Hilleberg Kaitum 2GT – Kit Review
A couple of years ago Hannah and I were looking for a new tent. We had some very specific ideas about the tent so we went looking for options. Being a manager of an outdoor store has it’s advantages, firstly we had a fair amount of tents in stock I was familiar with and I was aware of most of the major manufacturers available in the UK. So began a long trawl through the wonder that is the internet.
To give you an idea of our requirements here’s some of the key features we were looking for;
It had to have two entrances – going on trips to Canada/America a fair bit had put the bear escape options high on the list.
It needed to have a large vestibule to store kit/cook food – comfort is really our first priority and we had an eye on using this tent as a cycle touring shelter somewhere in the future so the extra space would be ideal.
As light as possible – this wasn’t a mountain tent we were looking for, rather lots of living space and light weight.
It quickly became apparent we were going to be looking for a tunnel tent. This type of tent will generally be lighter and have more living room than a semi-geodesic or geodesic design. Whilst not as strong as a geodesic design it’s key attributes were also top of our list.
TENT CHOICE
As well as looking at the Terra Nova Voyager XL, Marmot widi 3p and Jack Wolfskin’s Sanctuary II RT along with a few other options, it quickly became apparent that Hilleberg were really going to be the manufacturer of choice. It became a question of which one? Hilleberg seemed to be offering the combination of lightweight and strength we felt was essential. We took the time to visit some stores to put up some tents, something I think is essential when spending this kind of money. Thanks have to go to George Fischer in Keswick and the Climbers Shop in Ambleside who were particularly helpful in our tour of tent pitching. We finally decided on the Hilleberg Kaitum 2GT.
Here’s the link to Hillebergs website for the Kaitum 2GT
KEY FEATURES
Lightweight.
Large sleeping space.
Three entry/exit points – two at the large vestibule end and one at the other end.
Huge vestibule at one end and a medium vestibule at the other.
Vestibules roll up to create a tunnel – amazing in warm weather camping.
Excellent adjustable venting holes at either end.
Dyneema guy cord with easy lock tensioners, two per guy to make tensioning incredibly easy.
No se-um mesh on all doors.
Reflective sections on tent.
Drying line – internal tension line inside sleeping area.
Packed Weight – 3.5KG.
Length – 5.05m (Sleeping area 2.20m Main Vestibule 1.80M secondary vestibule 1.05m.)
Inner Height – 1.0m.
poles x 4.
Pegs x 22.
PITCHING & LIVING WITH THE TENT
Pitching.
This tent is a breeze to pitch, there are lots of little features which help get it up quickly and tension it appropriately. The pole sleeves are continuous and only have one entry so you can easily put this tent up on your own. The key is to peg the two ends first then pop the poles in, then start from one end and tension the guys from there. It’s important to peg the guys at either end at 45 degrees to the tent to they are almost pulling the tent along it’s length. The other guys are pitched at 90 degrees to the tent walls to give it stability. It’s incredibly stable once up and fine tuning the tension is also easy with the dual tensioners on each guy. There’s a guy at each end that helps keep the ventilation holes open and also really pull the tent along it’s length. You don’t have to use all the pegs, in fact you could pitch it with just four pegs if you want to but the nature of tunnel tents is the better guyed out they are the more stable they are. I tend to guy everything I can get my hands on! The attention to detail is amazing. The pole tensioners and the pole cups that hold the loose end of the poles are a dream to use even with gloved hands. The doors are huge enabling easy access into the living area. Another feature I’ve been impressed with are the tension straps between the sections where the doors are. This allows the tent to be taught and solid whilst not putting the zips under huge loads when you’re trying to do them up.
Living with the tent.
I also found the options of so many entries/exits to be a real help. We aim to pitch it low end into the wind on as flat as section as possible. This means we have a large doorway out of the wind and should the weather change there’s a load of other doors to choose from if we need to. We also purchased the footprint for the Kaitum 2GT which runs the full length of the outer. This attaches to the outer and can remain attached and still fits in the tent bag no problem. This obviously adds to the weight but helps preserve the investment. I think I would remove it if I were hiking or away for a long time. Another element of the design to note is the height of the bathtub inner and how low the outer comes to the ground. This tent was designed in a country where it rains and it’s windy all at the same time. Ideal for British conditions.
REAL WORLD USE.
We’ve been lucky enough to use this tent during our 2009 17 day backcountry paddling trip in Algonquin National Park, a full trip report can be found here. The tent was pitched and taken down almost every day and we found it a breeze. As I’ve already said the length of the tent takes a bit of getting used to, particularly if you try to put it up in your living room. In real terms it didn’t turn out to be a problem. The outdoors is bigger than you think!
We always found space for the tent and it’s worth noting you only need a flat section the size of a normal two man tent. If the vestibule is on a rocky sloping section it doesn’t really matter. What we did find is that during the trip it felt a little narrow at times. It’s 1.450m wide inside but it did, at times, feel cramped. There is a narrow and a wide end to the inner tent and I’m unsure if the nights we felt cramped was due to sleeping at the narrow end or just from being over tired and a little fractious.
We’ve also used the tent a fair bit whilst car-camping. It’s a great tent in this situation as it takes all the extra kit you tend to bring on a trip like that, all the extra space still leaves you plenty of room to get in and out of the tent and generally enjoy your trip.
Not car camping! Our first camp during out 17day backcountry paddling trip in Algonquin.
CONCLUSION.
If you’re interested in a spacious, strong and reasonably lightweight tent for hiking, ski touring and brilliant for cycle touring or paddling trips where you could argue you can carry a little more then this may be the tent for you. There are lots of features to this tent that make it easy to live with. It’s easy to put up and take down, has excellent ventilation options and is particularly comfy in hot climates. Whilst it’s on the long side this does give you loads of living space should you have to spend a rainy rest day in your tent. Obviously this tent isn’t going to be everyone’s first choice. Hilleberg do lighter tents which are still reasonably large and there are always going to be lighter tents I would say the Kaitum 2GT is an amazing balance between spacious living, strength and weight.
Would I buy it again? Definitely.
One Response to “Hilleberg Kaitum 2GT – Kit Review”
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thanx for the review. I’ve seen it put up once and was directly fascinated, but quit directly I tought of the lenght and maybe there would be problems pitching the tent in rough country.
I’m looking for a new tent but cant decide yet. I have used a soulo now for some years hiking and camping on my own.
Ofcourse at some point there came a girlfriend and now its time for a more spacious 2 person tent. reviews like these are helpfull in my study. thanx