Backcountry four-season shelter for party of three

By Rick Shandley

Leave it to the Swedish sense of quality and functionality to design Hilleberg Kaitum 3 four-season tent.  With almost 40 years of backcountry tent making knowhow, Hilleberg tents are wilderness shelters built to endure, comfort, and protect. If you’re the kind of person who owns the best gear you can get your hands on. You want enough room for two or three people. And you know there’s going to be at least one trip where the shelter you invest in now will pay for itself keeping you safe for just a few days, or one night, then consider the Kaitum 3.

Like most of the gear we review, this Hilleberg Kaitum 3 went on several pack trips in the backcountry. From the first time we pitched this rectangular tunnel design, the Kaitum 3 proved to be a quick set-up and sturdy weatherproof tent. Three DAC tent pole hoops run through continuous sleeves to create the skeletal framework that is anchored with DAC pegs and guy lines.

DAC V-pegs offer sturdy anchoring. Longer DAC pegs are available for deeper ground penetration. The V-pegs worked fine.

Kaitum 3 is not free standing, but it requires only four DAC, V-shaped, stakes to erect. In all but the mildest conditions, even free-standing tents are pegged out to secure them and prevent them from taking off like a tumble weed in a wind gust during set-up. Any tent that incorporates vestibules must be pegged out, free-standing or not.

Hilleberg’s own Kerlon 1200 nylon tent fabric is used for the Kaitum 3. With a tear strength of 26 lbs., the Kerlon 1200 is coated on both sides with three applications of pure silicon. In addition to being extremely light, waterproof, and strong, Kerlon 1200 is also resistant to UV light. At 1.4-ounces per square yard, a swatch of Kerlon 1200 with a ½-inch scissor cut could not be torn asunder. It would fray slightly, but the slit length would not travel. Conversely, the same sized patch of standard ripstop nylon could be halved with the same human fingers doing the shredding.

Pitching the Kaitum 3 goes like this: peg one end of the tent into the wind with one stake at each side.  Slide the DAC poles through the continuous sleeves, longest pole in the middle, then peg the other end of the rectangle to the ground. Your basic shelter is pitched.  Each pole sleeve has only one open end. The other end is a closed pocket; which leads to efficiency in set-up time and provides a pole capture point that allows the tent pole to take its shape with the tent fabric immediately. We didn’t have to work on both sides of the tent when inserting the tent poles because of the closed ends making set up fairly rapid.

Kaitum 3 on first trip in Sierra's. Note interlinked tent walls and cavernous interior.

This Kaitum 3 is a thing of beauty when it’s fully staked out taught with the Spectra guy lines shoring up a structure that’s ready for serious winds, rain, snow, and freezing weather. When you anticipate heavy snow and high wind conditions, you always have the option of running a second set of DAC poles through the pole sleeves to double-down the structural support.

A total of 18 DAC V-stakes come with the Kaitum, and we found it to be little extra effort to have both vestibules in action and both vertical doors at each end available. The vent system is located high-up on the vestibule crowns and found to be totally functional regardless of the time of year or weather conditions.

On one trip in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, our Kaitum 3 housed three medium-sized adults on a long-mile overnighter that got down into the low 30’s. All three reported they had ample room to sleep soundly through the night without feeling packed together.  Two backpacks where housed in the rear vestibule, (facing the wind), and the third pack occupied the forward vestibule. During the night and early morning, the guy sleeping in the middle spot would enter and exit through the vestibule housing two packs. The two guys sleeping next to the tent walls would enter and exit through the vestibule housing the single pack.

The Kaitum 3 ventilation system did not allow condensation to build up inside the tent even with three souls sleeping in overnight temperatures that dropped down to freezing levels. With both vestibules fully-pitched, both entries fully zipped up, and ventilation hoods at both ends open, the airflow through the tent was more than adequate. The snow-panel ventilation hoods on each vestibule can be adjusted from inside the tent. Zippered, full no-see-up mesh panels on the inner-tent doors and full zipper-adjustable fabric panels allow you to tailor ventilation requirements in warm, cool, and cold weather.

Snow-proof ventilation hoods mounted high up, and adjustable from inside tent.

