Soulo BL (Black Label)

Light weight and durability do not go hand in hand. When you make fabrics and poles thinner they lose strength and durability, there’s just no way around it. So the real question is: what is lightweight enough and durable enough for you? There is no best tent. It’s about finding the one that aligns with your preferences. And we can’t tell you what those are. Personally my tent of choice is the Hillberg Anaris. It has no tent poles which is always one of the weakest links in any tent (and especially in lightweight tents). This way I know I will never have catastrophic structural failures due to windy circumstances. What are the trade offs? Large fabric panels make this tent quite noisy in the wind and really hard winds will deform it, but it won’t brake. For a lightweight tent it also has a very rugged floor that doesn’t need a footprint, which is something I value. Most ultralight tents are (in my opinion) unusable without a footprint, since the floors are so flimsy. It is also spacious, has really good ventilation and plenty of space for gear as well. But there is a limit to everything, and if I expect really hairy conditions, I bring my Hilleberg Soulo BL which is an absolute bunker. But at that point we’re in another galaxy when it comes to weight 😂

I owned the Soulo for a couple of years, and regret selling it. It was a "bomb proof" shelter during a storm that took down trees below the treeline, while I was camping in even higher winds above the treeline. And it didn't need extreme conditions to deliver great comfort. Hilleberg also carries a bunch of spare and tuning parts. They even have a repair service. I've never heard of Slingfin so can't compare, but can say that I never ever felt like needing a more rugged tent as I was in my Soulo.

I've had nice nights in Norway, Sweden and the northernmost part of Finland in Hilleberg tents (Soulo, Akto and Nammatji GT) and a Fjällräven tent (discontinued Skule R / S 2). It makes sense those tents were developed by people who hike in these very areas. I don't have any doubt thre are many tents that do the job well at half the price or less, but when a storm strikes, you'll feel safe in a quality tent.

I prioritize things pretty much like this: 1) safety (strong structure/suitable for the terrain and climate), 2) comfort, 3) weight. As an example, I somewhat regret selling the Soulo and choosing the Akto instead. There's nothing wrong with the Akto, but the Soulo was just simply such a safe-feeling bastion that I had a great time with it.

I’ve camped in the Soulo and my regular pitch is a SlingFin Crossbow (very similar tent to the Windsaber). Both tents are bomber, albeit using different design approaches. The Soulo is considered a gold standard for bad/rough weather use, widespread in Europe, fewer of them here in the States. Uses much heavier fabric than the SlingFin which does translate to a heavier carry. Fairly easy and fast to pitch which matters when it’s raining sideways in Swedish Lapland and you just want to get in out of the wet. Inner and outer tents are integrated, so you pitch and you’re done; no having to deal with getting the outer fly spread and secured. They offer two editions of the tent, black- and red-label, with the red being slightly less bombproof (but still plenty strong) and a bit lighter. I felt a bit claustrophobic in it but ymmv with that of course. Also, eye popping expensive bought new, as noted elsewhere. I’m a big SlingFin fan; I have schlepped my Crossbow all over the place and it has never disappointed me and has ridden out absolutely brutal wind and precip. A bit more fiddly a setup than the Soulo, bc of the webtruss structure, but once I pitched it a couple times my muscle memory started kicking in and I can get it stood up nearly as fast as the Soulo. Because the outer and inner are separate you’ve got a number of pitch options and you can effectively get the Soulo integrated pitch by leaving the outer attached to the webtruss. I’ve found the Crossbow to be a much roomier and more comfortable tent with a number of nice quality-of-life features: lots of pockets , really good ventilation options, inner guylines. IIRC the Crossbow was designed off of the Windsaber, just slightly less robust (think of it as the Hilleberg red label equivalent, maybe?). Lots of vestibule space. I’m absolutely Team SlingFin in this hunt, but either tent would handle any of your listed destinations. Good luck with your search.

~~Winter camping can mean many things. The Nallo isn't a 4 season tent. Specifically, it isn't adapted to snow. Those cat curves on the lower perimeter of the fly are practically impossible to bury and the spindrift will flood the interior. You will regret using the Nallo in full on winter conditions (blown snow).~~ If you have a very limited budget and need one shelter to do it all, your best bet would be a mid with as many sides as you can get/are willing to carry (i.e., a rectangular pyramid -> a hexagonal mid -> an octagonal mid). Edit: My comments about the cat cut on the fly is due to confusion with the Anjan! My apologies for the confusion! FWIW, I've personally used and owned at different points 3 of what are now called the Black Label tents and 6 of the Red Label tents.

Mountain 25 is a good tent used worldwide. If price is no concern then I would definitely suggest going with a Hilleberg black or red label or Mountain Hardwear Trango 2. Any of the three will definitely last a lifetime. I wouldn’t rush though, order a free hilleberg catalog online. They have some amazing tents. I’ve personally camped in a double-poled (yea you can use two poles where one goes on hilleberg) Tarra and saw winds of 80mph. Fabric whipped a bit but sleeping at that level we always bring ear plugs.