r/WestHighlandWay • u/celticwolf1 • 19d ago

Tent recommendations?

As you all know scotland can get very windy and very wet, the tents ive gotten in the past did not hold up well which for the price was expected, but im willing to spend more on one that will hold up and be worth the money, what recommendations do you guys have?

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u/dr2501 19d ago

Tarptent Scarp 1+ - will handle anything in UK 4 seasons and only weighs 1.3kg or 1.6kg with crossing poles.

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u/johnnythorpe1989 19d ago

I got one of the one man tents from decathlon 6 years ago when I first did the WHW. Since done a long multi day every year, and a couple of motorbike tours with it, and it's still going strong.

They're just over 1kg, have a ground matt that extends to the door to keep your bag dry.

Honestly I expected it to last the one trip!

Edit: it also survived one of the worst nights I've ever had on the Trotternish Ridge. We camped in a saddle as it got late and we weren't gonna make it down. Weather came in so we made a wind breaker from rocks, middle of the night I wake up needing a wee, but the wind was blowing so hard I didn't get up because I thought it would blow off!

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u/fntastikr 19d ago

I love my durston xdome 2. It's pricey but durston is basically as good as it gets.

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u/richardathome 19d ago

I have the X-mid 1. Best tent I've ever owned! <3

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u/Matthewgardner86 19d ago

Don't get me wrong, I love my Durston tents but for Scottish conditions they're not "as good as it gets."

Aye, they're good but they compromise on sheer brute force durability for weight loss.

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u/RakasSoun 18d ago

Aye I sold mine on after a few windy nights in it; crossbars need to reach the ground for me to have confidence in a tent. 

Switched out to a wild country helm elite which has been bulletproof so far 🤞

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u/Matthewgardner86 18d ago

I'm sticking with my X-Dome 1 currently but I'm quite cautious about what conditions I go out in.

Having said that I suspect I will be giving it a good wind test tomorrow and Thursday night.

I haven't yet used the trekking pole supports which I'm hoping would add a lot more strength in the area that you are talking about with the crossbars. I also opted for the aluminium pole version.

I came close to hitting the button on a Helm Elite but I wanted a little bit more space inside.

Like most people I've been on a bit of a journey with my tent collection and I'm almost certain that it's not finished 😂

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u/RakasSoun 18d ago

The inner is a tight space on the helm for sure (I’m 6’ 2’’ and would t go for it if I was any taller). Vestibule space is awesome though; get the extra footprint if you do go for it: it covers the vestibule and makes setting it up easier. 

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u/Matthewgardner86 18d ago

I'm assuming you've got the one person version?

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u/RakasSoun 18d ago

Yup; I’ve also got the 2 person non-elite version for moto-camping

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u/Matthewgardner86 18d ago

Oh I didn't there was an elite and non elite version.

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u/RakasSoun 18d ago

 A bit thicker/heavier, same waterproof rating though. I’d rate it; it’d be tight for 2 people plus gear but an absolute palace for just me and motorbike gear. 

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u/Matthewgardner86 18d ago

Ok cool 👍

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u/Altruistic-Cost-4532 18d ago

You can attach trekking poles to the cross bar - did you try that?

Not saying it makes a massive difference, I don't own it and haven't tried it, genuinely curious.

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u/RakasSoun 18d ago

Wouldn’t work in my use case as I was mostly buying it for bikepacking; the poles eat up a lot of space as it is so adding trekking poles would have been a non-starter. 

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u/Altruistic-Cost-4532 18d ago

Yea, trekking poles are probably low on the kit list for bike packing 😂

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u/rachelm791 19d ago

I used the x mid solid on both the WHW and CWT. The WHW is mainly valley camping but the Glens act as a wind tunnel especially in the autumn, so a storm worthy tent that will stand up to 40kph winds is worth the peace of mind. I took some extra guylines and some long tent pegs just to be sure and had no problem on either trail.

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u/MotherConfusion3773 18d ago

Apologies if patronising but worth learning about how to pitch a tent. Im.a DofE assessor and 90% of expedition issues i see are badly pitched tents and not knowing how to pitch on uneven ground so that eg the outer is lying on the inner and drawing in water.

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u/Voronde1990 16d ago

Agree. Not patronising, but a well placed tent, with good stakes and good pitch, is worth a lot! We love and really trust our hilleberg anaris. Our gossamer gear the one is also quite dependable it seems.

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u/Due_Passenger_8949 19d ago

West Highland Way is pretty much a low level hike.with no issues. Just about any well made lightweight tent will do you fine

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u/The_witchy_kitty 18d ago

You can have very strong winds near Kingshouse and Kinlochleven, I wouldn't say any tent will do. I had a good one and it still fell during a storm

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u/Legitimate_Pin4368 19d ago

I had a good time recently in my wild country halny elite 2.

I mainly bought it for bike backing as it’s not ultralight, but made for uk conditions and more durable than some of the lightest stuff out there.

It saw a lot of rain and stayed dry throughout inside. Also mid priced and likely to last well.

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u/bakeyyy18 19d ago

I've used a Sierra designs one in various wet and windy places, great value and pretty lightweight

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u/MarthaFarcuss 19d ago

Hilleberg Soulo

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u/Double-Mistake6415 18d ago

This is the correct answer. The Soulo will stand up to anything and you’ll be bone dry inside. Worth every penny.

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u/junkyardfloozy 19d ago

I did it in a Zpacks Hexamind tent. I had to pitch it in a bog one night and I stayed dry.

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u/Teleria86 19d ago

How did your tents fail? I bought a tent a few years ago with normal price of ~130€ for 30€ on a special sale and it is holding out just fine. WHW no issue, it survived glencoe with max gusts of 45mph just fine. It isnt light by any means with ~3kg for a two person tent, but we booked baggage transfer so the weight wasnt the issue.

I know people love to recommend their expensive gear but that is not needed, not for the WHW at least.

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u/DueObject6461 18d ago

I think for a reasonable budget you cannot go wrong with the fjern stormgrotta. Very capable budget four season tent that should handle the worst of what the west highland way can handle. My brother recently bought it for the Isle of Skye and we had 40mph to 60mph gusts and it stood strong.

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u/MisterMike318 12d ago

I took a terra nova laser last year for September. Was my 8th time doing the way and the best tent I'd used. Super light weight, kept me warm and dry. Definitely better tents out there but I got this tent for free and ecstatic with it.

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u/craige1989 19d ago

For 90% of conditions I can't see past an xmid. For summit camps in gale force winds I'd want something like a tarptent arc dome, scarp, or trekkertent saor etc, although an mld trailstar or pyramid would probably be good too (I've had a solomid xl in 60+mph winds that flattened multiple nearby tents and I slept through it).

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u/Apart-Assignment-860 19d ago

trekkertents are made in scotland for scottish conditions but anu quality 3 season tent pitched properly will be fine