My problem with Hillebergs: For any given (especially short) trip, you can probably find something lighter/more comfortable or (if need be) lighter and more stable than the best suited Hilleberg. There is only a very slight chance that the Hilleberg will be spot on for that particular tour, particularly weight-wise. On the other hand, you probably won’t find a better and more comfortable allrounder (for all the trips you can imagine for yourself) than a Hilleberg. But the question is: Do you really need an allrounder to handle the diversity of any adventure that is just a fortnight or so long? Are you prepared to pay the financial and weight penalties that come with such versatility?
The obvious snag is the hefty price: If I had no tents already and were to purchase an Enan, Akto or Soulo, I would probably attempt to use it as my only tent until my bank account had recovered. But whichever I chose, it would be too flimsey for some of my needs or too way heavy for others. Or even both, simultaneously. But because flimsey is more dangerous than heavy, I would most likely end up with the Soulo.
On the other hand, if you spent Soulo money on two other tents at opposite ends of your own lightness-stability scale, you would still get fine quality – and often also tents better geared to your respective trip. Overall, you could have more bandwidth for a lower weight penalty. (An equally or more stable Soulo alternative can weigh less, at the price of some comfort. And when it’s not needed, you can probably take a tarptent boasting way, way more room and air and lightness than a Soulo could ever offer.)
I think a Hilleberg (Akto or Soulo, depending on your beefiest needs) is for uses that really require as much of that bandwidth as can be achieved with a single tent… because your project is something like a world cycling tour. In that case, you wouldn’t want to risk Himalayan death in a tarptent… but neither would you want to endure weeks of unnecessary discomfort in central France due to the low height of something like my Wechsel Pathfinder.
Even if your mind (and the minds of your loved ones) does not embrace such a concept as a tent budget with an upper limit, I think a Hilleberg will rarely be the best possible choice for any individual trip… unless that trip is a fairly long and significantly diverse one.That’s when comfort becomes such an overriding priority that it’s worth biting the weight bullet for Hilleberg versatility. Of course, the definition of ‘long’ (enough for that) is entirely subjective and personal.
But it’s worth bearing in mind that Hilleberg always seems to follow a certain route – determining the target stability/weather-proofness for a particular tent, and then adding (a lot of) features that make it more comfortable in more benevolent weather. That’s where all the weight comes from. The Enan might be the exception, having evolved in a different way. But I don’t think the Enan is strong enough for Christoph’s purposes anyway.
