On entering the tent I was pleased to see that there is room to move around inside with a decent amount of headroom. The side door can be set up in various different ways: fully closed to keep the weather at bay, rolled up to let you to take in the view, or extended out with a hiking pole to create a larger sheltered space. It was only a matter of time before inflatable tents made their mark in lightweight camping, just as they did with family tents a decade ago. The flysheet and inner tent pitch together and the inner is made from a breathable material. Inside the sleeping area, there is a large ventilation panel to deal with any condensation issues.

Comfort: The most comfortable tents have roomy interiors with vertical walls and ample head and shoulder room. It's not necessarily essential, but the ability to sit up and move around without touching the inner is desirable. Lower profile tents will have aggressively tapered walls, which can feel cramped and claustrophobic.

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I haven’t tried this out for real yet, but on first erection in my garden: -The tent appears to be well made (I have bought Terra Nova tents before and am confident this will be fine), and really good value for the money, but there are a few points to think about. – Although this is a 2-man, I would say it will be a tight 2-man. More a comfortable 1-man which I was hoping for. Pitching is fairly easy, with interconnecting aluminium poles forming a freestanding frame which you clip the inner onto, before attaching the flysheet on top. But bear in mind this is an inner-first tent, so you do run the risk of everything getting wet if it’s raining.

There’s only a single entrance, but it has a decent-sized porch plus a handy rear storage area with an unusual ‘hatch’ in the mesh inner that allows you to reach through and stash small items of kit. The end walls are also fairly steep, especially at the head of the tent, which means you ought to be able to lie out comfortably even if you’re well over 6 foot tall. The width isn’t class-leading by any stretch, but should still accommodate all but the chunkiest sleeping mats. Other key updates include a new orientation of ventilation panels on the front and rear inner doors, improved yellow reflective guylines with cleat-style runners, and a lighter green shade on the flysheet. It all adds up to a very positive revamp of an already successful design. We tested out the new Helm Compact 3 in the Lake District and this is what we learnt:With a full-length porch on each side of the inner, you have plenty of space for kit storage without impinging on accessibility, and once you’ve unzipped the inner door panel and secured it with loop and toggle fastening, inside is roomy, too. So you can understand why US outdoor specialist Sierra Designs decided to make an updated version of the popular Meteor tent range specifically created for the vagaries of the northern European climate. The 70D polyester flysheet, with 3,000mm hydrostatic head, is highly waterproof and durable, and the lightweight alloy poles combine strength with flexibility. The groundsheet is also strong and designed to be very waterproof. Materials Outer HydroTex Core 75D polyester 185T, 3,000mm Inner 68D breathable polyester 190T Groundsheet 75D polyester Taffeta 185T, 6,000mm Poles Anodised alloy #6061, T6, 8.5 mm Pegs 10 square section alloy

NOTE TO READERS: The picture above is of the 2020 model of the Helm 2 – a new version of the tent is now available which has some changes, including a brighter green colour and mesh panels on the doors only.

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At its base weight, this tent weighs just 567g, but that measurement doesn’t include the pegs and guylines. Add them in and you can expect to be carrying around 100g extra. We recommend using a footprint which sits under the groundsheet and porch area to help prolong the life of your tent. A footprint for the Helm Compact 2 is available."