Fjällräven Abisko Lite 1 Tent Review 2016/06/05
Here we will review the Fjällräven Abisko Lite 1. I had the
privilege to use on a recent camping trip to North
Scotland. Fjällräven has recently revamped its product line,
including some of their tents. Let's see if the one person Abisko
Lite 1 is any good in this full review and field test.
Introduction
The Fjällräven Abisko Lite 1 looks an awfully lot like a
certain Hilleberg tent.
It looks like that VERY popular
one person hiking tent. Indeed it shares many of its design features
with the Hilleberg Akto. The main differences are the choice of fabrics
and with the pole layout and also with the use of more environmentally
friendly coatings due to the tent not using fluorocarbons.
Design
he weight is 1.65kg (add 230g for the
footprint). This is pretty much the same as the Akto. This is not a
heavy weight for a tent that offers a lot to the end user but the
materials that are used in the Fjällräven Abisko Lite 1 are slightly
lighter than in the Akto. See the following graph…
|
Akto |
Abisko Lite 1 |
| Outer |
30D Nylon |
20D TripleRip Sil |
| Inner |
30D Nylon |
15D Rip Stop |
| Groundsheet |
70D Nylon |
40D TripleRip Sil |
I will presume the extra weight is made
up by using the stronger Aluminium poles at each end of the tent.
Instead of the fiberglass ones that are found on the Akto. Aluminium
poles have a better strength to weight ratio than fibreglass and I like
how they are separate from the tent to allow for quick repairs. The end
poles in the Akto can also be repaired but they are slightly harder to
get at compared to to the Abisko Lite 1 poles.
Use
Due to the lighter weight of all materials used in the Abisko Lite 1 the
pack size is substantially smaller than that of the Akto. Consequently
head room is increased in the Abisko Lite 1 which is a great feature!
First time pitching the Abisko Lite 1 you are confronted with a mass of
guylines. Sadly unlike the Akto’s method of using loops of guylines
instead of individual ones the Abisko Lite 1 can turn into an admin
mess. This can be avoided by yanking the guy lines after each use to
keep them ordered. To clarify I would have liked to have seen loops as
it just makes it easier out in the field.
Much like the Akto you should pitch the
tent first. Once up you can then walk around a second time to perfect
the pitch. This is especially true in bad weather.
Inside the Abisko Lite 1 there is plenty of room and the all important
head space was greatly appreciated. You gain a whole 10cm over the Akto!
I like how you can access the vents from inside the tent too. The issue
with the Akto is that it takes up a great deal of room in your pack. One
the other hand the Abisko Lite 1 is a lot more packable.
