and setting it up is much slower than current lines of tents. \- Hillebergs are top of the top, and big agnes clearly earns its place in the list. \- MSR tents there are both very light options, but nothing special there. Personally i would carry 500 grams more instead of paying premium to a tent design that is so common. It is a very good alternative for ultralighters. \- There are other tent types, such as inflatables, such as popup tents, such as summer tents. The list contains none. So, if you are trying to find a tent to buy .. ditch this list and check out other sources. It is incoherent, it misses out a lot of different alternatives and it doesnt factor in criteria such as who? how? where? when? how many people? duration? conditions? It is basically the sunday paper of tent recommendations. A potpourri of cool images.

Hilleberg it is then. Assuming it’s 3 adults… I’ve been backpacking for “a long time”. I’d put up with a 2 person tent. No way am I cramming myself into a 3 person tent. I’ll just bring my own tent in that case. Nobody wants to be the person in the middle.