The "right" Berg tent?

In the 18 years I've been going to the berg I've seen some "real" weather and wind. I currently use a Bibler 4 season tent and its a great tent too, seemingly impervious to moisture and wind.

So it seems I got the overkill option right but I notice that new tents coming into the market are weighing in at 2kg or even less compared with my 3kg tent. The other thing I am struggling with is that being single skin goretex it packs pretty large and takes up a lot of pack space. As I am trying to downsize and lighten everything, this isn't working for me.

I would like to hear about what others are using and whether lighter/ smaller options are viable at high altitude (where I love to be).

PS.I see Hilleberg tents are light and can be imported but a quite a price! Mountain Hardwear is more reasonable with their 3 season tents but I don't know how they stand up to harsh conditions.

Cheers
Ian

Since the epic fail of a tent that a K-Way Treklite III turned out to be on GT I got a 360degree 4 season 2 man tent. It weighs 2.1kg and is really good. I spent 3 nights on GT in John's tent like this and it was really a top quality tent. After GT (with half of my Treklite being lost somewhere in Lesotho), I got one of these tents. It only cost R1400 and is really good, compact and light.

If finances allowed I would be looking at Bibler Bipod Bivy (see this ) - haven't tried it or read up much on it, but it looks really good No point in researching something that would not fall within my next R20k's worth of hiking expenditure, so not in the next few years...

I also started suffering from the excessive pack weight problem a few years ago (haven't yet overcome it) and investigated tents under 3kg which would stand up to any Berg weather. Forget anything from South African companies. I found few overseas companies with anything really suitable except Terra Nova in the UK. The only problem is the huge cost. I eventually bought a Superlite Quasar, 2.2kg, 2 person, double skin, 4 pole geodesic dome, double bell ends, alloy poles, titanium pegs. Present cost is about 450 UK pounds although mine was less at the time. It's only disadvantage is that it is erected inner first and if you are carring it just for yourself, it is difficult to put up in strong winds. On the Skywalk from Lady Grey to Tiffindel in 2011 we were hit by a cold front on the first day, which, to put it politely, knocked the crap out of us. I became mildly panicky at one stage when trying to get my tent up on my own, whilst rapidly freezing to death, and getting nowhere due to the high wind. When the tent was finally up there was an inch of water in it, which had come through the iner tent during the process. I did survive without any scars except mental ones, and the tent performed superbly after that.

Tents made by Hilleberg, Mountain Hardware, Vaude and others are just too heavy, although they would perform very well in bad weather. Another option is the Mountain Equipment Dragonfly XT which is 2.5kg and has a 3 pole geodesic design with a large extension in front. Tents by Big Agnes also seem to be very light but may not have the high mountain capabilities. I haven't kept very much up to date on current models except to note that Terra Nova are making tents and rucksacks from Cuben fibre. This is the stuff used for ocean racing yacht sails, and is extremely strong and light. The Terra Nova Voyager Ultra 2 is a three pole geodesic design made from Cuben fibre with carbon fibre poles which would stand up to any Berg weather yet weighs only 920 grams. You would probably have to remortgage the farm to pay for it though.

I have a Big Agnes copper spur UL2, two man tent, weighs 1.7kg and is awesome. It sleeps two people comfortably and I had it in the snow last weekend on top of Bannermans. It cost a fortune but I managed to get someone to bring it back from the States.

Thanks for that. I have been eyeing the UL2 for some time. It looks like a great tent but the import price is high.

I have also looked at the Mountain Hardwear Skyledge 2.1 which is similar and can be got off Takealot.com for 4.3k which is quite reasonable. I like this design as it has 2 doors and weighs in at 1.9kg. Backpacker user guide in the US voted it best all round 2 man tent last year.

The 3rd option I am keen to hear if anyone has tested in high altitude weather is the TNF Messo 22 which is 1.8kg from Due South. It's a good deal at 3k and write ups are good for 3 season use. Anyone got one?

PS. Not sure I agree about Hilleberg as their Nallo 2 and 3 tents are tough and weigh in at 2.2/ 2.3kg? I would like one of these for sure but the price is 6 or 7k. The 3 is my favourite cause its spacious for 3 and only 2.3kg!

I guess money solves many things... My view on the "value for money" aspect is this. If I get a lightweight tent which is not 4 season rated I don't want to pay more than 4.5k and will try for less provided the weight is close to 2kg. At 6 or 7k you start getting 4 season tents close to 2kg anyway. The BD(Bibler) Eldorado is a top candidate here. I also prefer manufacturers who I have used or know I can trust. I haven't encountered a local tent maker that impressed me yet but maybe 360deg can change that over time.

The Nallo's are tunnel tents which are not nearly as strong as a dome or better still, a geodesic dome. If snowed upon heavily a tunnel tent will tend to collapse under the weight, as it has only the fabric for support between the poles, and wet snow is very weighty. They are reliant on the guy ropes for longitudinal support. A geodesic dome is strengthened by poles crossing at five points and which cross the tent from ground to ground. You will see that all 'expedition' tents are geodesic dome designs. Some of The North Face tents have weird designs with poles ending in space at the top of the tent, similar to the MSR Hubba-Hubba models. Check all this in detail before you part with your hard cash.

A friend of mine has the Meso 22, its a nice little tent, but not really for 2 people as the one side of the roof slopes down so that the second person would have the roof just above the head plus it would have to be a shortie as it gets narrow in the length too. Good for one person plus pack inside tent.

Thanks Sabine and Bobby. That's the kind of stuff you find out the hard way.

I don't have enough experience camping in snow to know about hoop tent performance but now that I think of it, I have never on any movie covering mountain expeditions seen even one hoop tent used at altitude.

The Messo does look cramped compared to my Bibler but I never realised the roof pitch issue and it only has one door too.

So, how to get a Big Agnes tent at the US retail price is the question? The Mountain Hardwear is still a good option too. I know someone who has an older version of it who seems happy (Sue) and its current import price is quite reasonable. Terra Nova is great kit but they only sell in Pounds so that's nasty for us and I already have one seriously expensive tent.

I should probably go and do a physical assessment of the 360deg tents too.

Any suggestions?

Cheers
Ian

Geordie & I have been using a Hilleberg 3 man, weighs 2.4kg and has withstood some quite severe weather. Also went up super quick AND dry on our GT as the outer layer protects the inner while putting it up in rain (or ice rain in that instance!) Anyone watching the race to the Antarctic will have seen that HIlleberg tunnel tents were used by nearly all the competitors (maybe a sponsorship) and withstood days of blizzards!

The tent was purchased in 2008 and is still as good as then! Was well worth the cost we think....

Here's a question, if you are on a very limited budget do you wait until you can afford that really good tent or do you buy the best one within your budget? Let's be quite honest you need to spend a good few thousand SA currencies to get a decent "berg" tent