GIMME SHELTER

A tent is one of those hugely important pieces of gear that you have to buy on trust. Apart from having a quick lie down to gauge the dimensions, you can’t really take it for a test drive in the store. You can’t accurately judge its waterproofness, wind resistance or condensation issues. You can’t take it on a 20km hike. You can’t sleep in it, unless you have competent breaking and entering skills or a particularly indulgent sales person.

And that’s where Great Walks comes in. Our job is to be your eyes, fingers and synapses when it comes to choosing gear. We’ve personally set up, prodded and poked, and most importantly slept a full night in each of these tents, so we know them inside out. No need to set aside a full day to trek around all the outdoor stores, use our expertise to narrow down your selection to two or three, then head out on a short, focused mission to experience, decide and purchase. Easy as. (Also check out Caro’s column on tent maintenance – pg64!)

1 Hilleberg Helags 2

Removing the Helags, a new model for 2021, from its bag, one can immediately see and feel