Winter Wild Camp | Snowdonia | wind and rain | Hilleberg Akto - NO THANKS! | Llyn Peninsula | Pooch.

Hello.
And thank you for getting as far as reading "hello".
Firstly - a few words about the thumbnail. "Just Get Out There" is a bit patronising isn't it? Sorry about that - my desire for views is slightly greater than my integrity. Now when I say "Just Get Out There" I don't mean head out into the Amazonian Rainforest on a whim (Hof) with only a toothpick and an umbrella (if you do it's not my fault or responsibillity, but please do make a video of it). What I do mean is, consider stepping out the front door even if it's raining. Lecture over. Now let us pray. Only joking. But do pray if you want to.
In this video the Chezza-Pooch and I do what we always do, we head out into the unknown to de-stress and to remember that we are not as important as we thought we were (which ironically can be a source of stress if you are trying to think you are more important than you are).
This one was a bit more arduous than I expected. I think I let my guard down because I didn't drive to the location and just hiked straight out the backdoor of a holiday let. The weather sucked, it was windy, further than I thought and the visibility was scheisse. Luckily I found (drum roll.....) a wall. Which made it a bit more condensation-y than windy, which was probably better.
This video was filmed on the Llyn peninsula. The ragged arse-end of the Rhinogs as the crumble their weary way into the sea. It's very rocky, trees try to grow there and rich people like to have chalets at the end of it. Good for them. It's quite beautiful and wild. I was visiting a little known but not insignificant hill called Bwlch Mawr that commands a remarkable view of the inside of a dense raincloud (and sometimes the peninsula and Snowdonia).
For every like I get I will buy The Chezza-Pooch a dog biscuit (we got quite a lot of likes for one video and was worried she would gain weight but it turns out if you overfeed a Lurcher they just get smelly flatulence).
Come and join us for a guided hiking and wild camping adventure in the UK.
Check the website for details (we have qualified guides and everything)
www.greatoutsiders.co.uk
We hope you like the vid
Much love from The Chezza-Pooch and James.
And Just Get Out There (if you want to).

[@deaneager]

Great video, as always James. Glad to see Chezza finally made it over the ladder-stile. Totally get your points about the Akto, I'd feel like I was in a coffin in that thing - way too confined for me 😬

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Thanks mate. A lot of people love the Akto, so it must be doing something right; but it's not for me.

[@deaneager]

@@thegreatoutsiders I've never used a hooped-pole tunnel tent myself. The closest I got was climbing into the demo ones at Go Outdoors, imagining I was soaking wet and trying to keep the inside of the tent a dry haven. Getting in and out of them was bad enough, let alone dealing with (imaginary) wet kit. Definitely not for me. And as you've said, the Akto seems to only suit a really niche set of (hideous) conditions, which many other tents will deal with, whilst being cheaper, or lighter, or more comfortable in the process (or a combination of those). I think of it as a very expensive, very heavy bivvy.

[@jillneal7366]

What a blast!! Tent a bit too wet for me though.. The desolation was magnificent and as always pooch was on form. Keep on keeping on

[@GusliMike]

An arduous scramble indeed, but so grounding watching hiking and camping vids in English. Greetings from Minsk, Belarus! Mike

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Hi Mike - thanks so much for the comment! Amazing to hear from someone from Belarus! Sending kind regards. :-) James

[@DemiGod..]

At 5'8 had no problem sitting up in the Akto. But during a storm, the pole would hit me hard on the head during gusts. You could unclip the inner to get more headroom. Replaced the Akto with an Anjan 2 as same weight, more spacious , better ventillation, more sexy.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Hi thanks for the comment, some people on this video have commented saying I should be able to sit up in the tent (I'm 6ft), and that I over tensioned the guys? Do you think that's right, or is there always going to be a bit a neck squish in this tent for me? Yeah the Anjan is a gorgeous looking tent!

[@DemiGod..]

@@thegreatoutsiders They are probably right as with an akto i had in the past my head would touch the inner when sitting up, but then I used to pull the side guylines pretty tight, flattening the pole. Now I just tighten them to take the tension from he guylines , not make the tent taught. Incidentally got another akto as the anjan 2 not warm enough for winter and two 10mm poles to double pole it, making it bomproof. I had condensation in the past as would close the end vents. Now that I leave them open , not an issue. All you need to do though if you have condensation is wipe the inner before you sit up or put on a cap/hat, not a big deal. With the end vents open and a top vent, the akto has great ventilation aslong as pitched into the wind.

