Hilleberg Akto Full Review After 7 Years of Use!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- I've used the Hilleberg Akto for 7 years across multiple countries and in all weather conditions. In this video I run through my thoughts and feelings of the Akto and debunk some myths along the way.
Please excuse the poor audio quality - my mic wasn't quite working properly!!
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Hilleberg are a great brand with a good reputation. Had my original Akto for a few years and used for over 50 nights. Sold it, regretted it with minutes. Shortly after I purchased a new one in the sand colour, had this out for about 20 nights over the last year. Have updated a few items to give better all round use. Swapped out the 9mm pole to a 10mm and use the ‘Y’ pegs on the guys for better traction. I always use the footprint and keep all three vents open, rarely ever get damp inside the inner. I use mine all year round and in summer I pair it with a Thermarest Uberlite mat and a Rab mythic 200 sleeping bag. Mat and bag weight just 725g. Love having the solidness and confidence of using the Akto, I never worry when I lay my head down to sleep. I consider this set-up like the 3 little pigs brick built house and a minimalist IKEA interior!
Must add, I recently purchased 2 Hilleberg Tarp 5’s, both returned due to awful machine work with the stitching. When erected small holes were present on the front corners and worried longer term this would eventually rip. Not sure if they have recently taken on new machinists but very disappointed with the workmanship on this product at this time!
Keep up the good work, Ant 👍🏻😉
Great video. I've had my Akto for about ten years and couldn't agree with you more about the Season use. I do use mine all year round, but would agree that the condensation is an issue when used in the warmer months. Since I live in Scotland I choose to use it because of the midges - when the midge threat is low, I use a tarp and bivvy set-up. A lot of people moan about the condensation in the Akto, but like you've said, it's a 4-season tent, and using it in warmer months comes at a price (condensation). For me, I needed a tent that would "do it all" and it certainly does that. To combat the condensation, I always take a light trecking towel to wipe things done in the morning and, if possible, separate and dry the inner before setting off. The fact is, it's bomb-proof and there'a a trade-off to be had in that. Great long-term review and I agree with every point made.
I'm on my second Akto. The first one did tear eventually after much use over maybe 7 years and enough exposure to UV to make the fabric faded and weak. This is a very good tent. It does have a few minor glitches, but these shouldn't put anyone off buying one. GLITCHES: 1) the elastics that attach inner to outer tent, and which also forms the door toggle loop, degrade and stretch, so you have to add a knot to them to take-up any slack. 2) the side vent zip lets in rain drips, which will fall on any gear stored beneath it in the porch... so you learn to keep that spot clear. 3) The outer doorway (loop and toggle) fastener tends to release the door as the fabric tends to pull through it... it's a bit annoying. 4) the lightweight 9mm poles are used on many brands of tent but they are not strong. On one trip abroad I had mine break repeatedly due to strong wind. I later replaced it with an 11mm one, which has worked well in strong wind. It is possible to buy a second 9mm pole and use two of them them doubled-up, but to do this you may have to shorten one of them slightly, using a junior hacksaw. In case of breakage, always carry the spare pole section and the tubular sleeve (with some tape to secure the sleeve to the pole). 5) the fabrics are strong and water-tight, but the outer fabric tends to expand a lot when it gets wet and contracts when it dries out. So to avoid wind-flap during the night, you may need to tighten the guy lines before you go to sleep, and slacken them in the morning when the sun comes out. To avoid excessive strain to the fabric, I have added a loop of shock cord to the upper guy lines on one end of the tent, so that they stretch when the outer fabric contracts. 6) as with all tents the bathtub groundsheet is prone to damage from sharp stones and thistles. You can buy a 'foot print' to place underneath it. I just use a couple of plastic 'rubble sacks'. 7) The doorway opens on one side only. This means that in order to have your head by the doorway, and your head uphill when the tent is pitched on a slope, the tent may sometimes have to be turned away from that lovely view! GOOD POINTS: Very stable in wind thanks to excellent guy-lines. Usually only the end guys need to be used, not the side ones. A good bathtub groundsheet that won't let in snow or water. Very good venting, so there's minimal condensation. The end vents don't usually let in the rain, but you can zip them if the rain is horizontal. The No-see-um netting keeps out midges. Thanks to the side door and upper vent, you can cook inside the porch while you sit or lie inside the tent, but take great care to ensure stability of the stove and pan, and never leave it unattended when on. The porch is an ideal size to store your rucksack, boots, etc. Very quick to pitch and strike the tent, as the inner and outer can remain attached. As mentioned, this is a very good tent. I can recommend it as a one person, lightweight backpacking and mountain tent.
