Hilleberg Akto Tent One Man Tent Review

Hillenberg Atko One Person All Season Tent

Editor: Randy

Basic Description of item:

One Person ALL SEASON Tent

Just the Facts:

The Hilleberg Akto features an outstanding size to weight ratio for one person weighing in at a mere 3.75 lbs. This includes the inner tent that is attached to a rain fly. For me, this is a very innovative feature, making for a very convenient setup. In other words, during wet weather you don’t have to fight putting your rain fly on separately. In hot weather the inner tent very easily detaches so that you could use the fly separately as a ground cloth or possibly as a tarp/shelter. There is one main shock corded pole, 115” in length, that easily slips into an outside pole sleeve with reinforced adjustable pole boots. This eliminate you having to bend and “muscle” the pole into a grommet hole like with many tents. There are 10 titanium pegs and 6 guylines, two on each end and two on the sides. The double-line guylines on the ends give each corner of the tent structure and stability while the side guylines attach to the shock cord pole to ensure storm security. Hillenberg has made the inner tent fabric water impermeable yet it allows rising condensation vapors to pass through it. A nice mosquito netting window on the inner tent door flap is accessed by pulling back a Velcro-attached section of the inner tent door flap that covers it. I’ve found that the netting is excellent to help control ventilation, yet it doesn’t let the “no-seeums” and mosquito’s get through to you. The tent comes with a stuffbag, pole bag, peg bag, guy lines, line runners, spare pole section, pole repair sleeve, repair patches, seam sealer and instruction.

The quality of materials and construction is noteworthy. For the price this must be a top priority. All stitching is straight and tight with seams double stitched and strong. The Fly Sheet Material is made of Kerlon 1500. Although this waterproof and UV resistant fabric is similar in appearance to most other silicon-treated, ripstop nylon fabrics it is not the same as Kerlon 1500 fabric is advertised as a high-tenacity ripstop nylon, wherein a square pattern of thicker threads is woven into the material to increase its strength. This is combined with an expensive siliconelastomere coating on both sides of the fabric that results in an increased tear strength beyond that of other tent materials. Hilleberg statistics claim the material is approximately six times stronger than ordinary ripstop tent fabric. Hillenberg also treats the Kerlon 1500 twice for UV protection. Importantly, the floor of the tent is treated with waterproofing (multiple coats of polyurethane). I’ve had the tent in some horrendous thunder storms and the floor has never leaked even though water ran beneath the tent. The floor is architechually bath tub shaped, so except for the reinforced corners, the seams are well above ground level. Another important feature is that the fabric of the inner tent is “breathable” where condensation doesn’t occur within the inner tent, but does occur on the outside. It is also water impermeable unless you touch it.

Story:

I have used my Akto on countless hunting/backpack trips in extremely rugged desert and high mountain terrain for two years. I simply love the one man tent system over a two man since you can get a much better nights sleep in your own tent without having someone else snoring or rolling around in a confined space next to you. It is also advantageous if you are very conscious about reducing the overall weight and bulk of your pack since this is a high quality, lightweight product.

I’ve spent many sweltering hot nights during the summer in my Akto and appreciate the fact that I can detach the rainfly to increase ventilization and allow me to gaze at an endless canopy of bright stars in the night heavens above me when not threatened by rainstorms. This feature is very nice and it definitely keeps the bugs off of you. I’ve also used the tent during high wind, never ending rain and blinding blizzards. It’s never failed to protect me or my gear yet.

The small vestibule, 8.9 sq. ft. allows me to cook during inclement weather and to keep my gear out of the elements. Head space at 34,” within the tent itself, is enough to sit up and the 87” in length is very adequate for a very tall man to stretch out comfortably. The width in the middle of the tent is around 70 inches. To get the maximum length and width out of your tent it is important that you secure the guide lines.

As with all tents condensation can cause some problems. Because the Akto is designed with two end air vents (one on each end) and they are both at ground level, there isn’t anywhere for warm air to escape. Therefore, some condensation is inevitable. To reduce this problem I like to unzip the inner tent at the top to allow some of the warm air to escape. I’m also careful when moving around in the tent to not hit the sides or top of the ten when there is a lot of dew and to allow any condensation to drop on my sleeping bag…..you need to be careful when using a down bag unless it has a water resistant material on the outside to prevent it from getting wet. The bottom line is that condensation will happen but it can be managed.

Within the inner tent there is a nice, small netting pocket located near the inner tent door that you can store various small items in such as reading glasses, chap stick, head lamp, etc. Hillenberg has also used a creative, warm yellow color on the inner tent fabric that provides you with more reflective light. Outside, in the vestibule area, I like to store my boots and backpack. In wet, inclement weather, I always cover my gear with a rainfly or with a large garbage bag. I can also use the vestibule area for cooking when there is a need to get out of wet or cold weather. During several bad thunderstorms, I was able to sit upright in the inner tent with my legs stretched out into the vestibule area resting on my backpack while cooking, eating and/or reading. This was helpful because my back can quickly get tire sitting one position. The bottom line, is there was room to move around and change positions from time to time.

To get into the tent in good weather, I like to unzip the rainfly and roll it back so that I don’t have to undo it when coming and going into the tent. However, there really isn’t a good place to attach the rolled up material to which can get in my way.

Hilleberg has an excellent lifetime warranty and has been very good to address any issues that I have had. Although Hilleberg is based in Northern Sweden and have been providing high-quality tents and service in Europe many years they now have an office in the U.S. that currently is based in Redmond, Washington.

Overall, I have been extremely pleased with my Akto tent, expecially, its lightweight backpacking size, quality materials and excellent durability. I highly recommend the tent to solo hunters and mountaineers even at a steep price of $420 dollars. I would like to see Hillenberg address the following:

What they could do better:

1. The guylines have a tendency to get tangled up when rolling up your tent or stuffing it. I’ve started tying my lines up with an elastic band. Perhaps Hillenberg could attach a small plastic tie strap or something to secure these lines when you store your tent.

2. I found that the stuff sack was made of inferior material and not very strong. I had it tear once while stuffing my tent. I strongly suggest that Hillenberg make the stuff sack material out of their Kerlon 1500 to reduce any frustration with a tear in the stuff sack.

3. Attach a small tie of to the top of the rainfly so that you can secure the outside rainfly flap to so that it isn’t falling down when you are going in and out of the vestibule area.

4. Condensation. Look at a third vent to allow the warm air to escape easier.