Hilleberg Nallo 2

Where do you want to be if you're exposed in nasty weather? Try a Nallo 2.

After using this tent in varied conditions for about half a year, I'm ready to offer another glowing report on Hilleberg tents, following my experience with the one-person Akto.

The Nallo 2 offers superlative, total weather protection in extremely wet, temperate alpine environments, plus the convenience of a small packed size and a voluminous interior for two at a relatively low weight. Trail weight is 4 lbs. 15 ounces (round it off to an even five pounds for convenience), including 9 stakes, and modifications (see below).

This is a weatherproof tent. The fly is extremely strong and completely impervious to high winds and torrential, tropical rain (see my review on the Akto). When set up with a taut pitch (demands using the guylines and the stake out points), the Nallo will probably withstand whatever blows its way. Really. The first time I tried it was at 3,000 feet during a highly destructive typhoon (I know, it's not the smartest thing to do, but I couldn't resist!). The place I pitched was exposed, but the ground surface was pretty ideal soil for setting stakes deep and solid. The Nallo shuddered in the violent gusts that sent branches and other debris whizzing laterally, yes laterally, through the air, but the fly remained immobile, no visible wear on the seams, and no sense that the tent was about to slant over or get flattened. Probably more remarkable than that is the fact that the Nallo's tunnel design seems to facilitate set up in even the most difficult conditions. The Nallo also shrugged off the wet, sleety snow that falls in winter on the Alpine regions of Taiwan, but you occasionally have to shake off the sloping foot area of the rear of the tent which extends beyond the tunnel area of the two pole hoops.

The Nallo is a true tunnel tent. Both hoops of the tunnel are at the same height. This means that the interior of the tent feels much more spacious than the simple floor area figure would indicate. Most US-made tents have a larger floor space, but they don't necessarily feel as spacious within. The Nallo is the kind of tent that deserves to be tested for total interior volume rather than just floor area. This means that two people can sit together at the front of the tent, or one can sit near the rear pole of the tent while another sits at the front. Four people could drink tea and play cards inside.

In an effort to cut weight, Hilleberg took off the rear vent. There is only one vent on the front of the fly, not quite at the top. It lets in oxygen but will not prevent condensation on the full-coverage fly. In freezing temperatures, this produced morning frost on the inside of the fly. As with the Akto, I found that the inner fabric is breathable and impermeable to water. Hence, the condensation on the fly isn't an issue. I have seen postings about condensation in the inner of Hilleberg tents, yet I have never experienced this. What's up? I don't know, but perhaps the key is not to seal up the inner completely. If you do, it tends to get stuffy, and I imagine in various combinations of humidity and temperature (particularly if you have a lot of wet gear inside the tent) this will produce condensation inside the inner. I always keep the inner slightly open, but it does mean that in colder times some precious internal heat gets lost. The triple zip sliders give you numerous options in this regard. Ditto for the front door on the fly, which can be opened on either side of the vestibule in order to escape the wind and let in air. Additional ventilation could be produced by pulling out the tail of the fly or buy propping it up with sticks, but I never found the condensation bothersome, so it was unnecessary.

The exoskeleton design (poles in the fly) is a huge advantage allowing for great flexibility. In the first place, it allows for quick set up and protects the inner from moisture when setting up in a heavy rain. Second, the inner is attached to the poled fly by clips that easily undo. This allows one to create extra temporary space in the vestibule—great for cooking in the vestibule in foul weather or for shaking off snow and rain upon entering the vestibule from outside. Finally, this configuration also allows you to leave the inner at home for a very secure poled tarp for two set up that weighs around 3 lbs 5 oz.

The Nallo packs down to a very compact size, 6" x 15", the smallest I've seen for any tent with its amenities.

In my experience, the Nallo shines particularly in temperate climates with near-freezing temps and extended, extreme wetness. For the soggy alpine areas of Taiwan, it seems like the perfect tent. I haven't yet used it in temperatures warm enough to warrant using the inner alone (with four separate, optional pole holders that add about 1-2 ounces), but it will probably be equally adept at adapting to that. It is certainly robust enough to handle severe winter weather, but the condensation on the fly will freeze up. Perhaps the ideal combination would be to have a single wall tent for deep winter outings and use the Nallo for three season ventures--or else go with a Hilleberg Nammatj 2 for the ultimate all-season double wall abode. I have noticed another post on this site by someone else who uses the Nallo in winter (with the heavier poles) and has excellent results.

I replaced the metal zipper pulls and the attached guylines with triptease lightline. I assume this is why the trail weight of the tent is slightly lower than the manufacturer's gross weight.

