Wild Country Helm Compact 2 Tent RRP £260

Product Information

The Helm 2 Compact is a 3-season tent (fine for spring, summer & autumn use) and will also take a light dusting of snow in the not too harsh UK winter conditions Flysheet: 20D nylon ripstop silicone PU, 3000mm HH / Inner: 20D nylon ripstop silicone/ 15D nylon mesh / Groundsheet: 30D nylon ripstop, 3000mm hydrostatic head / Poles: 2 trekking poles (not supplied) / Pegs: 9 x 15cm Y / Porches: x 2 , 28cm deep. The distinctive pole structure gives plenty of headroom inside the tent and give's it strength in windy weather The design, build and materials match the high quality you’d expect from Terra Nova and Wild Country, all at an affordable price. It withstands wind well and the impressive waterproofing stats of the groundsheet and flysheet ensure you’ll always stay dry. All in all, the Wild Country Helm Compact 3 performs admirably: it delivers a weatherproof, spacious and full-featured shelter at a very sensible price, making several incremental improvements on the original Helm series. Weight and Size

The pitched size may or may not be an issue depending on the size of the user, but certainly it’s best suited to sheltered pitches. It’s a single hoop tunnel with a short upright at the tail, and while its default pitching mode is all in one, it’s possible to pitch the inner on its own, or indeed the fly on its own. So you can understand why US outdoor specialist Sierra Designs decided to make an updated version of the popular Meteor tent range specifically created for the vagaries of the northern European climate. The Aurora is also fitted with clips for Nemo’s Pawprint liner – a neat optional extra that means you can take your dog with you without worrying that he’ll damage the tent floor with his claws. Speaking of protecting the tent floor, the Aurora comes with a footprint to form a barrier with the ground below the tent.

Product Specification

MATERIALS Outer 68D poly taffeta, hydrostatic head 3,000mm Groundsheet 68D poly taffeta, hydrostatic head 3,000mm Poles DAC Pressfit Aluminum Pegs 10

Weight: If you're carrying a tent up a mountain, you'll naturally want it to weigh as little as possible. But, the lighter a tent is, the more expensive it'll be. For a good quality, 3-season tent for UK use, 1kg or under is extremely light, 1.5kg is good, and 2kg is a tad on the heavy side. As well as a family tent, the Habitude would work perfectly as a perfect group basecamp for canoe trips or mountain biking. The tent was also supplied with what appears to be a decent set of pegs and not basic wire rod pegs. When the wind gets up, you have four guys, each with two attachment points, so offering good stability even for a basic dome. Robens do wind tunnel tests for all their tents – this one comes out unscathed up to 105 kph (65 mph). That’s actually a Force 10 storm! Needless to say you should always seek out a sheltered spot to pitch when you can. Lightwave’s single-skin S15 Sigma pitches all in one, because one is all there is! It has a single side entry and porch, which provides plenty of space for your kit – it’s bigger than porches I’ve seen on some two-berth tents!

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Another Europe-specific design feature is the green ‘earth-tone’ flysheet, chosen to blend in with the countryside for wild camping. The side door can be set up in various different ways: fully closed to keep the weather at bay, rolled up to let you to take in the view, or extended out with a hiking pole to create a larger sheltered space. Is that too much to ask from one tent? Our in-depth, in-field research – undertaken throughout the Highlands of Scotland during a Munro-bagging hiking expedition – concludes a categorical ‘hell no’. The Wisp Bivy’s incredibly light weight is mainly down to the technical materials that have been used, more specifically, the clever SuperSil fabric, which is a ripstop nylon that’s coated on both sides with silicon to add both waterproofness and durability.

As you would expect from Wild Country – the same people behind Terra Nova lightweight tents – the materials and manufacturing are of an exceptionally high standard. Storage space in both entrances is really generous. I was thinking to store equipment in one and cook in the other. Suitable for 3 season camping, the dome style provides more stability than a single hoop 2person design such as the Zephyros 2.

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We were really impressed by the amount of internal space – it’s wide enough for two campers to share the space and having doors on both sides makes access easier. The inner tent’s steep walls means there is plenty of room to sit up inside. Overall this is an excellent and reliable lightweight tent that won’t cost the earth – in either sense. The inner is designed for two, but in reality the Nevis 200 is best suited for one, providing plenty of space for the solo camper to move around. The ventilation panels inside are designed to cut down on condensation.

Its easy to put up (inner tent & flysheet pitch together) and only takes 2 mins once you’ve done it once (I love tents like this - especially when putting up tents when its raining - I don't like pitching them separately) It has 2 poles which are clearly colour coded and you won't even need to read the instructions to put it up! MATERIALS Outer 68D ripstop polyester, hydrostatic head 1,500mm Groundsheet 68D taffeta polyester, hydrostatic head 10,000mm Poles Aluminium With ventilation panels at both ends, allowing air to flow through, and zippable mesh on the inner doors, condensation isn’t a major issue. The vents have covers, so can remain open even when it’s raining. Pitching is fairly easy, with interconnecting aluminium poles forming a freestanding frame which you clip the inner onto, before attaching the flysheet on top. But bear in mind this is an inner-first tent, so you do run the risk of everything getting wet if it’s raining.

The dome style tends to provides more stability than a tunnel design, which is obviously good for camping in autumn and early winter – or any time when there could be high winds. There’s only a single entrance, but it has a decent-sized porch plus a handy rear storage area with an unusual ‘hatch’ in the mesh inner that allows you to reach through and stash small items of kit. The end walls are also fairly steep, especially at the head of the tent, which means you ought to be able to lie out comfortably even if you’re well over 6 foot tall. The width isn’t class-leading by any stretch, but should still accommodate all but the chunkiest sleeping mats. The flysheet and inner tent pitch together and the inner is made from a breathable material. Inside the sleeping area, there is a large ventilation panel to deal with any condensation issues. Access is via one of the two side doors, both of which have large storage porches before you enter the inner tent. The vestibules provide somewhere to store your gear and are a sheltered space for cooking and eating.