Great to see you again, Abbie! Promoting Hilleberg - wise woman ! ! !
Thank you kindly!
Always a pleasure to watch your videos
good and honest review Abbie. I have my 2nd hand Akto for 8 years. For me the perfect tent for Alpine trekking, as its indeed very solid and allows you to camp at higher altitude and when facing strong winds. With my 192cm, its just roomy enough, except in winter conditions, there I would prefer a larger tent. Outer tent can be re-impregnated with transparent silicon dissolved in odorless white-spirit, works very well and looks again like new. My tent was not leaking, but after impregnation, the outer is again fully water repellent and water runs off the outer and does not absorb water, fabric dries faster. Condensation is an issue, but I learned how to deal with it: use all the venting options and in the morning 1st thing is to sweep the inside of the inner tent with a small microfiber cloth, which takes away most of the humidity. Having an outer-first tent means you can easily set it up in windy and rainy conditions, I never separate inner and outer, instead I dry the outer both sides with the cloth before packing, which takes 5min time. I could not go back to an inner-first tent, maybe except for mild conditions (as it offers more flexibility in the design of the tent). A small disadvantage is that the 4 rigid sticks are packed with the tent (removing them is possible but not practical), and make the packing less compact, more difficult to make a very compact package. I never use the Hilleberg bag for packing as its too loose and does not allow to compress the tent to a min volume. The bag is however great as spare fabric in case you have a hole in your outer and need to repair.
I agree Abbie that you need to think what you want to use it for. Absolutely perfect for more challenging conditions, it gives you the feeling of a fortress. There might be lighter and cheaper tents for less challenging conditions. Still, the advantage is that Hilleberg red line is very durable. If you can afford only one tent, this is the do-it-all. You cannot be wrong with the Akto.
I also have a Hilleberg Nallo 3, which I use for 2 adults or 1 adult + 2 children. Similar design as Akto and I am a total fan of the Nallo3, especially bc its very lightweight for a 4seaon 2/3p tent and very easy setup. This tent is about 15y old, and still good (re-impregnated).
Abbie great video. My tent is one I had years ago for festivals/camp site camping but it's still going strong but mainly back garden camping now with my son 🙈 I can absolutely see why you'd need a lighter tent in wild camping as the one I have is heavy and awkward to erect. I admire your strength in wild camping ... I'm too 🐔 to do it alone. On day maybe 🌼🌸🌼
I have an old Akto (without a large top triangle over the door of the fly) and it's really solid, I made a footprint from a reflective 'space blanket ' and it's kept the floor intact in British and Balkan conditions. I've added some dyneema guys and a few extra pegs. I wanted a 10mm pole but they were out of stock very quickly.
As good a one person tent as you can find, storms and snow don't harm it.
Thank you Abbie - I’ve just bought my Akto today and you have some good info and observations here.
I love Abbie, fun and unpretentious never mind incredibly knowledgeable.
nicely done! this tent will handle extreme conditions, and i dont want to buy several tents, so i went with this tent. I am tempted to get a summer tent with more room, but i wouldnt trust them up high hills, even in summer, as heavy rain and wind can still happen!!
This is a very good review, I also own this tent in sand color for 3 years now and I love it. When I do not go far with the good weather, I remove the interior cabin and use the tent with the footprint of the tent.
