Er... how much should one pay for a second-hand Hilleberg Akto 1-person tent? How much are they new (I'm sure they're cheaper in the USA, but I'm only interested in good old-fashioned Britiish prices 'cos I dinna live in the USA!).

What faults do these tents have (if any)?

For how many years would they be good for? My Phoenix Phantom (Morpeth, Northumberland) is now 29 years old and like new... are these modern materials just a 'flash in the pan' ?

New they cost around £270/£280. How much a second hand one is worth is more difficult.....any product is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it, and some people seem prepared to pay almost as much for a second hand one as a new one when the limited supply available each year runs out.

I'm sure they do have faults, I just haven't found any yet but I've only had mine about 5 years.

How long one will last depends entirely on how you look after it. Cared for properly there's no reason why the Akto shouldn't last you many many years.

You can buy these new for between £250 - £270. I would say the higher end of those figures if you included UK postage.

eg

Alpenstock do them for £255 - but then add £10 - £15 postage.

Average used Akto ebay prices have been in excess of £200 often up as much as £240/250 - which is bonkers as you can obviously buy new at that price. But they do hold their value and ebay seems to hold that value for sellers.

.

Faults - well come on now Emerald Fox, one mans meat is another mans poison..... There are no real 'design faults' everything is as the good Hilleberg intended. But not all tents are the same to all people.

I personally really like the Akto and would recommend to anyone. It ticks lots of boxes for me, but doesnt for some folk so I would prefer to list positive qualities:

1. 4 season -although huge flumps of snow may be a problem
2. Lightweight for the 4 season design 1.5kg
3. Good ventilation
4. You can double pole
5. Many guying points
6. Top ventilation and hood
7. Two way zipper on door (omitted by similar tents)
8. Strong and robust
9. Spacious sleeping area for 1 person and kit
10. Huge vestibule - bigger than many 2 man tents
11. A robust groundsheet - many manufactureres now reduce this to bring weight down
12. Made from Kerlon 1200 - massive tear strength
13. Waterproof - Coated 3 times each side of the flysheet
14. Ergonomically correct and well thought out
15. Small pack size
16. Highest level of craftsmanship and quality textiles.
17. Easy to erect no faffing around
18. Erect as one fly and inner

On the negative side - the zippers rattle in the wind - take the pulls off and replace them with cord.

Many folk may add to the negative side, but that really depends on what you have in mind when making the assessment. If you are looking for a lightweight 4 season single transverse pole one man tent, then this is the beastie. If you are looking for something else - well then it is errrr something else and not this.

As for how long they will last - again this isnt something that can be directly answered as it depends on frequency of use and care taken.....

FB

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=16783&last=1&V=1&SP=

As FB stated the Akto ticks most of the boxes.  Probably the best compromise in any tent I have used, yes, the German shepard of tents for the solo backpacker, almost perfect for everyone!

As to how long it will last, well if you treat it well it should last at least till you get bored of it (probably never) and still be able to sell it on at a good price, dare I say ten+ years if you look after it and don't leave it out in the sun!

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product.asp?src=ukwm&pf_id=783011&sfile=1&filter_cat=EQUITENTSOLO&manufacturer_id=Hilleberg

New and only £225 plus postage

Now that is good value.

You can also get 6% cashback ordering from F&T via the likes of quidco and cashbackjunction... if you're lucky   -  Wrote Richard.

The same deal of 6% from Mrscashback too. More cashback on some companies is available from Mrscashback.com though - up to ten percent for many companies! And that is the best cashback online website, giving the best consumer cashback deals according to the moneysavingexpert.com website. That is the website of the consumers champion from tv fame, Martin Lewis. Also from Mrscashback you can get cashback from Gearzone.co.uk as well as a couple of other outdoors places other than Field and Trek.

Eg - Simply Scuba which also owns and runs the outdoors retail site Simply Hike.

As well as this lot who do sports shoes/gear mostly but also retail outdoors clothing and boots. http://www.sportsshoes.com/department/outdoors/

http://www.mrscashback.com/Here is the link.

nb - It costs not a penny to join the site! I paid nothing at all to do so and have over the last year had over seventy quid or so in cashback myself. This was mostly from book and dvd/cd purchases though, as well as bits from Fied and Trek. All I did originally was sign up to the website as a free account holder. Then I just did not use it at all for about a couple of months on the free sign up account, that is the one giving the lowest cashback. They then tend to contact you to offer free GOLD membership offering you the higher rate of cashback it seems. Then it is all free to use completely. But if you go signing up for the Gold service first straight away, you have to pay a signing up membership fee!

Better to sign up and wait for that to be offered you for free! Everytime later on you do buy something then, you must make sure you check for an email showing your transaction has tracked to your account successfully though! Get used to doing that and things are ok with Mrscahback; otherwise it can be a bit of a pain if transactions don't track to one's account - after which you must report the failure to track to the customer services there.

Emerald Fox wrote (see)

What faults do these tents have (if any)?

For how many years would they be good for? My Phoenix Phantom (Morpeth, Northumberland) is now 29 years old and like new... are these modern materials just a 'flash in the pan' ?

Starting  with longevity, the materials aren't actually that new, even if some manufacturers have only just discovered them: Hilleberg and Saunders have been using silicone elastomer coated nylons for decades now, and they've got a proven track record of being better than the PU coated materials they replaced.  Chris Townsend has been using an Akto for over a decade now, I suspect a great deal more than most of use tents, and he reports it's still going strong.  My Spacepacker (in very similar materials) is over 10 now and fine, its predecessor was 7 when it went in a burglary with no real sign of ageing.

Faults... as FB says it isn't a matter of objective faults, it's a matter of all tent designs being a set of compromises and seeing if the design compromise is the right one for your needs.  Hilleberg themselves don't think it's the end of the story for 1 man tents, or they wouldn't make the Soulo and Unna with different characteristsics for other users.  You can buy lighter (like the Laser Comp), but that won't be quite as tough or have as much space, you can buy bigger, like the Spacepacker, but that weighs more, you can buy tougher, like the Soulo, but that weighs more too, and so on.  The Akto is well proven as a combination of tough, comfortable and light, but it's not the best choice for everyone and everything.

If you want a light two person single hoop to share with the GF then the Spacepacker [plus] is a goodie IMHO.

Pete. 

Hilleberg and Saunders have been using silicone elastomer coated nylons for decades now

I think it was the late 70s when they first realised its potential.