In mild weather, where bugs are more a threat than rain or snow, you can use the Kaitum 3 inner tent by itself and pitches with the use of six additional pole holders. We did not take the opportunity to use the Kaitum 3 in this configuration, as all of our overnight stays where in late fall and at upper elevations where weather fronts could move in overnight and without advanced warning.

Packed trail weight for the full Kaitum 3 with inner/outer tent walls, stakes, and guy lines is 6 lbs. 13 ounces. On the high-country trips we used the Kaitum 3 for the weight vs. comfort was an acceptable tradeoff. For a person who hikes solo, or your tent requirements involve four or more people, there are smaller and larger tent options in the Hilleberg line-up of four-season tents to consider.  As for the Kaitum 3 we tested, even when just two people are to occupy the Kaitum 3, the floor plan, tunnel design and headroom make it a shelter that justified its place on the pack.

KAITUM 3 Interior

Your reward is when you slip inside the Kaitum 3. The late afternoon, high country winds can kick up all they want. Mountain shadows will bring on the dark before you’re tired bones are ready. But once you’re on the interior, you’ll find yourself in a very cool backcountry Townhouse. No kidding. There is more available room in this tunnel design than you’d think possible. It’s because of this tunnel shape that the double tent walls rise up vertically and carry the vertical rise into a gentle arch towards the top of the tent. You get 42 vertical inches in the center of the tent and 42 square feet to move around in.

Kaitum 3 with front vestibule opened up and ready for moving in as evening winds pick up.

Storage pockets are situated at four positions inside the tent for easy access even in low-light or utter darkness. These storage pockets are integrated into the inner tent wall and above the bath-tub shaped tent floor. With the bath-tub floor running the full diameter of the tent, ground water, melting snow, or muddy conditions shield the interior from intrusion.

It is this sense of having more than enough room inside the tent which all but eliminates the potential cloud of claustrophobia a person could feel when hunkered down for a couple days of serious wet or icy weather. For tall and large-bodied people, the ability to move around without bumping your head on A-framed tent walls and having enough room to sit up and play a game of cards or read a book are immediately notable.

Large vestibules at each end offer 14 square feet of storage area, enough to store your gear and allow plenty of room for entries and exits.  You can pitch the Kaitum 3 with one fully closed vestibule into the wind, and leave the opposite end of the tent completely open to the down-valley view. Leaving one end open, with the vestibules rolled back out of the way opened up to the cavernous interior and allowed us to hang out in the tent and sit for a while just sipping morning coffee and think about the day ahead.

Overall Impressions

On our first trip with the Kaitum 3, we noticed that the workmanship, hardware, and the dense multi-pass stitching of the Kaitum 3 appeared to be flawless. Every stress point was bolstered gusseted heavy nylon webbed fabrics. Because the Spectra guy lines were positioned at critical support points on the tent, they attached at two points, and they were easily adjustable, the stability of the shelter was impressive.

Set-up in backcountry meadow near Devil's Garden, Gila National Forest, NM.

Set-up is very straight forward and gets quicker and more efficient each time you pitch it. One person can pitch the Kaitum smoothly and with confidence. Once pitched, the Kaitum 3 is second to none in the roominess the tunnel design creates. At night, the Kaitum can be seen in the headlamp or flashlight beam on reflective strips at either end of the tent, but larger illumination panels would be easier to see from a distance. You’ll have no idea, until it happens to you, how much you rely on those illumination panels to find your way back to the tent on a black-on-black night in the wilderness.

Take down and pack out of the Kaitum is just as smooth and trouble free as pitching the tent. The materials, including the tent floor, Kerlon tent fabrics, the stakes and pole system, all packed down quickly and rolled up tight. Both tent walls and guy line system, all pack into the center of the collapsed tent. The fabrics are so pliable you can prevent any bulky spots just by smoothing and quickly adjusting as you roll up. The snow-proof vents at each vestibule do have a wire-like bracing structure to keep them open and rigid; these flatten out and blend with the roll-up.

For a tall, gangly, person stooping or crawling to get in or out of the Kaitum with either or both vestibules fully erected can be a challenge. But that’s a trade off for the full protection this shelter creates. Ease of entry and exit is a subjective decision each one of us makes in our research of a tent purchase weighed against the protection, strength, comfort, and the environments you’ll use the tent for.