[@MyCovertNarcissism]

Really enjoyed that, great video :)

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Much appreciated 👍. It was just a leg-it-out the back of a holiday let in wales obviously. But it's amazing the adventure you can find if you just go for it hey?

[@craig3401]

I gave up on single pole tents years ago the lack of space to sit up and manoeuvre was rubbish I'd rather carry a few hundred grams more and get a 2p tent makes camping so much more enjoyable.as for condensation most tents suffer in the clag but I'm sure all akto owners get it worse lol

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Hey thanks for the comment buddy. And the Akto is not that light! 1700 grams I think

[@thebackingpackinggeordie]

New sub 👍

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Nice one buddy

[@markbirkett3505]

Great video. I have an Akto and don’t struggle to sit up. Was the pole tensioned? If not it would have been lower than designed.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

I've had the same comment but backwards. Someone saying I'd over tensioned them. But either way I definitely think I've done something wrong. Unbelievably, I bought that tent as my mate offered it to me for a good price, so I'm going to have another try and do another video with it I think :-)

[@markbirkett3505]

@@thegreatoutsiders The other comment I saw referred to over tightening the guy lines. I wondered if the pole tensioner had been tightened? It makes quite a difference to the height.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

@@markbirkett3505 Ahhh ok. I'll have to put the tent up again and have a mess with it. It's a very tough tent for 1.7 kg. However the Soulo is 2kg so maybe that extra 300 grams is worth it?

[@markbirkett3505]

@@thegreatoutsiders for the weight of a Soulo I have the Nammatj which provides much more space than the Soulo. I’ve never used a Soulo though.

[@Martycycleman]

The 'Paul Messner', now, there's a thing. The Tent, well, I've used one for years, right from the first iteration. Yes, very small, but It serves a purpose.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

It's very popular. Just not for me. Maybe I'm too tall.

[@Martycycleman]

I'm 6' 2"

[@thegreatoutsiders]

@@Martycycleman OK well I'd be interested to hear your reasons for using one vs say a Souther Cross 2 or a Soulo?

[@camperp195]

Nice to see poch in the tent with you,a lot of people have theirs in the porch,which ok in summer,but i dont think its fair in foul weather

[@thegreatoutsiders]

@@camperp195 Yes bless her - quite the travelling companion! She can be hard to keep warm, she stands up in the night and the sleeping bag drops off her!

[@T5Zplayer]

I'm 5'9 and can sit up ok. Maybe it was the angle of the pitch you were on?

[@thegreatoutsiders]

Yeah and I think I tensioned it up too much!

[@T5Zplayer]

@@thegreatoutsiders I remember in the dark distant pass Hilleberg did a vod on sizing tents by your hieght, dont remember the Akto advised fot 6'0+

[@thegreatoutsiders]

@@T5Zplayer I've since bought that tent off a mate! So I must have like something about it, or maybe I'm just addicted to tents 😉😉

[@kokopelau6954]

I would imagine if you check out the chapel with the water running you would find that it used to be a sacred spring that the church took over to help convert the practitioners of another religion to its belief system. Very common practice.

[@markmurphy7356]

The reason you couldn't sit upright at the apex of the tent was due to over tightening the guy lines which causes the pole to bend down.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

So if it's not over tightened you can sit up?? Are you sure?

[@markmurphy7356]

@@thegreatoutsiders Yes, I'm over 6 foot and I've used an Akto for years. The only time I had a problem with headroom was when I once over tightened the guys in anticipation of strong winds. Since then I've made sure to tension them properly (which actually also gives better stability in storms). Try it again, when pitched correctly (including using all 3 vents) it's arguably the best backpacking tent out there.

[@thegreatoutsiders]

@@markmurphy7356 ok thanks for the tip. I feel like a wally now! I will try it again. My mates not had it back off me yet so it's still in me garage :-)

[@markmurphy7356]

@@thegreatoutsiders No worries mate, hope you have a better experience if (when) you use it again. ATB.