Similar Products Tried:

There are many hoop and tunnel tents, but none that I have seen boasts the strength, durability, amenities and light weight of the Nallo. Don't let the non-freestanding design put you off! Once you get over the mental obstacle, it's second nature--plus, it's ALWAYS a good idea to stake ANY tent down.

Customer Service:

Repairs to another Hilleberg tent caused by sewing modification ineptitude were smoothed out with no problem. Hilleberg has a standard of craftsmanship, service and integrity that has to be a model for the industry.

Overall a very solid tent with its pros and cons.

After doing a lot of research and watching various reviews I ended up buying the Nallo 2. I just got it so can share only the first impressions after some testing and the first use. 

Overall, satisfied so far. I like the shell and the interior nylons, supposedly very durable and of course totally waterproof. I happened to have it pitched in a strong storm with pouring rain that lasted the entire day and it remained absolutely dry inside. I did not experience yet any condensation issues some people are complaining about. It was very comfortable and dry inside. Obviously, you don't close vents in a fully waterproof tent.

It has lots of room for one person, and I like it this way, but two people will be very comfortable as well. The entryway part is great, very versatile, just the right size to keep the gear dry and even to cook. The zippers on the entry and the interior wall are excellent, offer lots of options. The interior has only two small pockets and I find them sufficient, but if you like huge pockets you'll need to figure something out. There is a long cord under the interior roof for your light that I found very handy as I could slide the lantern as needed. There are several of these well thought through details. But, of course other good tents have those too. 

The pitching is not instantaneous like some people describe it but it is very straightforward and if you adjust it well it stands very solid.

Hilleberg advertises Nallo as a very lightweight for a 4-season tent. Well it may be so, but the pack is quite voluminous and not that light to carry long distance.

Mine is dark green color that I selected but I can tell that it is really very dark, can be seen as almost black in a lower light conditions, not exactly that modern green color they show on the web. But I don't mind, also the yellow/orange interior helps a lot. They now produce this model only in this dark Green, a bright Red, and a brownish Tan, your choice. 

If that matters, it is only designed in Sweden, the material is produced in Korea and sewn in Estonia. As such, I think this relatively simple tent could have been half the price and still make money for the company. That said, I plan to put it to good use and see if it proves itself worth it.

Background

Just recently bought it with plans to take it to high altitude climbing with variable weather. Will be used mostly as a base camp tent. Did the first trip and some testing with no issues. These are first impressions.
I am an experienced mountaineer.

I've tried a fair few tents now, 3 of my favourites are all from Hilleberg. I guess it's because I trust the build quality and the set up.

I recently brought a Soulo, mainly because I just couldn't resist, and while the Soulo is an amazing tent, imo the strongest one man tent in the known universe I have gone back to the Nallo 2. The reasons for this are that whilst the Soulo has its own set of advantages, the advantages of the Nallo2 are more beneficial to me.

The Soulo is probably stronger, although tunnel tents are supposed to be the strongest, I don't think so in this case, the Nallo2 is still bombproof. The Soulo is freestanding, imo totally unnecessary unless you're a serious hardcore mountaineer, all tents should by guyed out anyway. The Soulo is a little easier to pitch but the Nallo isn't hard.

The price on these 2 tents are identical and so is the packed weight. This is where the benefits of the Nallo2 come into effect, mainly massive amounts of room, the extra area is only about 700cm sq on paper, but inside the actual amount of space feels like more than twice as much, couple that with a huge vestibule area that can open from front, sides, allowing you to keep it open in all weathers and imo this is the best tent for ONE man use. If you are expecting seriously bad weather you can double pole and add more guy lines though if seems totally unnecessary.

You will never regret buying any tent from Hilleberg, including the Soulo, but for me the Nallo's roominess gives it the edge bearing in mind it's the same weight and price as the Soulo. Totally worth taking 90 seconds longer to pitch and finding a suitable area, at least for my activities, and I suspect 90% of users.

I purchased the Nallo after a search for a hybrid tent: I wanted one that could work like your standard 3-season tent, lightweight and easy to set up, but which could also handle some snow, rain, wind, and could help keep me warm during cold nights. The Nallo was the right choice.

Set up is easy. Despite the fact that the poles slide into sleeves and the fact that the tent has to be staked out, it sets up just as fast as my standard three-season clip-the-poles-to-the-outside tent.  I've never experienced any problems due to the non-freestanding nature of the tent.

The venting in the tent is adjustable, with several places, both on the inner tent and the fly, where you can choose to increase or decrease ventilation. This allows you to keep air flowing in nice weather and lock it down in bad weather, making the tent nice and versatile.

