The Hilleberg Anaris is a lightweight, two-person tent with a mesh inner tent for the snow free seasons. It uses trekking poles to pitch. Read the review or watch the video!
- Weight: 1404,2 grams (Claimed 1400 grams, without poles)
- Packsize: 23 x 52 cm
- Price: € 700,00 (without poles)
The Hilleberg Anaris is a lightweight ridge tent for two persons. Since it has an inner tent that is largely made out of mesh material, the Anaris is a two to three season tent.
Hilleberg claims a weight of 1400 grams and as always I checked the weight on my calibrated scale and measured 1404,2 grams for the total package so the Hilly weight is spot on! By the way…when saying the total package…. The poles are not included in the package. The trick with the Hilleberg Anaris is that it uses trekking poles to pitch the tent. More on this later. The individual items weight: 639,3 grams for the inner tent, 618,1 grams for the outer tent and 123,6 grams for the bag with pegs (12 pieces) and I weighted the stuff bag at 23,2 grams.
Use
At Hilleberg they have a system in dividing their tents in user categories: Blue, Yellow, Red and Black label tents. Blue label tents have a very specific use and the Black label ones are the strongest comfortable all-season tents. The Red label tents are four season tents where a low weight is a more important than strength. Leaving the Yellow label tents: a low weight tent for the snow free months of the year. The Hilleberg Anaris is such a Yellow label tent. Since it uses trekking poles to pitch the tent it is an ideal tent for hiking and backpacking holidays.
Stuff bag and extras
The Anaris comes in a spacious stuff bag. It is easy to get the tent in it. Be aware that – and I know it sounds stupid – the stuff bag is not intended for the trekking poles to be put in it. For the Anaris a footprint is available for € 85,00 (290 grams) and that will fit into the stuff bag too without any problems. Same for a small tarp if you would like to bring one. The bag is very simple executed without compression straps.
Materials
For the outer tent of the Anaris, Hilleberg uses its own Kerlon 1000 fabric. Kerlon 1000 is a ripstop nylon with a thickness of 20 Denier*. To make the fabric waterproof, it is treated with three layers of silicone coating: a double one on the outside and a single coating on the inside. The outer tent fabric is also treated for UV resistance during dyeing and coating.
What you should know about fabrics that have a silicone coating on the inside, is that the stitches on the seams cannot be taped as is the case with most tents that use a Polyurethane coating on the inside to make the fabric waterproof. To prevent water getting through the stitching holes in the Kerlon fabric, a swell yarn is used. When the yarn gets wet it swells and seals the holes. Sometimes the hole is just too big and water can go through. If this happens – accidently with a new tent, mostly after years of use – you can seal it with Seamseal. On the inside though; on the outside it becomes quite a messy sight.
Mesh
As mentioned above: the inner tent is made largely of a mesh material. It is a very fine mesh and mosquitos and midges don’t stand a chance. The roof of the inner tent is made out of a 10 Denier ripstop nylon and it has a durable water-repellent coating. This is handy because due to this coating condensation drops bead off the cloth easily. The floor of the inner tent is made of a 50 Denier thick nylon with a triple Polyurethane coating to make it waterproof. And to be complete: the fly has a hydrostatic head of 5000 mm water column and the groundsheet of 12,000 mm.
* 20D stands for the material thickness (D = Denier). In the world of lightweight tents, a Ripstop means that if there is a small hole or tear in the fabric, the material is more resistant to further tearing.
Pegs and poles
The pegs that come with the Hilleberg Anaris are real beautiful ones. If you look at it from above the pegs have a Y-shape and they provide very good grip in a lot of different surfaces. The pegs also have proven to be strong and the tip is not going blunt easily in the times that I have been using them in a mixed soil/rock ground. I like the fact that the pegs have a loop to pull them out of the ground, but it has proven to be helpful too when pitching the tent. The pegs have a nice notch to prevent the loops on the tent from slipping over the peghead.
Hilleberg provided me with a pair of poles too. The poles are branded Hilleberg, but they are made by DAC. DAC is the Korean pole and peg manufacturer for all the Hilleberg tents. Now it is nice to know that DAC also produces trekking poles under the name Helinox and nice folding chairs and tables too. Reviews on both here and here! The construction of the trekking poles looks quite similar to a pair that I have from… Helinox. Sorry, no review on them.
