I don't want to buy two tents so I am looking for smoething very versatile.

I have started to hone in on the Hilleberg Nammatj 2, but I am not sure how well I will go setting it up on the hard rocking ground on Aconcagua.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Stephenson's Warmlite 2R.

I used a Hilleberg Suolo on Aconcagua with no issues. I doubled the short pole, which makes it incredibly strong for the weight. I appreciated the design while getting it set up in high winds, and had no issues leaving it unattended through two windstorms above 5500m. I have also used it on canoe trips and simple overnight hiking trips. The beauty of Hilleberg tents is in their light weight and impeccable design for easy setup with groundsheet/fly all pre-connected. You can't do much better for strength/weight/design balance. Worth the cost.

That said, I'd strongly recommend a freestanding tent. Tunnel tents don't handle broadside winds well, nor are they really designed well for heavy snowfall. They're a hassle to anchor and put up in wind. You'll likely encounter plenty of wind at Aconcagua's high camps.

Cloud Ocean wrote:You'll likely encounter plenty of wind at Aconcagua's high camps.

So are we suggesting 2 separate tents then? I am starting to lean that way. Especially since cycle touring I would like the extended vestibule in the GT versions of the HIlleberg, which really makes the tent too heavy to drag up Aconcagua (IMO).

Cloud Ocean wrote:That said, I'd strongly recommend a freestanding tent.

Freestanding or not freestanding makes no difference, all things being equal. I've seen plenty of super expensive mountaineering tents rolling down the moraine after the owner has set up the tent, turned to pick up the stakes, turning back just in time to watch his/her tent aloft on a majestic voyage ending several hundred vertical meters below, usually with one or more snapped poles with holes in the tend body. Regardless of whether you have a free standing tent, the first thing you should do is stake it, then put in the poles.

Cloud Ocean wrote:Tunnel tents don't handle broadside winds well, nor are they really designed well for heavy snowfall. They're a hassle to anchor and put up in wind.

1. ALL tents are a hassle to pitch in the wind. Free standing, non free standing makes no difference.

2. Many tunnel style tents handle high winds and snowfall very well. Stephenson's Warmlite tents enjoy a cult like following, and for good reason. I have not personally used Hilleberg tents, but don't they also have tunnel style tents that have been used to good effect on high wind/snowfall mountains?

Perhaps it is the unique pre-formed, large diameter, rigid poles, but Stephenson's tents are superior in broadside winds to other single wall tents I have used including; Bibler Eldorado, Walrus (can't recall the model), Mountain Hardwear (pre-cursor to EV-2, again can't recall model, but the thing was pitched broadside to the wind because of the very narrow ridge crest on Hunter and it pretty much exploded, only the judicious use of para cord kept the thing together during the storm, Integral Designs MK1 Lite (old version, now the MK2 Lite, IntegralTex version). The traditional poles bend in high winds, leaving the tent fabric in your face during storms.

I wonder of the current crop of single wall tents would enjoy improved performance if they adopted Stephenson's pole design.

drManhattan wrote:

Cloud Ocean wrote:You'll likely encounter plenty of wind at Aconcagua's high camps.

So are we suggesting 2 separate tents then? I am starting to lean that way. Especially since cycle touring I would like the extended vestibule in the GT versions of the HIlleberg, which really makes the tent too heavy to drag up Aconcagua (IMO).

I know next to nothing about cycle touring, by choice, but I can concur that higher tent sites on Aco are windy and hard to get pegs into. You're using small rocks for anchors.

A good tunnel tent will handle winds both end-on and side-on. Heavy snowfall maybe not so well, but hardly terrible, and you won't get that on Aco, nor presumably cycle-touring.

If you're still in Australia(?) the Macpac Minaret is worth a look. Light enough to carry up Aco, strong in a storm, but tunnel. Vestibule likely too small for a bike. But they're 40% off at the moment.

I've only used a freestanding tent on Aco and was glad I did. Relying on poor peg/anchors would have made a few nights very unpleasant and possibly dangerous. I have a short video somewhere of inside our Bibler Tempest jumping up in the air, with me and my girlfriend in it, taken near White Rocks camp.

I think plenty of tents would be fine for Aco, depending how much you are willing to carry, so to me it depends what you're willing to put up with cycle touring, and how frequent and important this is.

ExcitableBoy wrote:

Cloud Ocean wrote:That said, I'd strongly recommend a freestanding tent.

Freestanding or not freestanding makes no difference, all things being equal. I've seen plenty of super expensive mountaineering tents rolling down the moraine after the owner has set up the tent, turned to pick up the stakes, turning back just in time to watch his/her tent aloft on a majestic voyage ending several hundred vertical meters below, usually with one or more snapped poles with holes in the tend body. Regardless of whether you have a free standing tent, the first thing you should do is stake it, then put in the poles.

Cloud Ocean wrote:Tunnel tents don't handle broadside winds well, nor are they really designed well for heavy snowfall. They're a hassle to anchor and put up in wind.

1. ALL tents are a hassle to pitch in the wind. Free standing, non free standing makes no difference.

I disagree. My opinion is only based on my personal experience using my Hilleberg tunnel tent, a Nallo 2 which I've spent around ~200 nights in, so I suppose what I write here isn't objective fact at all. This tunnel tent is a superb tent for sure, and *very* strong. However, I have personally found tunnel tents more work to pitch well, *especially* in wind, and structurally less robust, especially once poles are doubled up in a freestanding design. Of course, we must always carefully anchor our tents first. The tunnel design seems to sailboat in the wind far more easily, as without all at least two anchors it doesn't have a complete structure. Tunnel tents are have always been far more difficult for me to pitch alone in wind.

I love my tunnel for hiking and climbing in areas where weather is less likely to be insane. I have never had any serious issue with my tunnel tent's structural integrity, comfort, or durability in high winds. I've always been able to get it set up well. I have had more difficulty pitching it than with freestanding models. I have had nights with wind where I was concerned about the tent. I would *never* take it above the basecamps on Aconcagua.

I decided to go with the Nammatj 2 that has the extended vestibule. Mostly for cycle touring, climbing and all round use.

I dont think I will use this on Aconcagua but since I wont be going there until the end of next year I can make another tent decision next year.