Ya, the price is something. I have one, and it is the most impressive tent I have had the pleasure of using. Fast and easy setup, sheds wind and water with utmost confidence. It is like having a mini fortress despite the weight being quite reasonable.
If "hurricane force winds in the high arctic" is part of the discussion, maybe get a yellow label Hilleberg? Anjan is pricy, but hovers around 4 lbs and can handle a serious beating.
Alternatively, look at pyramids from Mountain Laurel Designs. They are quite light, set up with trekking poles, but the shape lends itself well to dealing with wind and difficult weather (including snow load).
I have a Hilleberg Anjan 3 that I love for Fell camping. Been in some hellacious storms with that. But its probably overkill unless you spend a lot of time camping
The gold standard is probably the Hilleberg Anjan
But that is a lot of money and if you don't camp as much then maybe its not worth it. Also, as it is a tunnel tent, it is excellent in bad weather but it is not free standing.
Nemo Daggeror dragonfly are great for the money
I use a Anjan personally, but I use Nemo when I guide trips
I really love Hilleberg and Nordisk. Hilleberg anjan is good option, also enan or Niak. Look at their yellow label. They are a lot stronger than a lot of these US tents, also they have very high resale value. Also they pitch inner and outer together. It’s probably a different design than you are used to. But it’s great, and very durable!
The heavy aspect is simply a comparison thing; modern tent technology means there’s a lot of tents on the market now that are ultralight. The X-Mid being a good example, as it’s extremely popular. People are used to carrying very light shelters. It’s probably worth bearing in mind that many (most?) campers don’t camp during the winter so aren’t familiar with the weight of true four season tents, and especially not geodesics.
Having said that, even Hilleberg’s Yellow Label (ie three season) tents are heavy compared to other three season tents. All my tents are Hilles; last weekend I was out with my Anjan, which at around 1.9kg would definitely be considered heavy by people camping with X-Mids.
Hilleberg’s designs can definitely be described as old fashioned. But there’s no denying that they’re exceptionally strong, are repairable, and built to last a very long time.
As the other user mentioned, Fjallraven makes good tents, and you can find them secondhand at good prices. Also, Terra Nova make good tents, and they're not as expensive as Hilleberg.
You can sometimes find Hillebergs at good prices on eBay. Personally I own a couple of Hillebergs and have found them totally worth the price tag. I see them as a long term investment. But I also understand why people don't want to spend that kind of money on a tent.
Any good 4-season tent will have no issue holding up to strong winds on exposed beaches. I recommend a sealed 4-season model not just for the stronger poles, but because it will keep blowing sand out of the tent, which can become a huge issue in big storms. I once endured a 20hr, 80km/h+ wind storm on the Nahanni River in my 3 season Mountain Hardwear Aspect 2 tent, and while the poles miraculously didn’t break, the entire inside of my tent was full of sand when it finally let up. Like, a quarter inch of sand everywhere, and I’d been breathing it all night. With every gust the tent would fold down onto my chest, and I’d get peppered with a fistful of sand at my face. It was probably one of the most intense, miserable nights I’ve ever had in the backcountry.
Several of my friends had heavier 4 season tents and slept through most of the ordeal, and had zero sand in their tents.
Something like a Mountain Hardwear Trango, Marmot Thor or Hilleberg style tunnel tent would be your best choice if you’re expecting serious wind. They’re not cheap, but they’ll take whatever you can throw at them.
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The North Face
Wawona 6
85% positive of 133 users
Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.
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