Backpacker Magazine – 2010 Editors' Choice/Gear Guide

Gear Review: Hilleberg Jannu Mountaineering Tent

A roomy, lightweight tent that can handle big weather

by: Kelly Bastone

Tags:
• Gear
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• Tents
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Best All-Around
Let’s cut to the chase: If you want the best winter shelter, price be damned, get this mountain fortress. What’s so special? With 37 square feet of floor space, you get basecamp comfort for the weight of a three-season tent—and zero condensation. And there’s no tradeoff on protection: With three crossing poles, it didn’t budge in 40-mph gusts and heavy snow at 10,400 feet in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. And our tester slept soundly through the storm. “The multiple guyout points meant winds barely rippled the fly, and the inner canopy never budged,” he reports.

The Jannu’s secret sauce: ultralight (and expensive!) materials, like tough Kerlon 1200 silnylon used in the fly. The integrated design pitches fast, and the full-coverage fly extends to the ground and keeps spindrift out. Condensation is a nonissue, thanks to the double walls and outstanding ventilation. Roof vents in both the fly and canopy can be opened or closed completely from inside. The single door is positioned so you don’t have to climb over your partner, and the 13-square-foot vestibule has two vertical zippers that allow access from the leeward corners rather than the center.

The ultralight fabric felt wispy, but proved durable on climbing and ski-mountaineering trips. In this case, you definitely get what you pay for. $735; 5 lbs. 7 oz.

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