Although our backpack trips were not in heavy winter conditions or wicked ugly thunderstorms, we did get overnight freezes and very stiff mountain winds in the evenings. And compared to other four-season tents we’ve owned or experienced, the Kaitum is a top-end shelter. The Hilleberg Kaitum 3 is a seriously well built, comfortable tent that is good for many years of use in all weather conditions.  At a MSRP of $775, this tent is a long-term investment that just might beat expectations.

Features:

• High strength to low weight
• Unmatched weight to space
• High reliability with “worst-case scenario” construction
• High usability: easy to pitch and pack out
• Original Hilleberg design
• Linked inner and outer tents for simultaneous pitching
• Durability for years of use
• IS0-9001 Certified

Kaitum 3 Specifications

Minimum weight:       5.15 lbs (2.7 kg)

Packed weight:           6.13 lbs. (3.1 kg)

Inner Height:               42 inches (105 cm)

Interior tent area:       42 square ft. (3.9 square meters)

Vestibule area:            14 square ft. x 2 (1.3 meters x 2)

9mm DAC Poles:          Three

DAC tent stakes:          18 V-shaped

Min. stakes to pitch:   Four

Product of:                    Sweden

Color Options:              Red or Green

Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 30: Compact N’ Warm

In reviewing any significant piece of gear, we try not to assess any product from just one trip in the field. While evaluating the new 2010 Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 30 down sleeping bag, it was used for five backcountry trips. These trips were mostly backpacking hikes in the Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino mountain ranges of California, and the Gila National Forest of southwestern New Mexico.

Elevation for all of these trips ranged between 7,000 feet above sea level to more than 11,000 feet. Fall nighttime temperatures at these altitudes varied from lows of 40° F to less than 30°, where overnight frost would settle on the tents and forest floor.

The Arrow Rock 30 is a cool to moderately cold temperature sleeping back filled with 600-series down insulation. Sierra Designs rates this as a three-season sleeping bag, but it seams well suited for all seasons depending upon your shelter types and geographic region.

When the mercury dropped below 30° in high elevation conditions, there was never a sense of chill or lack of warmth. Most nights, my shelter was either a Hilleberg Kaitum 3 or a Kelty Foxhole 3 four-season tent that would provide a conservative 5° of warmth as I was the only human sole in these three-man tents. Some cool nights, I’d wiggle into the Arrow Rock 30 with my Mountain Khakis flannel-lined pants on simply because it was cold and windy outside — and there was no question I’d be scooting outside before sunrise to break down camp and fire up the MSR Reactor stove for coffee and oatmeal. So for folks who tend to sleep with pants and foundational torso insulation on, this Arrow Rock 30 can keep you warm well below its rating.

On nights where the temperature did not drop into the low-40’s or mid-30’s, the Arrow Rock is a roaster! There were several nights where I’d heat up in the middle of the night and zip the sleeping bag open almost the full length of the Large (for people taller than 6-foot), and just use it as a quilt since the temperature was too cold to lay on top of the bag.

For this reason, and speaking for myself, this is an ideal sleeping bag for so many kinds of high-elevation or cool weather scenarios, since I could merely adjust my sleeping arrangement depending on the overnight temperatures. However, my confidence for staying warm was never shaken regardless of how cold it got under the conditions I used the Arrow Rock 30 for. This is just one of several primary qualities I valued about the Arrow Rock 30; it kept me warm in the fall, at upper elevations.

A chest pocket is built in for your wallet and keys at night. The left-hand side zipper is sturdy and non-binding. Upper torso and hood offer lots of room to toss and turn.

It made no difference to my perspective that 600-series down fill is used in this sleeping bag rather than the commonly regarded superior insulation capabilities of 750-to-850 premium down fills that might have been considered for this sleeping bag. The initial price (MSRP $219.00 U.S.) of the sleeping bag would have been much greater if the higher-order down fills where used. But there’s an even more rational reason for using 600-series down insulation for the Arrow Rock 30…you don’t need any more insulation than the 600 fill provides.

