While it may not be the most largest tent out there, with a solid design that stands firm in storms and blizzards alike, a dome-like design with a double vestibule system and an easy to set up process, the Hilleberg Tarra Tent stands out to be one of the best tents out there. And even though it may be pretty expensive, it may just be worth it for you with a comfortable interior and a build that’s perfect for those open terrains you’ve been wanting to go camping on.
Why We Like It – Hilleberg Tarra
Smaller than the Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8, the Hilleberg Tarra Tent is made for 2 people instead of 8. It offers more than enough space inside, and with its dome-like design it stands firm even in the harshest of weathers. And with an extremely flexible and durable build, separable outer and inner tents, the Hilleberg Tarra is the perfect fit for those nights out in rain and snow.
- Extremely durable design with 4 season compatibility
- Dome like design with plenty of space inside
- Easy set up process
- Pretty expensive for a 2 people tent
Performance
A Kerlon 1800 outer tent fabric paired with 10.25mm DAC featherlite NSL green poles, gives the Hilleberg Tarra the ability to withstand even the toughest of winds. While you also get the option of connecting extra poles for greater strength in rougher weathers, the Hilleberg Tarra has an advertised tear strength of 40 pounds thanks to the lightweight yet durable fabric that weighs only 1.91oz/yd. The fabric also comes with 3 layers of silicon coating on either side, giving it greater strength while also resisting the sun’s harmful UV rays as well greater water resistance. This gives it a much better waterproof rating than the Flying Diamond 8, and so with all of that along with metal vestibule adjusters, the Hilleberg Tarra manages to be more than durable against rain, wind and even snow.
Moreover, there are also three ground straps that run perpendicular to the length of the tent, absorbing in most of the high winds keeping the tension and height of the pole arcs as perfect as can be whilst also being capable of being used as guylines when needed. The pole arcs as well as the guy lines are made from a Spectra-Polyester blend which prevents them from absorbing water and thus making sure that the lines don’t become heavy during rain. The door bands underneath the vestibule also add to that by making sure that the zippers run smoothly from one end to the other.
Moving onto the set up of the tent, the Hilleberg Tarra comes with a pretty easy and convenient set up process starting with staking out the base of the tent and then inserting the poles into the colour coded two foot long pole sleeves and using the plastic clips to attach the rest of the tent to the poles. And finally, you simply stake out the vestibules and guylines, and you’re done. Unlike most other tents, the Tarra doesn’t need the inner tent to be set up separately as the built-in inner tent simply opens up and connects to the fly with a number of elasticized connectors.
As for the ventilation and heat maintenance of this Hilleberg Tent, you get a pretty good system which takes in the cold air below while letting the hot air go from above. This is easily done through the mesh inner tent doors, the fly above comes with a passable solid nylon panel and above that the waterproof cover that protects the non waterproof fly letting go of the air. The zippers being accessed from the inside allows you to use the provided hooks to easily remove the vent before you either set it up or take it down. And with its substantially large size, the vent cover can be tied out in four places making for some excellent ventilation with great condensation combat.
Design
Having a folded size of 50 x 20 cm and weighing 3.8kg, the Hilleberg Tarra Tent has a pretty compact and lightweight build. It can easily be transported wherever you go and when it comes to convenience, the Hilleberg Tarra Tent does not disappoint. It has a dome construction with multiple crossing points with plenty of space inside for two people and their belongings. This also makes for dual entrances making sure one person doesn’t break the others sleep when getting up early in the morning as they can always go out through the door on their side. The dome design also means that the vestibules need to be fastened for the utmost firmness of the tent. As for there being two vestibules, you can use one of the vestibules as storage space while cooking and staying together at the other one. Meanwhile four pretty large pockets allow you to stash accessories and a built-in adjustable clothesline can be used to hang wet clothes whenever you need to, making all of it pretty convenient for you and the person with you. The vestibules themselves measure to be 14 square metres each which makes for some pretty great space for two people to sleep, cook and store gear.
Finally, the separable inner and outer tents come to great use, if you need a seperate space for gear storage as you can easily pitch the outer tent by itself while keeping the inner tent elsewhere, but do keep in mind that you will need extra poles to construct them elsewhere.
Value
Priced at $1295 this Hilleberg tent offers is among the more pricier of the backpacking tent lineup. And even though it may seem a lot for two person tents, the Hilleberg Tarra does offer you a whole lot of features ranging from a number of large pockets, easy set up process, a separable inner tent and even a clothesline for hanging wet clothes. And so with all of this packed into a pretty durable design that lasts over 4 seasons unlike the Kelty TN2 and Nemo Equipment Losi Tent. And thus, if you need the extra durability over winds that come up to 60mph or even snow and storms, the Hilleberg Tarra is your ultimate tunnel tent coming at a pretty understandable price.
Hilleberg Tarra Wrap Up
While it may not be the cheapest, largest, or even the one with a lighter weight than most tents, the Hilleberg Tarra stands out with its superb durability over 4 seasons and many different weather conditions. It features an excellent ventilation system and added with the extra features that it offers, it stands out as one of the top picks for two person tents in the market. But that is, at an expensive price that is only worth if you need the added durability unlike other larger and even compact tents. And as certain Hilleberg Tents may be currently unavailable at amazon com, using the seller’s email address for a stock update date might come in handy.