It is a reassuring tent, with beautiful materials, it gives confidence. Before I had a Helsport steting, very good too.🌄
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing tents looks great
I owned one of these about 15 years ago and then ended up selling it after becoming a dad and spending less time outdoors. Now back to more of the outdoor life and am astonished the price of this has nearly doubled!! Lovely amazing tent but....ouch
Hey Akto is back, i still got one and am very content with it, if i only was as adventurous like you ;)
Hi Abbie, always love your vids and this one is great too! My AKTO is about 4 years old now, but I'm not a fan. It leaks from the vent stitching, which is a common problem. I think there is a design fault in using metal wire to maintain the vent opening. It's puts stress on the stitching. The leak then floods your groundsheet in the vestibule and water then tracks under your inner. Condensation is also a huge problem even if you open the end vents fully. It's VERY expensive. It's also a heavy tent, compared to others. It's very "flappy" even with a perfect pitch. Limited vestibule space too. I don't rate it. There are way better tents on the market, with fewer problems and much better price. My favourite is the Dan Durston 2nd generation X-Mid 1P (or the 2P). It's proved it's credentials even in foul UK weather. Also many vids on YT that testify to its ability to withstand high winds. Another is the Abisko Lite. Great tent.
I'd recommend either the vango F10 helium ul1 or cairngorm 100 as practical and affordable alternatives. I have the cairngorm 100 and have no complaints. The akto will last longer though and offer a few more benefits.
I'm just curious as to why you replaced your original Akto as this one is a newer version.
I really love the Akto but sadly don't fit in it :/ had to sell mine after my first trip in it as there wasn't enough head room for me to sit up straight inside which was fun for 6 days! I really hope that they release an Akto XL or a 2 man version. I'd buy that in a heartbeat!
Morning Abbie.
I think the V shape pegs are mainly that way because they extra strength that shape provides reduces the minimum weight they can be made to and not bend.
I’ve bought V pegs before and have found them not to perform any better than shepherds hook pegs, because if the ground has any stones or rocks in it, someone’s you simply can’t drive V pegs past the rock. And also, when there is a bit of rock (as there usually is), you can drive a shepherds hook peg in really solidly.
1.3 kg? Tanks very informative video. I'm on to my second Akto. My first was the very first version. Now I'm on to the newer version, much improved.
This tent really remind me of my robens starlight 2, but starlight is 1 kg heavier but such a sold tent.
Same here, but mine is the Robens verve 2
@@chrisarnold2560 robens tent are so underated. Best kept secret in tents.
I hit like on this video before i saw it. Like your review videos :) and your videos is one of the resons i own my own Akto. Now i will se the video :D
I've had a couple of Aktos. They're very sturdy. But as with any tent, UV is the killer. I enjoy being a culture vulture when on long distance hikes and visit the city sites leaving my tent pitched at the campsite, and the exposure to UV hammers the fabric. I'm not singling out the Akto as I say, as I've used other brands that have failed FAR more often than the proven quality design of the Akto. I now have the Hilleberg Enan which in my experience offers similar performance to an Akto with identical dimensions throughout yet is 500g lighter. Expensive now though thanks to Brexit.
They were expensive before. It's got nothing to do with Brexit and everything to do with Hilleberg ripping people off.
@@Daytona2 I was told by a very reputable retailer that the increase in price is directly linked to Brexit. Stanfords map shop in London have struggled to get my maps for a 2,300km hike through Europe and their explanation was "Brexit - the EU now see the UK as a second class citizen". I know the bosses of haulage companies whose lorries are sitting idle in the lorry park which should be collecting and delivering goods for our supply chain. They say to me "The reason there is a lack of supplies in the supply chain is because of Brexit".
International trade tariffs have changed since Brexit. I know this first hand from insiders.
Hilleberg is not trying to rip people off, but we in the UK are the suffering victims of Boris Johnson's narcissistic self serving lies for power.
Last 2 minutes brilliant, why and when, l think l am using mine at wrong times, as l am falling out of love with mine, resorting back to my UNNA
What happened to the old faithful Akto you had for the last few years - the lighter green one with the slightly wonky pole? This is a new interloper!