Another instantly recognized quality this down sleeping bag manifested soon as it was pulled out of the stuff sack was the lofting capability. Regardless of how long the sleeping bag was packed away on a trip, within a few minutes of setting up the tent and unfurling the Arrow Rock 30, the down insulation would loft-up to its full “puff.” That right there tells me, the bag is worthy of keeping me warm. The baffle-technology and the overall bag construction are design details that vary from bag to bag, and manufacturer to manufacturer. But if your down insulated sleeping bag can’t loft up within minutes of taking it out of the stuff sack, it’s a bad omen for warmth, and a confidence crusher for quality of the down fill.

As a person who weighs more than 200 pounds and stands more than six-feet tall, the Sierra Designs trademarked technology called “Flex” allowed me to curl-up or stretch out in a myriad of ways without the sleeping bag binding me in. Flex allows the bag outer shell and liner material to move with the sleeper by eliminating constriction and forming to the body when lying still, thereby continuously providing warmth and maximum insulation. With it’s “mummy” style shape, the Arrow Rock 30 never presented the sense of claustrophobic restriction traditional mummy-style sleeping bags are sometimes known for.

Housed in its stuff sack, the SD Arrow Rock 30 fit easily into the sleeping bag section of the Lowe-Alpine TFX Cerro Torre 65:85 backpack along with the new Therm-A-Rest NeoAir sleeping pad.

Just as valuable a consideration when observing the qualities the Arrow Rock 30 offered was the pack size and weight of the sleeping bag. Mercy! Since many modern backpacks include a bottom compartment just for the sleeping bag, the Arrow Rock 30 simply rocks. No kidding here. Backpacks such as the Lowe/Alpine TFX Cerro Torre 65:85 and the more traditional Kelty Trekker external-frame pack accommodated the Arrow Rock 30 (in its stuff sack) with enough additional room for the NeoAir sleeping pad, two pairs of gloves, and a Gerber short-handled camp ax. At 2lbs, 9 ounces, the size and weight of this sleeping bag in its compact form is, perhaps, the coolest single thing about the Arrow Rock 30 if you take the warmth out of the equation.

While living with the SD Arrow Rock 30 on backpacking trips, the sleeping pad that was used is the new Therm-A-Rest NeoAir. This combination of sleeping bag and sleeping pad could not have worked out better. One of the features modern down sleeping bags tend to provide are retaining straps on the underside of the sleeping bag, and the Arrow Rock 30 accommodated the Neo-Air sleeping bag as if the two were designed by the same product planning team. The Arrow Rock 30 retaining straps kept the Neo-Air sleeping pad under the bag throughout the nights, and there was never an issue with having something between my body and the floor of the tent.

In writing third-party product reviews, our experience in the past 25 years has taught us that readers don’t need to necessarily want to know the technical engineering details of a product so much as they want to know if it worked, and whether there are any significant weaknesses they should consider in making a purchase decision. With the Arrow Rock 30, the overall impression is that this is a sleeping bag I’d take on any trip whether it be backpacking, four-wheel drive camping, horse back trip, or foreign travel. There were no significant drawbacks I would have you consider. So there you have it on the Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 30.

Review and photos by Rick Shandley

Specs:

Men’s Long
Price Point: MSRP $219.00
Temperature Rating / 30 F/ -1 C
Trail Weight: 2 lbs 9 oz
Zipper Side: Left
Stuff Size: 7″ x 17″
Insulation: 600-Fill Goose Down
Shell Material: 30D Polyester
Liner Material: 40D Polyester

Features:
Chest Pocket
Continuous Baffle Construction
Flex Technology
Tuck Stitch

New ultralight tents weigh less than three pounds, and provide plenty of room for two.

Two of the main rules of backpacking is to go as light as possible, and never go alone. So it makes sense that a lightweight two-person tent is an inevitable part of your backpacking gear. With many lightweight and strong materials available, two person backpacking tents seem to get lighter and lighter each year.

While hardcore ultra-light backpackers might think that the way to go is with a space blanket, tarp or tent rainfly as the way to shed some weight off your portable shelter. But the fact is, many of us like a roof, walls and a floor. So for those of us who enjoy the extra room of a tent, we searched for ultra-light, two-person, two and three season rated tents that weigh in under three pounds (including poles and stakes).

