The new Helium Carbon 100 is another very light, single-hoop tent. It’s made from ultralight fabrics and has carbon fibre poles. It pitches as unit and can be up in a few minutes. It won’t stay up though if you rely on the supplied pegs, which might hold in hard ground but didn’t in soft soil. I’d ditch the tiny 13cm pins and replace them with more substantial pegs. There’s adequate room inside, with the end walls held up by short poles so the fabric isn’t in your face. The porch is small however. I’d be wary of cooking in it with the door closed, a big drawback in my view. Stability is good for such a lightweight tent as it has an inner guying system that really stabilises the main pole. There are also short guys at each end. The weight makes this tent attractive. It’s the lightest model tested. However it’s also expensive and has that small porch.
First published: May 2013
