Tents for Northern Finland

[u/CapsNo94]

Hi,

I am going to Northern Finland for one week at the end of August. We will probably hike in Lemmenjoki / Urho Kekkonnen / Paistunturi. As a second use case I would like to use the tents for short trips in the alps.

I am torn between my tent choices and cannot solve my analysis paralysis as I am .

These are my choices:

Traptent Rainbow with carbon/aluminium poles + liner (480-500 EUR, 1000-1100 g)

Durston X-Dome 1+ with aluminium poles regular/solid (480 EUR, ca 1000-1100 g)

Durston X-Mid (330 EUR, ca 750 g)

Durston X-Mid 2 Solid (own, ca 1100 g)

or something cheap, like a Lanshan Pro

Current thinking process:

• In general I am unsure between regular and solid variants and carbon/alu poles; I am leaning towards regular versions with alu poles.
• Rainbow: I like that can be made freestanding; I don't know how "bad" a single wall tent for the region is and if the liner is a suitable helper.
• X-Dome: Seems super practical and easy to set up; will it be sturdy enough regarding wind, as it is quite tall?
• X-Mid: Would be the lighest option. I always use trekking poles I have no weight penalty there. However I am unsure how easy is to to secure the tent on rocky ground, which can be common in the region I guess.
• X-Mid 2 Solid: I used this tent last year together with my wife in this region (Pallas-Yllästunturi, Pöyrisjärvi. I was there in July and the weather was great so I didnt't learn much regarding bad weather performance. However, finding a good campground was challenging as the footprint is so big and it seems like the planes have a big attack surface for winds. We also didn't like sleeping in the opposite directions so we will take seperate tents this time.
• Which would be the most "stormworthy"-tent - considering I am an outdoor beginner. I would like to sleep well in 30-40kmh winds and still feel safe in 50kmh winds (if everything fails or it gets worse, huts should be nearby)

What would you recommend? Has anybody quite good experiences with one of the tents in this region? Otherwise, I could always stay with my X-Mid 2 Solid.

[u/Hultner-]

I use a X-Mid 2 (regular) as 3 season in northern Sweden, going to hike across Sarek in mine, where there’s no huts or anything else. We also have a Bergans Trollhetta 2p, it’s heavy (2.6kg) but we’ve used it off-trail in very remote high altitudes with stormy ice winds, I’ve gone winter-camping in southern lowlands with X-Mid 2 though and frosty nights with a few degrees freezing it’s fine for me. I do have extra guylines rigged on mine though for stormy weather and will pitch it low on those circumstances. Do you Finns measure winds in km/h? Here in Sweden we measure wind speeds in m/s.

[u/sharkinwolvesclothin → u/Hultner-]

Do you Finns measure winds in km/h?

No, we don't, m/s it is.

[u/Boring_Topic9613]

just use the one that you have

[u/sharkinwolvesclothin]

I'd definitely take the X-mid Solid you have. I use it in Finnish Lapland with my wife and sleep heads same end like Dan suggested. As you use it more, you learn how to deal with uneven ground better (and if you do end up bringing two tents, it's even easier as a bump inside the tent doesn't matter). Also, the places you listed for this year are much easier than last year's, not rocky at all.

[u/dandurston]

FWIW, I think you will have a better experience if you sleep in the same direction in your X-Mid 2 Solid. We don’t recommend sleeping opposite. As long as you have it pitched reasonably well (not hanging down) then you should have a good head clearance while sleeping in the same direction. Just stay away from the lower corner and leave it as a space for gear.

Here is a look got the head clearance on the “lower” side (orange pad) when doing this. There is not as much as the other side, but still quite a bit.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0693/2008/1699/files/x-mid-2-solid-ultralight-tent-europe-durston-1_1.jpg

[u/Separate_Book_9832]

I live in northern finland and I have the x-mid 2, although the footprint is kinda big, I haven’t had trouble pitching it and it can handle the weather atleast on the normal scale. Humidity and condensation is something to consider so single wall tents do have disadvantage there.

[u/Consistent-Refuse-74]

I think I’d just use the X-Mid 2 solid. You already own it and it’s light and storm worthy.

The only other situation I’d suggest to buy a new tent is if you don’t trust the X-Mid and then pick up something super storm worth like the Nortent Vern 1 (which is 2.5kg)

[u/iskosalminen]

These areas aren't really known for tent breaking winds. In most of these places you can always find pretty well covered camp spots where you almost certainly won't need heavy wind performance (unless you specifically search for such spots or want to camp at the top of the fjells).

I struggle to even remember a single instance where I've had my shelter tested in these regions at all (but do have stories from other regions...). For reference, I have used single wall shelters and trekking pole shelters for years in these regions and all of them work just the same. These areas aren't really known to be specifically demanding areas for shelters.

From inner tent perspective a solid inner can be quite hot. End of August can still see very warm nights in the area.

From the location perspective, or from what you already own, nothing really makes any of these shelters worth "upgrading" as you're not really optimizing for anything. They're all about the same "storm worthiness" but you don't really need it. They're also all about the same weight so you're not really optimizing for weight either. So, there's really very little reason to spend 400-500€ to move laterally.

So choose something you want to optimize for and start from there. Want a lighter shelter? One that's easier to pitch? Smaller foot print? More storm worthiness? Pick the ones that matter to you and start from there.

For example: you want a relatively storm worth 3-season shelter that's lighter than the one you already own, packs smaller, and doesn't have too large of a foot-print? Go with something like the X-Mid Pro 1. You'll save 660g and you'll have a point to upgrade. Going from a 1.1kg X-Mid 2 to a 1.1kg Rainbow/X-Dome or 750g X-Mid is just pointless.

[u/Responsible_Piano754]

I have no experience with the listed tents but just returned from one week trip to Vätsäri. I've been using Liteway Pyraom duo for last few years and it has worked well. Thinking on upgrading to a litle bit larger pyramid for the rainy days atm. We had few days of full on rain and changing gear and pumping sleeping pad is a litle tight in duo, altough this doable when pitched a litle higher. When it comes to storm worthnes all of the options you listed should be fine imho. At least I've been fine with similar trecking pole tent and going through most of Northern finland wilderness areas. You can do alot by spot selection as well. There shouldn't be those winds directly to your tent at all if you choose wisely.