Hilleberg Rajd 

Weighing in at only 2 pounds 3 ounces, the Hilleberg Rajd (pronounced Ride), is manufactured from Kerlon 1200, a strong yet lightweight fabric that makes the basis of this two-person tent. Hilleberg had the great idea to use your trekking poles as tent poles, to save some weight and includes guy lines and 10 pegs.

The Rajd offers good head room and a two-door design. It’s not a two-layer tent, meaning it may be prone to condensation, but it makes up for it with excellent ventilation. If you want something more than a simple tarp, the Rajd is a good choice for saving some weight, but having the luxury of sides and a floor for added protection.  

Brooks-Range A2 Rocket Tent

Brooks-Range also thought of eliminating tent poles to make their A2 Rocket Tent much lighter. At 1 pound 10.9 ounces, it’s one of the lightest two person tents available for skiers and snowboarders. For avid backpackers however, the addition of three high-grade aluminum poles, the A2 still weighs in at only 2 pounds, 4-ounces.

The A2 Rocket Tent is a four season tent that’s made from CT3b fabric, which is lightweight yet incredibly strong and water resistant up to 5000+ mm of pressure. It seems like it’s a tent made out of space blanket material, but don’t let that deter you. The A2 is strong and packs away incredibly small. It features three zippered vents and  plenty of room for two people and your gear. Read our review on this tent HERE

Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 and Laser Photon 2

With a stable design, the Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 tent is a two and three season tent that weighs in at two pounds, three  ounces with lightweight 8 and 8.5mm DAC poles. The Solar Photon is a double-wall tent that uses Si/Si Nylon R2000 fabric that’s strong,( R3000 is used on the floor). Using guy lines and 16 titanium pegs, it may seem like a lot of stuff to carry, but Solar Photon 2 remains lightweight and strong. 

The Solar Photon 2 has good headroom and a small vestibule to store your gear. The flysheet raises for extra ventilation. The Solar Photon 2 will be available in the Spring of 2011 so no price is available at the time of this article.

The Laser Photon 2  is the lightest weight two-person, three season tent we’ve found. Wihout the poles the Laser Photon 2 weighs in at one pound 15 ounces. Add the single 7.5 mm Scandium pole and the entire tent with guy lines and 16 titanium pegs weights in at two pounds, one ounce. The Laser Photon uses the same materials as the Solar Photon and it too is a double-wall tent with a streamline design.

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2

The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 offers a roomy design in a two-person, single entry tent. The floor and fly are ultralight silicone treated Nylon rip-stop with a 1200mm waterproof polyurethane coating. The DAC aluminum poles are light as are the 11 J stakes that are also made out of aluminum.

The Fly Creek UL2 has excellent ventilation and its two pound two ounce weight includes a fly but not the stakes. Nevertheless, for a summer backpacking tent, the UL2 offers lots of space and a quick set-up.

The Hilleberg Kaitum 3, is a light weight three-person shelter that’s ideal for trips where strength and comfort are a priority, but where true all-season, all-weather capability is still a necessity.

This Kaitum 3 is a two door/two vestibule tent that offers maximum usable space, outstanding comfort, and excellent strength in a incredibly lightweight package.

The Kaitum 3 uses ultralight Kerlon 1200 outer tent fabric and DAC Featherlite NSL 9 mm poles to keep total weight to a minimum while providing strength for all  conditions.  Also incorporated into the Kaitum 3 is a two door/two vestibule tunnel design, which adds outstanding comfort and flexibility.

Kaitum 3 is ideal for mobile adventures that involve moving camp frequently, and is equally well-suited for long and short back-country stays. This shelter is outstanding for use in protected terrain in any weather, and easily robust enough to handle use in exposed and/or above tree-line terrain in all but the worst conditions. For warm weather treks,  the Kaitum 3 is excellent since the front section vestibule can be completely rolled open for maximum air flow. 

We’ll have the Hilleberg Kaitum 3  (price point: $775) on several upcoming backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada mountain range as we move into Fall and Winter conditions in the high-country. Our usual trailhead begins at the 10,300 ft. elevation level and should bring us plenty of weather and conditions to evaluate the tent in a variety situations. Two colors are available: Red or Green.