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Gear Reviews

Mountain Hardwear Helion 2

Mountain Hardwear Helion 2 tent (2008)

£300.00

LFTO rating
Owners' rating

Review
This ultralight tent has a very good packed size, thanks to the poles being made of shorter sections than most. The tent is a 3-pole geodesic design too, so it will be able to withstand the wind much better than tunnels or single-hoop options. It is pitched inner-first with poles being threaded through eyelets on the inner, and the pole ends are located at the base. The fly goes over the top and gets ladder-lock adjusters to ease the process. The outer doors roll to the side and can be opened from the top, which is a good design. The porch is large enough for a couple of rucksacks and inside the tent two people can just about sit up and two friendly campers could sleep inside as well. All that for 1755g is pretty good. But the inner has lots of mesh so this is a bit draughty in cold, windy weather. If you read the swing tag you would think this would weigh 1500g as this is stated as minimum weight, with no mention of maximum or actual weight! There wasn’t much of a gap between inner and outer when I pitched it, and it is a bit narrow for two campers.

Design 3-pole geodesic
Poles shock-corded alloy
Inner 40D nylon ripstop; flysheet 25D hollow core nylon ripstop, 1800mm hydrostatic head; groundsheet 30D nylon ripstop, 1500mm hydrostatic head;
Internal dimensions length 220cm; width 110cm; height 105cm
Packed size 35x16cm
Weight 1755g
Made in China
Number of stores in UK 12
Stockists – tel. (01572) 724499; www.mountainhardwear.com

Verdict
A spacious and very stable one-person tent or usable for two people if you want to save weight, but others are lighter.

Review by Graham Thompson
First published in Trail magazine August 2008

Users' Overall Rating (0 reviews)

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John747 says

RE: Mountain Hardwear Helion 2 tent (2008)

I agree with the Review on all points made. I used this tent on a trip to North Wales in July 2008. The fly and structure withstood two bad thunderstorms with ease, shedding all water and being stable. However, I can't agree with the 4 Star rating because the groundsheet suffers from seepage under even light pressure. I'm not heavy, but water came in under my mat. Even pressure from lighter items caused seepage. Maybe I was unlucky to get a badly-made example, but is a HH of 1500mm enough for a groundsheet? I have other MH kit and it is excellent, so I'm very disappointed. The supplier took the tent back and gave me a full refund, so now I'm looking for a replacement!

20 October 2008 12:22