Nordisk Telemark 2 ULW review

The first two things that you notice when picking up the Nordisk Telemark 2 ULW, is how light it is and then how small it packs down. Every single member of the Test Team thought that they were about to erect a tent designed for one, as it weighs less than many 1-person tents. The Telemark has just one pole to assemble, in this case made from carbon. The standard version of the Telemark is available with aluminium poles, with a slight weight penalty (70g), but at a cost saving £100. In each corner there is a short pole that increases the living space within the tent, but can also be removed to create a short pole to support the flysheet door to make an awning. It’s a nice idea, but the poles are tricky to remove and replace, and because there is no closure to hold them in place, in high winds the poles tended to stick out of their sleeve, causing the main body of the tent to sag.

The inner comes attached to the flysheet, but can be removed if required. This allows the option of flysheet-only pitching for very lightweight camping. We found that threading the main pole through the sleeve was pretty tricky due to its small size and trying not to damage the flysheet, which is made from a 10-denier ripstop nylon that feels very lightweight. The inner tent is made from 15-denier ripstop nylon, which is breathable and water repellent. The test team loved this ‘solid’ walled inner tent, as it felt much warmer in use than those inner tents constructed with mesh. The ground sheet felt thin, but held up well to a range of different uses, in very damp conditions. An excellent touch was the inner tent’s pocket, which also doubled up as a stuffsack, meaning that in poor weather you had a method for keeping the inner tent and flysheet separate. The porch space felt cramped, but thanks to a moveable adjustor, could be adjusted to give additional room at the expense of inner tent space. While the Telemark 2 had plenty of room for a single person, it was very cosy for two people, and we suspect that the most will use it as a solo tent, with the occasional night spent with a second person.