Mountaineering Tent Advice (HMG Ultramid 4 vs Hilleberg Jannu)

Scott Boyce wrote:

@steve.g I know this thread is ancient, but what route did you end up going with, and how has it worked out for you?

I use a mid (bd megalight, current polyester version) year round in the cascades, and have used an older silnylon version at lower altitudes in Alaska and as a kitchen tent on glacier.

It is not a fun place to be in a winter storm, and feels much more exposed than a sealed up mountaineering tent, but I trust it to keep me alive. The poly version doesn’t sag when wet and sheds snow better than the nylon version. Wind performance is excellent. It works great for long approaches, and is so much better on 3 season conditions than a single wall 4th season tent. I have a solid fabric half inner I bring for basecamp trips that makes it a bit more weatherproof, but is heavy at~600g. I use a 85g S2S nano pyramid net for bugs if it’s just me.

It does require quite a bit of space to pitch, which is the biggest negative IMO. I have an OR bivy sack I use instead if I’m planning on camping in steep terrain.

If I was about to spend HMG money, I’d look at slingfin tents, they’re doing some cool stuff with lightweight, small footprint doublewall mountaineering tents.

I wouldn’t worry to much about a tent for big mountain expeditions if you don’t have anything planned for the near future—  At least one of your presumably experienced partners probably already has a heavy ass doublewall expedition tent, and even if they don’t, ~$300/person isn’t a huge expense if you need to buy it explicitly for that trip.

If one is ready to drop HMG level money, check out the Samaya Assult 2 Ultra tent as well. I have one, I really like it. 

Eli W wrote:

I use a mid (bd megalight, current polyester version) year round in the cascades, and have used an older silnylon version at lower altitudes in Alaska and as a kitchen tent on glacier.

It is not a fun place to be in a winter storm, and feels much more exposed than a sealed up mountaineering tent, but I trust it to keep me alive. The poly version doesn’t sag when wet and sheds snow better than the nylon version. Wind performance is excellent. It works great for long approaches, and is so much better on 3 season conditions than a single wall 4th season tent. I have a solid fabric half inner I bring for basecamp trips that makes it a bit more weatherproof, but is heavy at~600g. I use a 85g S2S nano pyramid net for bugs if it’s just me.

Eli, thanks for sharing. I can appreciate the sagging problem. I do have the silnylon Mega Lite and BD's bug net / floor that is super heavy... what is the solid half inner you use?

Do you know if the internal coating of the current poly Mega Lite is traditional polyester urethane i.e. PU (subject to hydrolysis) or a newer PE/PEU (polyether urethane) that isn't? Dan Durston talks about the concept here but the phone rep at the SLC BD store couldn't tell me, the rep just kept saying it is "just polyester" is "not coated". I intend my shelters to last a long time and yet another PU coated shelter would be a no-go. I baby my gear and store it bone dry, but just want to avoid the sticky, tacky, flaking mess that hydrolysis can bring.

This is the inner I have, $60 off aliexpress, stitching isn’t perfect, but I’m not mad for what I paid. Mine is branded “knot gear”, but there are lots of options. A palace for one, tight for two. 

Fabric— water beads on the inner coating, and it does not wet out even when rubbed in, so I think it’s PE/PeU, since normal PU tends to absorb water. The seam tape is clear, but I’m not sure if that means anything. I think the outer surface is silicone treated, as it has some sort of lightly applied coating, but it’s possible it’s a wax/oil/silicone based DWR— I don’t have any silpoly to compare to, but it’s not as silky smooth as silnylon.