Is light always right? The Nordisk Lofoten 2ULW tent is one of the lightest double-wall two-person tents on the market, but is it really a 2 Person tent and as light as claimed?
Disclosure: I got this tent for free from Nordisk but was under no obligation to review it. As you know: I’m keepin’ it real and tell you how it is - I maintain full editorial control of the content published on Hiking in Finland. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.
On paper the Nordisk Lofoten 2ULW sounds great: 575 g packed weight, sleeps two, super-small pack size. From these three claims only one holds true, though: It has a very great small pack size. Going ultralight does for me not only means to pay attention to the weight, but also to the size of the kit I take. And pack size-wise the Nordisk Lofoten 2ULW definitely would be a tent I’d like to take with me, but then there’s a few things which make me think like STOP, don’t do it. Have a look at the video to see how the tent is pitched and how it looks on the inside:
So my problem with the tent is that it’s pretty small. Even with a better pitch I don’t think the inner would hang much better than it did in my first pitch, and the foot end is so narrow that I definitely would touch the inner with my feet or quilt. As the photos show, it’s also definitely not a tent for 2 persons, which is OK if you go Solo. Going on your own also would solve another problem of this tent: Storage room for gear. The Lofoten 2ULW has no vestibule space so your pack and other gear needs to come inside. With two people that’d be impossible (or barely possible if you’re on a running event?) so going Solo in it at least gives you some space for your kit. Even the optional Tarp pole with which you can put the door up and so create some space for gear would not solve this in my opinion.
Lets take a look at the weight then:
- Main Pole 131 g
- End Pole 18 g
- 5 Pegs incl. Pouch 55 g
- Inner & Outer 372 g
- Pack Pouch for the Tent 30 g
TOTAL 587 g
Add in another 96 g for the optional extras, like titanium skewer pegs at 2 g each, guylines, the tarp pole, repair stuff and other things. Which means it’s a wee bit over the claimed packed weight of 575 g, and how one could achieve the 490 g weight is a riddle to me as alone the two poles and fly + inner together are over 500 g, and then you don’t have any pegs yet.
The ventilation also looks not optimal, but as I haven’t yet slept in the tent I can not comment on the condensation in it. Speaking of sleeping in it, I’m actually not at all sure if I want to use the tent: If it is dry & clear I prefer to sleep under the stars, and if it is wet & rainy I do prefer more space - especially to change out of wet clothes and relax in the tent while it is raining outside.
It could be that the Nordisk Lofoten 2ULW simply isn’t made for ultralight backpacking but for adventure races like the OMM and similar. On these events people need to carry a tent and apparently would even squeeze together into a “2 Person tent” like the Lofoten 2ULW. I, myself, simply am excited about the pack size of the tent, but not really about taking the tent on a trip. But who knows, maybe I give the tent a chance at some fine, dry and warm day where it will mean protection from mosquitos and where I can sleep with all my kit inside.
The Bottomline is that while I haven’t slept in the tent the pack size is the only thing which currently has me excited about it. It’s very small on the inside and I’m not sure if it would be any comfortable in pro-longed rain, add in that there’s no space for your gear on the outside (Hello soaking wet shoes, hope you like lying next to my quilt!) and it feels like here a company and it’s designers were only aiming at breaking a record (Lightest tent on the market!) and lost track of what really matters in a good tent. As it is the Nordisk Lofoten 2ULW is just a Meh tent for me, but maybe if I have used it a few times my opinion will change. Have you used this tent, or would you use it for a backpacking trip? Let me know in the comments!
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