Overview
An ideal communal space for 4 people valley camping. Simple and robust with the added attraction of being designed to burn a fire inside.
Fabric
The fabric of the Helsport lavvu is flame-retardent waterproofed polyester. The inside walls can run with condensation but because the tent is so big I have not found this to be a problem.
Groundsheet
I prefer grass to a groundsheet. I like that closer connection with the outdoors, why go out to get with nature then seal yourself off from it in a plastic shell? The idea of sitting in wet grass might not be very appealing but it's never as wet as it seems. Grass allows any spills to drain away and is safer when using a beantin fire, in fact all food prep is less of a worry without a groundsheet. The groundsheet for this model is available from www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk, it weighs 1.3kg and costs £95, two more good reasons to stick with grass.
Erection
Easily erected by one person, putting a time on it is worthless as the reality of getting it up in the wind and rain or in the dark never compares to a speed test in the back garden. With the door closed and without the pole, peg it out in what you guess will be the final shape. Don’t fuss at this stage as just about every peg will have to be adjusted/moved. There is only one pole, so when you have it pegged out open the door and get the pole up. Now go round and adjust the pegs to perfect the shape – I judge this by looking at the shape of the hole in the top, it should be a circle.
If you pitch it with the door downwind then you can stay connected to your environment by leaving the door open. If it gets nippy you can half shut the door so that you can still see out whilst remaining cosy next to the fire.
Guys, intermediate pegs and a rock/snow skirt all contribute to keeping it stable in bad weather. You rarely know what the weather will do in the night and on several occasions have gone to sleep in still cloudless high pressure conditions then had to run around at 2 in the morning in my pants pegging guys out and getting big rocks. The cone shape naturally sheds weather but it is a big tent, so for peace of mind I would recommend making it bombproof by guying and putting rocks or logs on the pegs and snow skirt. Mine withstood a real howler that blew an awning clean over the top of a caravan, though that did involve nocturnal underpant retro-pegging.
Top Hat
There is a top hat to cover the hole in the top but I rarely use this, and have stayed dry in light rain. If it starts to chuck it down then you simply drop the pole, plonk the hat on, pole it back up then attach the cords so that you have the opening the facing downwind.
Space
The 4-6 man is 4m across and 2.5m high and you can stand up comfortably in it. It is absolute luxury for 2 or 3 people and I have camped 3 adults and 2 kids in it easily. With 2 or 3 people you have enough room to even have a pile of wood in there with you so that if it’s evil outside you are self-contained.
Weight
At 5kg it is not a backpacking tent but I have been happy to carry it over my shoulder or under one arm for up to 2km, even when camping solo.
Inner
The inner is sold separately and would make the tent warmer in winter but not sure how compatible it would be with a fire. The beantin fire disperses midges adequately and I have a midge proof cover for my sleeping bag.
Fire
I use a catering sized baked beantin, for warmth and some cooking see beantin or wild wild camping. Move the pole off-centre, put some big rocks down or a pile of soil or upturned sod to protect the ground and you can happily have a beantin fire inside this tent. The open cone shape acts as a chimney and when the flames are good smoke is cleared effectively through the hole. If the timber is damp or you smother the fire or manage it badly then the smoke can be difficult, and probably bad for your health in the long term. There are only 2 solutions: manage the fire so it burns bright (not always easy) or get a stove with a flue. Loafing around a roaring beantin, looking at the night sky with a nip of single malt is really what life is about. The inside and the pole are fairly caked in smoke deposits but this hasn't been a problem as it doesn’t transfer to anything else.
Drying/Airing
If you put the tent up to dry on a lawn then moisture from the grass condenses inside, so best to leave the door open, choose a windy day or hang the tent up. This may take a couple of days, in autumn/winter to be thorough.
This tent is all about communal cooking and socialising, everyone around a central fire looking in. This tent is twice as heavy as the average two-man backpacking tent but it has more than twice as much room. Without a groundsheet you are free of the usual worries about bringing muck in so you can laze around with your boots on or kick them off and sooth your toes in the cool grass. The door is big, so getting in and out is not the faff-on on your knees that most tents demand, no shuffling past people, just stand up, walk out and drag some more wood in.
I usually put all the cooking stuff in the middle, put other bits I might need behind me then sit/lay on my karrimat using my rucsac as a backrest with my sleeping bag and spare clothes inside it. I prefer a karrimat to a thermarest when using a beantin fire because sparks and £60 worth of li-lo is not a good combination.