Pitching
The Hilleberg Anaris is easy to pitch and after doing it a few times it takes about five minutes. Since the ridge tent is totally symmetrical it is hard to make mistakes. The way I like to pitch the Hilly is laying out the complete tent and pin the four inner tent corners to the ground. Then insert the trekkingpoles in dedicated poleholders and erect the Anaris with the guy lines on both ends of the ridge. When this is done, I connect the guy lines on the corners of the outer tent to the pegs. You don’t need to use the Hilleberg poles of course but you will need poles with a length of about 125 to 135 cm (50 to 53 inches). But using sticks is possible too and if you have trees around you can use the guy lines to attach it to two trees.
One thing that is not so obvious is the space the Anaris needs when pitching. The tent itself is not that big but with all the long guy lines the Anaris needs about a space of 5 x 5 meters square. In practice I always found this space but especially in a forest area it requires some careful planning once in a while.
Fly solo, inner tent solo
One of the beautiful things about this Hilleberg is the versatility of setup of the tent. Since inner- and outer tent are connected it is very easy to pitch in one go together. It is also possible to pitch the inner tent solo. With warm dry weather this is ideal since you get all the ventilation you need and still are protected against insects.
Because of the inner tent roof being made from DWR-treated ripstop nylon the morning dew is not a problem. Also, larger dew drops falling from trees are not a problem. Next to the solo pitching of the inner tent, the outer tent can be pitched solo too. In this way it functions as a tent tarp or tarp depending on the configuration how you pitch it.
The inner tent has a DWR-coating. 
The inner tent is connected with toggles to the outer tent.
Inner tent for 2
Like with the weights, I always check if the measurements of the manufacturer are correct. Hilleberg claims an inner tent that measures 120 cm wide and 220 cm long. My measurements are 122.5 cm by 217.5 cm. The height that Hilleberg states is 105 cm; I measure 108. The slight difference between me and Hilleberg are too small to make a point of and have probably got to do with the bit different way of pitching or maybe even temperature.
The bathtub height of the floor is 6 cm all around. This height is a little on the low side to withstand a small flooding after a downpour. And yes, that happens in summer too. On the head and feet sides the floor extends to the walls that are about 27 cm high. The higher walls prevent wind and rain getting into the inner tent
Since the inner tent is rectangular it is large enough to fit two large rectangular sleeping pads. The fact that the walls on the short side are about 27 cm hight also makes it easy to use thicker mattresses for comfort without the risk of touching the tent fabric. Yes, I know… it’s a lightweight tent so you probably use lightweight thinner mattresses too.
Inner tent entrance
The entrance to the inner tent is with a door that is on both sides of the tent. The door is large enough and getting in and out the inner tent not a problem. And when opened I can store the door with a loop and toggle system to the side. The door opens with a zipper that is made by YKK. It is a one-way zipper only. And to be honest: the zipper is quite unpractical for two reasons.
The first reason is being a one-way zipper. This means that I always have to reach under the ridge to open the door. With wet weather or with condensation on the inside of the outer tent, it is more convenient to open the door from the lower left side. In this way I only have to open the door in the fly partly preventing rain entering the tent and crawl inside.
The second reason that is not always easy to open the zipper with only one hand. I noticed that when I use only one hand, I pull the inner tent downwards and only when there is enough resistance from the opposite direction, the zipper opens. Basically, you need two hands: one for the tent and one for the zipper. Especially going around the bend this is needed.
Inner tent features
Let’s discuss inner tent features. Well, I can be short here. In the ridgecorners there are two loops to attach a wire to so you can use it to dry some freshly washed stuff or airing out two pair of socks. And that’s it. I do miss a few pockets in the inner tent. Especially since I wear spectacles and I need to store them somewhere not to flatten them during my sleep. The total lack of pockets costs points.
Hilleberg Anaris Awnings
The Hilleberg Anaris is a symmetrical tent so the awnings on both sides are the same size. A YKK zipper splits the awning in the middle creating two doors that can be folded to the side and stored with a loop and toggle system. The zipper has a large opening in the pulltab. With a toggle on the bottom of the zipper I can secure the zipper from sliding upwards accidentally due to hard wind. This system is positioned on the outside with a little effort it is possible to lock the zipper also from inside the tent.
The awnings are 90 cm deep and that is large enough to store a backpack on one side and still be able to enter the tent without a hassle. Also, the awnings provide a nice space if I want to do some wind free cooking. Take care when cooking under the (partly) closed awning, it is a bit on the small and low side. A trick is to detach one of the inner tent corners and fold it backwards. In this way I can create a larger sheltered cooking space.
Awning and outer tent configurations
Hilleberg designed a very clever tent if you look at all the different configurations in how the outer tent and the awning and outer tent can be used. As described above I can fold the awning – the door – half to the side but thanks to the centre guy lines that expend from the ridge corners, I can also fold the whole awning to the side. In this way I get more ventilation and a very nice panoramic view laying in my bed. Fold both awnings away and I even get more ventilation and views in both directions. And if I want to have more shelter from wind coming from the side and also increase ventilation, I can flip one side over the other side.