It indeed does what I was hoping: Keeps you dry and warm. I used this during four consecutive days of Sierra spring thunderstorms.  It kept two people and all of our gear perfectly dry.  I also used it during cold nights in the Adirondacks in November and was comfortable as could be.  I haven't taken this out in bone-numbing winter conditions, but I'm not a badass winter mountaineer — I just wanted a lightweight, two person tent that could give me something extra beyond the standard three season model.

The only negative I can find is that the tent tapers at the foot end, meaning that the bottom of your sleeping bag is likely to pick up a bit of condensation on damper nights.  It certainly wasn't debilitating, but we've all got to find our nits to pick.

The Nallo is my preferred tent for any winter trip: extremely lightweight (even with the thicker 12mm Easton Alloy poles), easy to set-up and take down even in very strong winds and thick mittens. The material is superb, the stitching immaculate (if one had to, one could complain to the individual who made the tent - name tags are sewn into the inner tent), the functionaly unsurpassed by any other tent I have ever used.

Four season only if you pitch it carefully.

We have the earlier equal hoop design.

This tent is very versatile: the outer goes up first and last which is great for rain; the floor pulls back so you can move about inside doing stuff away from the inner; the front porch ties back in a variety of configurations; inner can remain with outer for quick pitching of both.

I found the floor fabric to be a bit thin and had to repair a few holes, though these were probably made during a quick evacuation during a storm when a pole snapped (poles are now DAC and not the crappy Easton type).

Personally, I think of this as a very good, lightweight four season, where weight is more crucial than all round mountain safety: tunnel designs just don't have enough stability, relying too much on the anchoring of pegged guylines, and are disturbing to watch if you are a light sleeper.

The poles are (or were) a bit too long in the sections for two-wheeled touring.

No condensation problems beyond the norm. Order some longer pegs with the tent to secure the four side guylines.

According to Ethical Consumer magazine (July/August 2006), Hillebergs are made in Sweden (bar the poles) according to Swedish labour laws and receive a best buy rating generally. If this still applies then you can rest in peace knowing that no overworked children have made your shelter.

Durable, sturdy, and weather resistant backpacking tent.

Fantastically durable, spacious, and comfortable interior for two people, great in wet/windy weather (haven't tried out in snow), easy to set up and can be used without internal walls to act as a tarp. No need for footprint as base material is super durable.

Is slightly heavy for a backpacking tent, but OK when split up between two people.

Ive used this tent on the Torres del Paine full circuit in Patagonia and the Overland Track in Australia — very reliable. Extremely happy with this purchase. The only thing I would like is if it were a bit lighter, but wasn't prepared to risk getting blown away/wet in Patagonia! 

This is definitly the best tent I ever had. Though the Nallo is designed to fit two persons, it is a great tent for solo-tours. It is very light-weight and offers a lot of space inside. Since I often travel alone over an extended period of time, I really like to have such a great 'mobile home' that withstands any kind of weather. The vestibule is the greatest thing about the tent: Even when it is raining cats and dogs, one doesn't have to close the outer fly, but can still have a nice panorama view being sheltered by a little roof. In other tents in bad weather one can get clausstrophic really easy, but not in the Nallo.

I would recommend to buy the Hilleberg footprint too, since pitching the tent becomes really easy that way in strong winds, when tinfoil footprint tend to fly away.

Several of us used the Nallo2 in the Snowy Mountains this winter. They stood up to winds of approx 80mph (130kph) withut rocks or tree cover to lesson the force. One was pitched side ways and the other tail on. We only used the poles supplied, but added extra guylines to the vestibule and poles. The tent is incredibly easy to pich and pull down in high winds. Condensation is a rare occurrence if vents are opened (according to the external conditions). The vestibule is incredibly roomy (for boots, packs and cooking in) and can be easily adjusted to have various openings depending on the wind.

Does the world need yet another raving Nallo 2 review?

Of course! It's the best outdoor-money I've ever spent.

Totally waterproof and amazingly sturdy in bad weather.

Ease of set-up is good, if you let the wind work to your advantage. I use it as a one-person tent and as such, it's very comfortable. With two people, things would get a bit crowded but it would work. Just like the engine of a Rolls-Royce or Aston Martin, built by one guy/girl in order to achieve optimum fit and finish. Name-tag included:

Thanks for your fine work, Pia J.! ;-)

Wow...what an experience. What a great little number. Brill. Used it in the UK. Great vestibule (with enough space to avoid the vomit from the previous night) and even enough to take a piss in the middle of the night.

Great for serious enthusiasts. I love it.