Hilleberg Allak 2P Tent – Review

Kate has taken her Hilleberg Allak 2P tent up and down plenty of mountains in Kosciuszko National Park to winter camp. Here’s what she thinks of the 4-season tent.

For Sale: 1-bedroom, open plan living, plenty of natural light and undercover storage.

Buying a winter tent can feel a lot like buying a house. Sure, the price tag isn’t nearly as steep as a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney, but when compared to other hiking gear, a four-season tent can be a bit of a splurge.

From white-outs to blustering winds, the Hilleberg Allak 2P tent has become my home away from home in the snow, but is it worth blowing the budget?

Read more: Essential Gear For Snow Camping 

Do I need a four-season tent?

The terms three-season and four-season don’t so much describe the time of year to use the tent, but the type of weather conditions.

A four-season tent is designed for wild weather conditions; strong winds, cold temperatures, and heavy snow, that can be experienced in the mountains during winter.

In a lot of places in Australia, a three-season tent is adequate for camping throughout the entire year. Whilst a three-season tent can be used to camp in the snow during the tail end of the season in Australia (the end of spring), I don’t recommend using them in peak winter conditions.

Who the hell are Hilleberg?

‘Hilleberg The Tentmaker’ is a family owned, Swedish brand that specialises in tents and shelters. Since their founding in 1971, Hilleberg have become well known for their ‘bomb proof’ all-season tents.

This reputation is attributed to thoughtful designs, and their creation of a silicone coated fabric, dubbed ‘Kerlon’, that’s not only extremely waterproof but incredibly strong.

Fabric

Hilleberg have a ‘Label System’ just like booze. There are four categories: Black, Red, Yellow, and Blue ‘Label’ tents, indicating the tent’s performance in various conditions based on its materials and construction.

The Allak is a Red Label tent, meaning that whilst it’s not as strong as the extreme Black Label, it does weigh much less.

Made from Kerlon 1200 fabric, it’s (reasonably) lightweight, but (extremely) strong. This double coated silicone fabric has a minimum tear strength of 12kg, so although it can still be punctured by ski boot clips or crampons like all tent fabrics, it’s unlikely to tear into a complete slash.

The Allak comes in three different colours; red, sand, and forest green. For those purchasing the tent to camp in the snow, I highly recommend the fire-engine red to help find your way back to camp in low visibility (speaking from experience).

Design

The Hilleberg Allak is a free-standing, two-walled, dome style tent. It has a dual entrance design that has spacious vestibule areas of 0.9m² each for extra storage space in bad weather. It’s a breeze to set up thanks to the all-in-one pitch system pioneered by Hilleberg themselves.

The linked inner and outer walls, creates a simultaneous pitch that ensures the interior is never exposed to wet conditions outside.

The pole system uses three identical length poles with colour co-ordinated short sleeves and simple clips that even gloved fingers can manage. The dome structure has multiple pole cross-over points across the roof of the tent to add strength for snow loading and stability in windy conditions.

The symmetrical shape means that the tent is sturdy no matter which way the wind is blowing, and with outer walls extending to the ground, there’s little chance of snow blowing in under the sides.

I could write an entire article just on the venting system of this tent. In my eyes, it’s what makes this 4-season tent truly stand out above the rest. Having spent a night in a single walled, tunnel tent with zero ventilation, you could say I’ve developed a passion for airflow. The Allak has two large ceiling vents that can easily be adjusted from inside the tent, then a vent cover (rainfly) on the outer wall of the tent to stop snow and rain from seeping through. The bonus though, is the double-lined internal doors, with a mesh and a fabric layer that can be unzipped separately from the top. This adds an extra two ventilation points on either side wall, creating a total of four ventilation points that can be opened internally, without the impact of outside weather.

Although the tent is designed to survive snow conditions, it’s versatile for use in warmer months, by separating the two tent walls, then using just the outer layer as a shelter for a light weight and cooler option. Alternatively, a mesh inner wall can be interchanged (purchased separately) if you need to keep the bugs away.

Size

As reasonably tall humans, my partner and I (183cm and 178cm) found this tent to be on the larger side as far as two person tents come.

The internal space is 225cm long, 130cm across the head then tapering down to 120cm wide at the feet.

At 105cm internal height, there is plenty of space to sit-up or get changed into snow gear.

Weight

In general, 4-season tents weigh much heavier than a 3-season tent, a trade-off for their added warmth and durability.

Currently a two person, 4-season tent can sit anywhere between 1.5kg to 4kg+ on the scales.

The Hilleberg website harps on about how ‘lightweight’ this tent is, however its packed weight is not one of its distinguishing features. With a minimum weight of 2.8kg (outer + inner + poles), plus the added weight of pegs/snow pegs, you’re looking at over 3kg for the packed weight. This is slightly heavier than average for a 4-season tent, however the reliability of this tent is worth the additional weight when camping in the snow (IMO).

My partner and I overcome this issue by splitting the weight between us; one person carriers the inner + outer, and the other carries the pegs + poles.

The tent comes with a storage sack that comfortably fits the tent, poles, and pegs for long term stowage, however we purchased a compression bag separately to minimise the tent’s packed size when taking it out and about.

We use to Sea to Summit Event Dry Compression Sack in size Small (10L to 3.3L).

Cost

So how much does it actually cost? At a hefty price tag of $1649.94 on Wild Earth, the Hilleberg Allak 2P Tent may seem expensive, but I’m an advocate for investing in good quality hiking gear, especially when heading into the mountains in winter.

It might feel like a budget blow-out when purchasing a Hilleberg, but keep in mind they make tents that will stand the test of time.

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