My friend Gordon quotes a saying from his Grandma’ regarding decision making and procrastination …
‘do a poo or get off the pot’
My indecision around the Hilleberg Akto goes back nigh on 30 years. That’s a lot of years ‘on the pot’.
Writer, gear expert and long distance walking oracle Chris Townsend bought one in 1996 and used it on his ‘Munros in Winter’ walk. In this video Chris recounts his experience with the Akto as well as offering pitching and usage tips from his 30 years of owning one.
I think i read about his walk in TGO magazine. Thirty years ago i would be in the process of joining the Army and had a reasonable amount of backpacking experience, but no money to buy this remarkable looking tent from this seemingly exotically expensive Scandinavian company.
I have no idea why it took me until last week to buy one.
Does anyone else ‘lust’ after things that they have the resources to own, but instead of just buying one they repeatedly buy a substitute which always turns out to be less good. And if you total up the cost of all the substitutes i could have bought a dozen Akto’s. What would a psychologist make of this 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Anyway, several weeks ago, after bumping in to Chris again at the Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool, i messaged him for tent advice.
‘Get an Akto’ was his reply.
I asked him about weights and alternatives and value for money …
‘Get an Akto’ was his reply.
So i did.
And then he sent me advice on pitching and storage and pegs.
I got the brown one. It’s a really really well thought out design. It is, as Chris says, a bit heavier than many 1 person tents, but the Akto has full 4 season usability.
I’ve also spent (and hopefully not wasted) a lot of money recently on lightweight rucksacks for backpacking. And didn’t get on with most of them. I don’t think they’re all that comfortable for multiple days over rough ground unless you’re fortunate enough to be able to afford dyneema everything.
Maybe i should ask Chris for a backpack recommendation too ….🧐