UKC

I'm interested in the Crux X2 Bomb for wild camping. The Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT also looks like a great tent, with the advantage of a bit more room, less weight and quicker to pitch. However the X2 Bomb is cheaper and in strong winds should be more stable (although everything I've heard about the Nallo says it's fine in strong winds if guyed well, but the fabric flaps a lot).

Who owns or has tried out an X2 Bomb and what do you think of it? How quick is it to pitch?

In reply to jprieto: I own a Crux X2 Storm but have used a Nallo 2 GT on several occasions. Firstly I would say that these are two very different tents and aren't directly comparable. The T20 XT series from Lightwave (Crux's sister company) is the equivalent of the Nallo 2 GT, and the Hilleberg Jannu, the reverse. Personally I have found both to be very good tents, but the question really is what are you using it for.

The Crux is an out an out mountaineering tent. I.e. as small and light as it can be whilst giving just enough room to use, plus being very resilient to high winds and heavy snow, whilst giving a small footprint for pitching in small spaces.

The Nallo 2 GT on the other hand is roomier, both in footprint and particularly in porch space which is very useful for base camp use and bad weather camping. It is not designed to support heavy snow fall so if you think you will be using it in this environment go for a semi-geodesic or geodesic design like the Crux. The Nallo is very stable in strong winds but will flex more than the Crux will, and needs to be fully guyed out. The other advantage is that the Nallo is outer pitch first, which does make things easier for pitching in bad weather. Though the Crux pitches inner first (to give greater strength, so say Crux), after pitching it in heavy rain, I have found it does stay quite dry as long as you are quick at putting it up.

Basically unless you are going to be using this on a mountaineering expedition (or camping in Scotland in winter for extended periods) where you expect plenty of snow and limited space to pitch a tent, I would go for the Nallo 2 GT as it is more versatile.

Either way both are superb tents, but I would urge you to look at both pitched, and ideally watch them being put up, so you can get an idea of what each will be like to live with.

Hope this helps!

In reply to Jon Wickham:

Jon, thanks for taking the time to write a lengthy post. I, as a interested third party in this conversation appreciate it.

My 2cents, looks like the Crux X2 storm is a more closely related to the Hilleberg Jannu

In reply to Jon Wickham:

Thanks for the feedback Jon, it's very useful. It's a good question about what I want to use it for. It will be mostly for wild camping in places such as Snowdonia or the Lakes, or other mountainous areas like the Pyrenees or the Alps in summer. I imagine that more than likely I won't need the advantages of a geodesic for most of this, but it feels reassuring to know I could always camp somewhere with heavy snow fall such as Scotland in winter. Hilleberg tunnel tents (typically the more robust ones such as the Keron) seem to be used a lot for Arctic expeditions, so they must deal pretty well with snow fall. Whenever I've seen other people wild camping in the British mountains they've tended to have geodesics, which is why I was thinking that may be the way to go.

In reply to jprieto:
I have a Jannu and have used it for many of the uses you're interested in-it also pitches together, so deals with the quick pitching issue of the Crux.
There's one for sale on UKC here
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=467277

In reply to jprieto:

There is very little snow *fall*, if any, on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions (at least away from the coasts). I'd agree with Jon. Probably at least half of all South Pole expeditions, and many North Pole ones, use Hillebergs, as they expect no snow load from above, but lots of wind.

Geodesics are fine there, but Hillebergs are lighter, simpler and generally excellent tents, and very good so long as they're end-into-the-wind and *completely* guyed out. Their footprint is relatively large, though. They can be quickly set up with mitts on, unlike clipping the inner to the poles on a Trango etc.

The pole structure of geodesics handles snowfall much better - force from above, as well as the side - so they're good for Alaska. the Yukon, Himalaya, Tien Shan etc. They often have a non-rectangular floorspace, which some people prefer, some not. Obviously with more poles they're heavier - a major consideration if you're carrying all your own stuff everywhere. And you still need to carry a fair number of pegs to guy it out well. I've destroyed three Trangos in high winds, guyed out but with no walls. Proper walls are the best protection of all. Take a shovel.

In reply to Jon Wickham:


Having used Hilleberg tunnel tents on winter camping trips in the Norwegian arctic, I wouldn't agree with this. They are very popular in Scandinavia for winter trips and we have plenty of snow! People use Nallos for Greenland trips and like.

In reply to TobyA: BTW, I don't mean its better than a geodesic - geodesics are a stronger shape. More just that great tunnel tents like the Hillebergs have no big problems with snow it seems.

In reply to TobyA:

My hilleberg set up in the most extreme conditions.

http://hobyjackson.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0370.jpg

In reply to jprieto:

We have a Nallo 3 GT and it's brilliant. We have used it in very high winds with no trouble. It is noisy and the thin foil-like fabric is a bit scary but you soon realise that it's as solid as anything else.

In reply to jprieto: The 'fully guyed out' comments are the important thing - I currently own a Hilleberg Kaitum 2 and although you can get it up enough to dive into quickly it does use 18 pegs if you guy it out totally, and I would advise that. My old Vaude mk3 only had 10 pegs. I bought the Kaitum for reasons of light weight and inner tent long dimension, were I not so keen on low weight I'd have bought a Vaude mk2 'cos my mk3 was excellent in every respect apart from the weight and the problem of pushing the inner against the outer as you sleep acrossways in it.

In reply to jprieto:

I was under the impression(perhaps incorrectly) that the flexing and shape of the Nallo was a design feature to help shed snow and not let it build up.