I am looking at the Soulo at moment to replace a Lightwave G1 ultra. They are pricey in Uk but will be in Canada next month so may pick one up when over.
The point of the Soulo, it seems to me, is to add a bit of weight to the basic Akto concept in return for a more stable, stronger tent. If you subsequently go for carbon poles you reduce the strength and stability of your tent, so having paid a small fortune to get a really strong solo tent, you then spend even more to lose some of that strength...
As you may have gathered, I'm not convinced it's a good way to spend money. If you want light then don't take something strong and try and take away the stuff that makes it strong, take something with a design goal of being light.
Hey Peter, I appreciate your point but with the Soulo being a three pole tent and the Akto only a one pole tent even with lighter poles I think the Soulo is still going to be the more robust of the two. A lot of people also go for the Soulo because it is a free standing tent which the Akto isn't. I don't think carbon poles would affect this much either. I however do try and stay away from carbon, I have a habit of breaking things and its not cheap to replace.
A carbon-poled Soulo seems like a silly sort of compromise... surely you'd be better off saving the Soulo for when it is the best tent for the job, reducing general wear and tear and UV damage in the meantime?
The market seems flush with simultaneous/outer pitch 2 man tents which will weigh less than a carbon-poled soulo. Course, they'll probably end up costing a little more than the $220-odd dollars ($180 before shipping and tax and handling...) getting the fibraplex carbon poles imported would cost you, but not by too much. Second hand laser compswon't break the bank either, and not only is mine much lighter than my Soulo but it packs down much smaller too. I can take a full set of food and gear for an overnighter in a 35l bag with the laser.
If you're set on them though, Fliegfix do a range of carbon poles. Not as cheap as Fibraplex, but getting them into the UK won't run the risk of VAT and handling charges.
I appreciate your point but with the Soulo being a three pole tent and the Akto only a one pole tent even with lighter poles I think the Soulo is still going to be the more robust of the two.
Maybe... but maybe not. I've been in a single hoop tent while it took (and stood up to) hellish punishment. Sometimes it took the punishment by deforming, quite a bit at times. With a 3 pole structure you've actually got rather less scope for moving around and things just have to stand up to pressure more, and when you have to stand still and take things that's when they're quite possibly more, not less, likely to break. I don't know, but I don't think it's a simple "3 must be better than 1, never mind material".