Warm days, cold nights: doors open but with outer tent for protection. 
Without the inner tent there is room for more than 2 persons.
Ventilation and condensation
From the above it will be clear that the ventilation of the Anaris is fine. In the normal setup the outer tent is clear from the grass and wind can blow freely underneath it. Does this mean that the Anaris does not suffer from condensation? No, it does since there is no ventilation-opening in the top itself. But it is way less than the majority of the tents I reviewed.
What could help is a footprint that covers the whole tent area, but the footprint that is available for the Anaris only covers and protects the inner tent. In that way it will not help preventing condensation. I did not test the footprint.
Weatherproof
I have a question: a tent that is designed for the not snowy periods of the year, how weatherproof should it be? I have my answer, but it is debatable. Since it is a Hilleberg we expect it to be totally ‘bombproof’. Well, I don’t think this correct since Hilleberg designs tents for specific uses. Remember: it is a Yellow label tent. The tent and the floor have proven to be totally waterproof and also all the seams are watertight. With rain a little rain will get onto the inner tent when opening the door in the outer tent. The thing that is different is the windproofness.
With wind coming from the side the ultralight 20D Kerlon 1000 fabric moves around a lot and gets pushed into the fabric of the inner tent. Tensioning the guy lines helps but add rain and the fabric slackens, and the process repeats itself. Why I don’t consider this as a negative point is just because this one of the characteristics of thin siliconized nylon fabrics. Next to that, these fabrics are sensitive to temperature changes. With warm weather it looks nice and tensioned and when night comes, the fabric slacks. Re-tensioning is simply needed.
Nice to know is maybe that in The Netherlands the design of the Hilleberg Anaris is not unique; we have already since the early days of camping a lot likewise tents made from cotton fabric that are a more wind resistant but also suffer from hard wind from the side.
Reflective material
Where quite some tent manufacturers use reflective guylines, Hilleberg has chosen not to go this way. The reasons are that the reflective yarn in a guyline is not that strong and can be abrasive and cut through the attachment loops quickly. Reflective guylines are available at Hilleberg as an accessory but they are heavier than the non-reflective ones. The Anaris does have small pieces of reflective material are placed on both sides next to the entrance. If I go out for a wee in the night, it is easy to find the tent with the beam of a headlamp.
The Hilleberg trekkingpoles
Like every tent the Anaris is only as good as its weakest link. Until now I only mentioned the Hilleberg trekkingpoles briefly. I tried the trekkingpole pockets in the outer tent with different brands of poles and they all fit. What is essential is that the pole handles are not tilted forward too much like I see on some ergonomically shaped trekking poles that I own.
I am not going to make a full review on the Hilleberg poles here, but I tested them on several hikes in the Alpes and they are fine. The poles – made from DAC TH72M aluminum – have three sections and have a pack length of 65 cm (25.5 in). They are adjustable from 90 cm (35.5 in) to 145 cm (57 in). The blocking mechanism is exactly the same as on my Helinox poles as are the other features.
One thing that I think is a pity, is that the Hilleberg poles have a short grip while my Helinox have an extended grip. This proves very handy when traversing along the mountain since I can hold one pole a bit lower. With the Hilleberg I need to shorten the pole on the mountainside. This is a bit of a hassle if you need to do this a lot. Two final remarks: the poles weight 524,7 grams and cost € 175,00. Add this to the weight and the price of the Anaris if you don’t have poles yet.
Verdict
The Hilleberg Anaris is the odd one in The Tentmakers vast tent collection and I like this newbie. Maybe it’s because I am Dutch, and we like classic shaped ridge tents with ‘traditional’ poles. The ‘not-snow-season’ Anaris is quite lightweight, easy to pitch and has many, many pitching configurations; it is a very versatile tent. It has proven to be waterproof and reasonable windproof. Ventilation is fine. That I can use the inner tent and the outer tent solo without buying extra gear, is super. The outer tent is a super tarp too.
The inner space is fine for two not too big adults. On the downside I would prefer a two-way zipper, two pockets in the inner tent for a smartphone or my spectacles and a loop on the inner tent floor where the pole touches the grass so I can secure the floor here too. It will make opening and closing the zipper easier. The awnings are wide enough for some cooking and storing a backpack on each side. The price of the Hilleberg Anaris is € 700,00 and I think it is spot on but be aware that if you don’t own trekkingpoles, you need to spend some extra money. I rate the Hilleberg Anaris at 9.1 out of 10 total.
Information: www.hilleberg.com
