Wild Country tents offer the perfect combination of quality and value for money. The Helm Compact tents are no exception. This award complements the Helm Compact 2 which was also awarded the Best Value two-person tent in 2021. If you have used this product please leave a review, or your comments for other visitors, many thanks! The inner has plenty of headroom and there's a good sized porch for kit storage, plus extra storage space under the rear flysheet accessed from a small door in the inner. It’s a hybrid tarp / tent design that features a single skin of silicon coated polyester upper that’s suspended off a trekking pole. This upper is pegged down at the edge and corners to form a hexagonal shape around its base. It pitches like a tarp tent, requiring a trekking pole to prop it up which should be either 120cm of less in length. There’s then a 15-inch aluminium pole that props up the other end. This is embedded but can be removed if necessary.

There’s only a single entrance, but it has a decent-sized porch plus a handy rear storage area with an unusual ‘hatch’ in the mesh inner that allows you to reach through and stash small items of kit. The end walls are also fairly steep, especially at the head of the tent, which means you ought to be able to lie out comfortably even if you’re well over 6 foot tall. The width isn’t class-leading by any stretch, but should still accommodate all but the chunkiest sleeping mats. Its easy to put up (inner tent & flysheet pitch together) and only takes 2 mins once you’ve done it once (I love tents like this - especially when putting up tents when its raining - I don't like pitching them separately) It has 2 poles which are clearly colour coded and you won't even need to read the instructions to put it up! Is that too much to ask from one tent? Our in-depth, in-field research – undertaken throughout the Highlands of Scotland during a Munro-bagging hiking expedition – concludes a categorical ‘hell no’. Don’t touch the sides: If pressure is applied to the tent walls of a polycotton tent, water may seep through. Keep bags and other items away from tent walls and be mindful that condensation can collect at the foot of AirBeams.Pitch in a spot that gets a natural breeze: Sheltered areas are more prone to generating condensation. Pitch your tent so that vents are lined up with the prevailing winds.

Store wet stuff outside: Towels, boots, waterproofs, swimming trunks, sweaty friends… keep that soggy, wet stuff out of the tent. Use an awning, tarp or hub to provide storage for wet kit. Don’t pitch too close to water: Rivers and lakes can increase humidity. Pitching your tent, a little further away from water sources can help reduce condensation. Full vestibule / high vent / zipper vestibule closure / easy tensioning adjustment / floating canopy / floating floor / optimized sleeping area / centre pole support. We recommend using a footprint which sits under the groundsheet and porch area to help prolong the life of your tent. A footprint for the Helm Compact 1 is available.

There's extra storage space under the rear flysheet which can be accessed from a small door in the inner

The first thing you’ll notice about the Helm 1 is its slightly strange asymmetric shape. Don’t worry, that’s deliberate, it’s all about the space-to-weight ratio. The single-person tent, made by Terra Nova Equipment’s sub-brand Wild Country provides a generous amount of inner space while remaining impressively light overall. The distinctive pole structure gives plenty of headroom inside the tent and give's it strength in windy weather I haven’t tried this out for real yet, but on first erection in my garden: -The tent appears to be well made (I have bought Terra Nova tents before and am confident this will be fine), and really good value for the money, but there are a few points to think about. – Great ventilation with a mesh panel on the inner door, plus a smaller mesh door with a cover at the rear of the inner. We recommend using a footprint that sits under the groundsheet and porch area to help prolong the life of your tent. A footprint for the Helm Compact 1 is available.This tent has been one of the most popular models we sell since it's introduction and has a loyal following. Weighing under 2kg, the Wild Country Helm Compact 1 Tent offers excellent value for money and is comparable in size, weight and performance to tents several times it's price. The flysheet is made from a TripleRip silicone coated polyamide with an impressive waterproof rating of 3000mm (hydrostatic head). Cleverly, the upper parts of the fly have a 20D strength rating while the lower parts, those more at risk of abrasion, are rated at 40D. The inner features a 15D ripstop polyamide, a super fine bugproof mesh, and a 40D polyamide bathtub style floor with a 4000mm hydrostatic head. The poles, on the other hand, are made from a DAC Featherlite NSL, whilst the pegs are v-shaped and made from DAC aluminium alloy. All the materials here are made without PVC plastic and have a PFC-free DWR treatment.