I was about to pull the trigger on a Hilleberg Soulo for Nordic XC touring in Norway and Finland but I'm now tempted by the Rab Latok Bivi. The Rab is lighter and cheaper but would benefit from the addition of a micro tarp for a cooking shelter. The Soulo is 15cm higher than the Latok, but the Latok has a bit of a width advantage. Both look able to deal with a dump of snow. So which should I go for?
What is the life expectancy of the Event material?
Your views are appreciated.
I have a Soulo, hasn't seen any snow use yet. Great, solid tent.
Not as sturdy, but still 4 season, the Unna has a bit more space and is lighter. Given my mostly 3 season camping and being 6' I think I'd rather have gotten that. Different circumstance to you obviously.
Few thoughts...
- the Soulo will be easier to get in an out of in lousy weather without getting too much rain or snow into the inner.
- You can cook in the Soulo, more or less, something I'd definitely not want to do in the Rab.
- I've no idea how tall you are, but you might find the Rab a bit low to sit up in.
I think getting some condensation or frost inside the tent is inevitable, but a two-skin tent will make this a little easier to deal with. I believe two-skin tents are slightly warmer than single skin. I'm pretty certain the Soulo will be easier to vent than the Latok.
They're both nice bits of kit, but the Soulo is much more 'general purpose' to my mind.
If you were doing a longer trip and hauling kit on a pulk, you might consider a bigger tent. I wouldn't want be to be holed up in my Soulo in a storm for too long! The Nammatj 2 or 2GT might do the job nicely in that case.
Lorraine McCall began her attempt today at a continuous, self-powered round of the Grahams, a four-month tour of upland Scotland combining walking and bikepacking. If successful, she'll be the first person that we know of to do it.
