Enan 2015

At first glance, our Enan solo tent looks remarkably like our all-season Red Label Akto. And, indeed, we modeled the Enan, which we introduced in 2015, on the Akto, which we debuted in 1995.

In its 20 years, the iconic Akto has more than proven itself. Hikers, cyclists, climbers, paddlers, and hunters continue to count on it in a wide array of all-season conditions and terrains. “It has even been used quite successfully on North and South Pole expeditions,” says Bo Hilleberg, company founder and chief of product development. “But this is not really something we recommend!”

So when we began envisioning a very light Yellow Label solo tent, it made perfect sense to choose our Akto’s proven design as a starting place. As Bo points out, however, “the Enan is much more than simply a lighter weight Yellow Label ‘version’ of the Akto.”

When we began developing our Yellow Label, three-season tent line in 2010, we had been making all-season tents for over 35 years. From that long experience, we knew that the term “three season” could vary wildly depending on location. So we designed our first Yellow Label tents to be very light, yet strong enough for use during the snow-free months of the year, in fairly protected conditions, but completely independent of geographic locale.

With the Enan, our goal was to create a roomy one-person tent that fulfilled our “snow-free adventure” concept. All Yellow Label tents are designed to be very light and strong, and the Enan is no exception: we wanted to make it as light as possible for its intended use, but with all the requisite strength for the conditions needed for its intended use.

We began with our Kerlon 1000 outer tent fabric, the same as we use in our Anjan and Rogen models. We also developed a new, lighter weight inner tent fabric and a lighter weight mesh. Next we considered how else we could create weight savings. In keeping with the Enan’s snow-free use, we wanted to pare down the original Akto design, but without losing any function. The result is the triangular ends, which, according to Bo, save “a notable amount of weight.” We also “3-seasoned” the Akto’s head and foot ends, which are made from a breathable and air-permeable snow proof fabric. For the Enan version, we used full mesh for constant air flow, and then built in stowable flaps that can be deployed in the worst rainy conditions. And, as with all Yellow Label tents, fixed mesh panels on the inner tent make venting a full-time affair. “The end result,” says Bo, “is exactly what we wanted – a very light yet quite strong and roomy solo tent.”

Since its introduction a year ago, the Enan, like its Red Label sibling, the Akto, has proven itself a tough and versatile solo tent. We’ve heard from a great deal of users who have had great success with the Enan in a variety of conditions – including some that definitely push the limits of what the Enan was designed for. And we were honored that Germany’s largest outdoor magazine, Outdoor, awarded the Enan its prestigious Editor’s Choice award in the summer of 2015.

While we originally built our reputation on all-season tents, we have always known that there were many users who wanted a lighter weight tent, and who didn’t need all-season strength and comfort. But we have never subscribed to the traditional concept of “3 season tents,” which always seemed to equate to “summer tents.” In part, the problem is that those three seasons – spring, summer, and fall – are very different in, say, northern Sweden, than they are in Australia.

In 2010, we began the project that would become our Yellow Label tents, which we introduced in 2012. Rather than creating the typical “3-season tents,” however, we set out to build lighter weight tents that would work well in more protected terrain but in all types of weather during the warmer, snow-free months of the year, regardless of geographic locale.

With the goal of maximizing light weight without sacrificing too much strength, we experimented with a variety of solutions. Initially, we put the poles on the inner tent, but still with a linked outer tent. After a number of such test tents literally flattened during wind testing, we adopted our proven system of linked but separable inner and outer tents, with the poles on the outer. This solution performed so much better, that we knew it was the ideal choice for these tents.

During this process, we also discovered that the weight savings from using smaller than 9 mm diameter poles – the same type of poles found in our Red Label, all-season tents – was slight, while the loss of strength was substantial. So, again, we stayed with the proven solution – 9 mm DAC NSL poles.

We did use lighter weight fabrics, in both inner and outer tents. For the outer tent, we developed Kerlon 1000. We knew that warmer weather, snow-free use does not place the same stress on a tent that true, all-season use does, but we still needed to maintain enough strength for heavy rains and windy conditions. Kerlon 1000 boasts a substantial 8 kg/17.6 lb tear strength.

Another way we saved weight without compromising strength was to integrate the venting directly into the construction. Rather than adding vents, which would have added weight, we built in full time venting, either through a space between the outer tent and the ground in the Anjan, Anjan GT, Rogen and Niak models, or through incorporating protected mesh panels into the outer tent, as found in the Enan.

The result is a group of tents that are ideal for users who go out below tree line and in more protected terrain in the snow-free months of the year, and who demand light weight, but not at the expense of strength enough for the conditions they might encounter. For more on selecting the right tent for you, please see “Choosing the right Hilleberg tent.”