Helsport Spitsbergen camp 4 vs. Hilleberg Keron 4 GT

[jasper110]

Firstly, please excuse my use of English. i live in the UK and enjoy reading this forum with the help of google translate.

i am at the point where i am looking to buy a new tent and have shortlisted the two above. here in the U.K. plenty of people have Hillleberg tents but there are few with Helsport. looking at the manufactures web-sites there seems to be little difference between the 2 models apart from the storm mats. the cost over here is also about the same for each.

i cannot find any reviews on the Spitsbergen camp. most for the Keron are positive (although one owner had repeated pole breakages).

does anybody have experiences of either tent that you could share? good or bad?

i would be using this tent all year round in Scotland and the weather is mostly wet and windy (all year round) we also have a bad insect problem in the warmer months (the midge) which can force you inside the tent behind the mosquito nets.

ps. for around the same price as the Spitsberen camp i can get the Svalbard high camp 5 and for £ 150 more the Svalbard 6 camp. should i consider these? weight isn't too much of an issue with about 1kg difference between them all.

many thanks for your help.

[strebus85]

Welcome to fjellforum!

These are seriously good tents for realy serious conditions, but in my head they are both primary for use during the winter because of the weight. Why can´t you go for something lighter and more "portable"?

[jasper110]

Welcome to fjellforum!

These are seriously good tents for realy serious conditions, but in my head they are both primary for use during the winter because of the weight. Why can´t you go for something lighter and more "portable"?

thanks you for your reply.

my current tent is a Marmot Asgard 3p it weighs nearly 6kg and is a 3 person geodesic. we can just squeese 4 of us in it. it pitches inner first so is often soaking with puddles of water on the floor before we manage to throw the flysheet over. the porch area is a little too small for rucksacs, wet clothing and cooking. because of the shape of the inner, it 'rains' into the inner tent when camping in the winter and the heat from the stove melts the frost on the inside of the fly.

we have been using this tent for 3 years and have outgrown it. the tents i am looking at offer more space, quicker pitching and less weight than my current tent.

remember that we are 4 people, a 6kg tent is only 1.5 kg each (in theory) i don't consider this too much for a tent that will give shelter in all conditions and be totally reliable for many a year.

[qwer993]

I have the Spitsbergen 4camp and I am very happy with it for winter use. For 3-season tenting I would recommend something without storm mats for better ventilation. However, if the ground where you go is to hard for pegs, then storm mats are good. For backpacking I would recommend something lighter, lighter canvas, poles etc. Maybe you want to go only two persons? In the winter I use the pulka.

[mausteen]

I see you have set your eyes on two tents, and thought maybe you also could consider Helsports Fjellheimen X-Trem 4 Camp.

The 3 Camp version received excellent reviews in Villmarkslivs (an outdoors magazine in Norway) test of "all year around" tents.

Translated into english the test reads as follows:

"Stable and solid. Easy asembly, also with mittens. Inner and outer wall can be put up at the same time. Lots of fastening wires. Three good vents. Good sized entrance, lots of room for cooking etc. Very waterproof. It can be a bit hard to tighten the fabric (walls) if you have a poor campsite. The packsack can be a bit tight. A solid tent with lots of room and low weight.

- Requires a decent campsite

+ Size, weight and quick asembly. A very good all-rounder."

Link to the test is found here:

http://www.helsport.no/images/Marketing/Service/Produkttester/Test%20hel%C3%A5rstelt%20Villmarksliv%202006.pdf

[qwer993]

I see you have set your eyes on two tents, and thought maybe you also could consider Helsports Fjellheimen X-Trem 4 Camp.

The 3 Camp version received excellent reviews in Villmarkslivs (an outdoors magazine in Norway) test of "all year around" tents.

Translated into english the test reads as follows:

"Stable and solid. Easy asembly, also with mittens. Inner and outer wall can be put up at the same time. Lots of fastening wires. Three good vents. Good sized entrance, lots of room for cooking etc. Very waterproof. It can be a bit hard to tighten the fabric (walls) if you have a poor campsite. The packsack can be a bit tight. A solid tent with lots of room and low weight.