I use the mesh inner tent and a footprint. Condesation less with mesh…
Good god was that really 7 years ago 😂😂I remember you was so pleased to have received it and that you'd been waiting ages to get it. Then you put it up in what I think was a garden. 😂😂
The Fjallraven Abisko 1 or 2 lite for me, all year round! Great price without the Hilleberg snobbery and now for the most part poor workmanship coming from their factories!
thinking about buying one. But I hear about leakage problems. So maybe going fir a Fjallraven equivalent. Did you came across these problems at all?
Hi Abbie
What tents do u use for summer and what sleeping bag do u mostly use.
Kind regards
John Quinn, Glasgow, UK
Have you had any water leak issues at one corner of the overhead vent. It's a problem others have had to fix.
My tent is the Enan which I consider as my 5-Star Hotel out in the boonies in the high Sierras mountain range. Yes, I add big heavy rocks atop all pegs, ALWAYS, to keep them from getting pulled out of the ground when Mother Nature is blowing up a storm of strong gusty winds.
Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada U.S.A.
No I haven't actually. No leak problems at all :)
why do you show a new tent and not the tent you used so much?
i agree not the same tent ?
That doesn’t look like a seven year old tent. Still looks brand new, even the pegs. 🙂
Thats cos its not a 7 year old tent! Its a new one.
Hello, thanks for this great review. I have just bought a second hand Akto. Is it usual for the inner to be sticking to the outer fly? I’m not sure if it is static or just incorrect pitching.
Great video Abbie! I am actually thinking about buying a 1p 4 season tent to play around the scottish winter. I am thinking about terranova southcross, hillerberg soluo and the akto. I heard that the inner for southcross is not very well made, and that the soluo is quite heavy. I quite like the akto since its light but i am a bit concerned with its wind resistence due to the lack of guy line points and not being a free standing tent. Can you tell me the worst situation you have been in this tent and how you felt about it? thanks!
Hi, HB Akto or TN Laser Compact All Season? Any condensation comparison between the two? Any relevant updates to either for 2023?
Good one, Abbie. Is this dine with m50 or Sony A7iii?
Hi, great video, would I get a oblong seatosummit mat in that space do you think?
I think so!
I bought this tent this year purely because you had so much faith in it. Unfortunately I don’t 😂. I can’t seem to pitch it tight. I’ve only had 3 nights in it and the condensation has been unbearable. I need to find it’s pocket of weather that it’s best suited too. I’m going with human error cause I have a soulo too. Any tips of condensation reduction would be appreciated. Hope your doing well Abbie, your looking well 👍🏻
Sorry to hear that!! Pitching right can be tricky - try pulling the guy lines on the ends out to the side more. Condensation is inevitable but especially when using a 4 season tent in not 4 season conditions! That why I use my Enan more, but it drives me made in that too! You are not alone!!
@@AbbieBarnesWILD thanks Abbie. I will just put it away until the cold weather it’ll most likely end up the tent I loan out on winter camps 😂. Take care
@@1DrBar thank you.
What is the tent do you like: Hilleberg, Vaude, Samaya, Zpacks, Nordisk, Salewa?
I use my Enan all the time :)
@@AbbieBarnesWILD😘💋
How has it worn Abbie ? Has it been re-proofed at all ?
Hate the way Hilleberg are excluding people, with huge price increases. It used to cost £250, when I was looking, equivalent to £364 today.
Buy from china then
@@northernswedenstories1028 ?? It's the same, converted, price there.
@@Daytona2 what ?
Do you use the footprint that you have to purchase separately? Or do you think it’s unnecessary?
Thanks for the helpful video by the way. I own a akto. I tend to bring the footprint on long distance autumn/winter hikes. But never sure if it’s 100% necessary. Cuts down on condensation i guess.
This isn't a review of a 7 year old Akto, this is a look at a new Akto 🙄
1.3kg? ...lol...
Mines 1.6kilo