News
September 14th, 2012
Two Hilleberg Tents Named Winners of the 2012 American
Alpine Institute Guides’ Choice Award
Redmond, WA, September 11, 2012 – Hilleberg the Tentmaker is proud
to announce that two of their tents, the new 3-season Anjan tent and
the redesigned 3-person Saivo tent, have been awarded the 2012
Guides’ Choice designation by the American Alpine Institute (AAI).
In 2006, Hilleberg was awarded Guides’ Choice for the Keron, Nallo
and Unna models, and those tents remain on the Award list to this
day. The AAI Guides’ Choice Award is based on comparative
evaluations by professional climbing guides who put equipment
through rigorous field testing around the world during one or
several climbing seasons. Eleven new Guides’ Choice Award winners
from seven different outdoor equipment manufacturers received the
award this year.
“Only the items that show the highest quality in design, durability,
and performance are elected as our Guides’ Choice winners,” said
Dunham Gooding of the American Alpine Institute. In 2006, when AAI
presented Hilleberg its first Guides Choice Award, Gooding declared
that “[the tents] are perfection in design.” Echoing that statement,
Dunham said in 2012, “We continue to be impressed with Hilleberg
tents, and the Anjan and Saivo are no exception. The Anjan is one of
the lightest, most comfortable double wall 3-season tents on the
market. And we’ve been using the Saivo on Denali expeditions for
three years now. It’s not only proven to be the best tent for harsh
conditions that teams will encounter on the mountain, but we have
not had a single failure or complaint about the tent of any kind in
those three years.”
The AAI makes comparative and individual evaluations of equipment
and clothing used in mountaineering, rock, and expedition climbing
through field tests that the Institute conducts in a wide range of
environments throughout the world. Evaluations are made throughout
the year in desert, cold weather, rain, snow, high wind, and high
altitude environments. The constant and demanding use to which the
gear is put by Institute guides corresponds to many years of use
that a recreational climber would give it. The data and conclusions
drawn from the field tests provide manufacturers with critical,
independent, and detailed feedback on the durability and
effectiveness of their products. The information also assists the
Institute in its selection of the world's best gear for its guiding,
instructional programs, and expeditions. And the Guides’ Choice
designation awarded by the Institute for the top gear in each
product category helps draw the attention of AAI’s clients and
customers to the most outstanding clothing, camping gear, and
technical equipment to be found in the marketplace.
“We are honored to have not one, but two of our tents named as
Guides’ Choice by the prestigious American Alpine Institute this
year,” said Petra Hilleberg, President of Hilleberg USA. “For our
tents to be recognized in this way helps to further validate our
company’s commitment to making the best tents of the highest quality
for our consumers.”