- Requires a decent campsite

+ Size, weight and quick asembly. A very good all-rounder."

Link to the test is found here:

http://www.helsport.no/images/Marketing/Service/Produkttester/Test%20hel%C3%A5rstelt%20Villmarksliv%202006.pdf

If four adults go togheter the porch area and the innertent of Fjellheimen may be a bit small.

[dufas]

I've previosly owned a Spitsbergen Camp tent, and I currently own a Keron GT tent. I cannot say whether the quality between them differs. As far as i've experienced both are very good, strong and durable.

The difference between them is the "user feiendliness", and i claim the Keron to be significantly easier to handle in most respects. A few of many examples:

- Entrance in extended vestibule. In Keron you can open the door in any way and direction. Spitsbergens door can only be opended in the sides and buttoms up; providing you with a nice wet and cold tentdoor flap on your back each and every time you get in and out of the tent.

- I Keron you do not ned to mind the lines when packing down the tent. These lines are double and you peg the double line with one single peg. Spitsbergen does in practicle have twice as many lines - all of them with an anoying line-runner in the end of each line. They mix up to the most magnificent Gordic-knot (not fun in a blizzard) if you do not individually wind & tie each and every line every time you strike. Quite (very)timeconsuming.

- Keron has spacious pole sleeves on the outisde of the outer tent. Much easier to both thread and thread out.

Don't mind that Keron doesn't have storm matts. They are (nearly) always redundant.

By all means; Spitsbergen is a very good tent but.....

regs

Dufas

[jamez]

I own a Keron 4 (not GT), and I love dragging it along, even if its a bit heavy. Its by far the best tent I have.

I would also choose the Keron GT over the Spitsbergen...

better general handling, lower weight, better placed guylines, better venting, no storm mats is prefered for humid conditions, better pole sleeves, etc

[qwer993]

I've previosly owned a Spitsbergen Camp tent, and I currently own a Keron GT tent. I cannot say whether the quality between them differs. As far as i've experienced both are very good, strong and durable.

The difference between them is the "user feiendliness", and i claim the Keron to be significantly easier to handle in most respects. A few of many examples:

- Entrance in extended vestibule. In Keron you can open the door in any way and direction. Spitsbergens door can only be opended in the sides and buttoms up; providing you with a nice wet and cold tentdoor flap on your back each and every time you get in and out of the tent.

- I Keron you do not ned to mind the lines when packing down the tent. These lines are double and you peg the double line with one single peg. Spitsbergen does in practicle have twice as many lines - all of them with an anoying line-runner in the end of each line. They mix up to the most magnificent Gordic-knot (not fun in a blizzard) if you do not individually wind & tie each and every line every time you strike. Quite (very)timeconsuming.

- Keron has spacious pole sleeves on the outisde of the outer tent. Much easier to both thread and thread out.

Don't mind that Keron doesn't have storm matts. They are (nearly) always redundant.

By all means; Spitsbergen is a very good tent but.....

regs

Dufas

Whether more or fewer pegs are preferable depends om conditions, I suppose. The new model Spitsbergen has an elastic loop for each line lock, so do not have any problems with knots.

[jasper110]

thank you for your comments. these are exactly the points i'm looking for and you don't find in the catalogues!

little things like the way the door opens and closes and easier threading poles may not seem much, but they all add up. for example; if my existing tent was 10cm larger in each direction, had a larger vestibule and pitched inner first, then i wouldn't be looking to replace it.

i wouldn't want to spend a lot on a tent only to wish that the poles were easier to insert and remove every time i used it! it may seem fussy but i've been told that the next tent i buy will be the last one (for quite some time) so i want to get it right.

[dufas]

[

[strebus85]

We own a Hilleberg Nallo 4GT. It's light (3,3kg), large, awesome well constructed and has a very big porch area. It's also got two "doors" in the opening end of the tent.

Hilleberg says it can be used during winter, but it's not primarly a winter tent, in spite of this I would not hesitate to use it on snow.