Wild CampingWild CountryBackpacking Tent

Wild Country Helm 1 Compact review: an amazing all-rounder with a big reputation

A reliable, comfortable and affordable tent that delivers some of the best all-round performance we’ve ever experienced — and the hype is completely justified.

✓  Best BuyWild Country Helm 1 Compact Weight1.99 kgPrice£250Seasons3–4 season The good✓  Easy to pitch (under 4 minutes)
✓  Very roomy for a solo tent
✓  Lightweight and easy to carry
✓  Solid in the wind
✓  Affordable at £250
✓  Comfortable interior
✓  Small pack size
✓  Inner pre-attached — pitch as one in rain
The not-so-good✗ Nothing — this tent really does deliver. Check price at Outdoor Action →

At a glance

Overview

The Wild Country Helm 1 Compact is one of the most popular and beloved tents in the UK wild camping scene. Espoused by wild campers, thru-hikers and backpackers of all styles, it is often touted as the best all-rounder out there, especially when you compare price and durability against pack size and weight. Designed and manufactured by the same people that bring you the more premium Terra Nova models, Wild Country tents are built to represent the perfect balance between affordability and quality — and we have been impressed by everything we have tested from the brand to date.

Weighing 1.99 kg, the Helm 1 Compact is reasonably lightweight for the shelter and protection it offers. Coming with only two poles, the tent is also remarkably small for the durability and reliability it delivers. This is due to the interesting design choice of having one spinal pole that extends along the length of the tent from front to back, and then one cornered central pole that hoists the tent up across the top of the sleeping compartment. Unlike many dome tents, however, this central pole comes right the way down to the ground on both sides, creating an almost exo-skeleton-like frame around the middle of the tent that adds extra strength and durability in strong winds. Fully exposed from the ceiling downwards, guy lines can be lashed around this pole for added strength, and various lash-out points are designed to keep the Helm 1 glued to the floor.

When bought directly from Terra Nova, the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact will set you back a mere £250, and it is currently on sale for £219 at Outdoor Action. And while that still might be out of many people’s budget, we think this represents excellent value. In fact, due to the bang for your buck it delivers, Trail Magazine awarded the tent both its coveted Best Value award in 2022, as well as its Gear of the Year award in 2023. And that is not just down to price. Small, lightweight, roomy and reliable — it offers UK wild campers the best blend of benefits out of all the shelters out there.

How we tested

We have had a Helm 1 Compact kicking around the GBAC kit room for quite some time now. We spent dozens of nights in it through the winter of 2023/24, camping in it in driving wind and rain in the likes of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, the Peak District and the Lakes, testing it on numerous woodland camps across the Chiltern Hills and the Cotswolds, and putting it up against some of the most ferocious winds we experienced all season camped atop of Dartmoor’s ever-unpredictable Yes Tor. And you know what? Every time — wherever we used it and whatever the weather threw at us — the Helm 1 Compact performed way better than we expected. At times, we thought the tent could not possibly stand up to another gust, but the Helm battled on and lived to fight another day. And at the time of writing in May 2024, it still looks as good as it did on the day we took it out of the box.

Features and performance

Packability

The first thing we especially appreciate about the Helm 1 Compact is its packability. It is in the name after all. And while this tent certainly will not win prizes for having the smallest pack size — tents like the MSR Hubba NX, the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 or the Robens Chaser 1 are substantially smaller — the Helm 1 Compact still packs down to a smaller package than it has any right to be. Packing away into something resembling a shoebox, the tent is easy to chuck into the bottom of smaller rucksacks (it easily fits into a 45-litre pack as part of a 3-season setup) and, if you pack the poles separately, it can really be squashed down to a size that most of us should be more than capable of carrying — unless you are a fastpacker or a thru-hiker committed to carrying a 30-litre pack or smaller, of course.

Pitching and packing away

When it comes to pitching the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact, this is another area where the tent stands out. Frankly put, it is effortless. On still nights in calm woodlands, we only took 4 pegs with us and were able to get a good enough pitch. On nights when we were expecting a bit more pushback — from wind or rain — we pegged out all of the guy lines and the various lash-out points and still got it up in under 4 minutes.

As the tent comes with the inner already attached, pitching the Helm 1 is merely a matter of establishing structural integrity. This is achieved by two central poles that crisscross over and under one another via two easy-to-use and clearly labelled sleeves at the centre of the tent. The long central pole forms the spine of the tent, creating lift from the foot-end to the head-end. Then, the middle pole establishes height and strength, coming with two rounded corners that are easy to establish and a cinch to slide into place. What is more, as this central pole extends all the way to the ground on both sides of the tent, the structure immediately feels sturdy and reliable, even before you guy out the various corners and lashing points.

Once up, the central pole remains fully exposed, which means you can wrap guy lines around it for extra stability in rough winds — something we took to doing when pitching in hyper-exposed or windy locations, or when we simply were not sure whether wind was forecast to roll in overnight.

It is also worth noting that the inner and the outer come pre-attached straight out of the box. In the UK, having to pitch a mesh inner first before draping over the fly (think the Big Agnes Fly Creek or the MSR Hubba NX) means the inside of your tent gets very wet in a downpour. That is why, when we can afford it weight-wise, we always tend to opt for tents where both the inner and the outer can be pitched as one — which is another reason we love the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact. And Wild Country take care of this in the factory, so when you pitch this tent for the very first time you do not need to hang the inner in after pitching the outer. A small note, but one that tangibly improves your experience as a first-time user.

Packing away the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact the following morning is just as easy as putting it up. Remove the pegs, pull out the poles, roll it up. The bag provided can be opened super wide before being cinched back down tight, so even if you cannot roll the tent up into a tight little burrito in the morning (because it is raining and you just want to get a move on, or it is freezing and you are wearing thick winter gloves), you can still get the tent back in the bag and strapped down tight.

Wind and rain performance

The Wild Country Helm 1 Compact is an absolute powerhouse in both rain and wind. Seriously, this thing punches way above its weight when it comes to solid all-round performance in varied UK conditions, especially considering its £250 price tag and 1.99 kg pack weight. Now, that is not to say you should expect Hilleberg Soulo-like performance for pitching on Helvellyn in a winter storm, nor should you use the Helm 1 like you might the Nortent Gamme 4. But for a 1-person backpacking tent that is easily carried on dozens of adventures each season, it is remarkable. The exo-skeleton central pole design gives it structural integrity that a standard dome tent at this price simply cannot match, and the ability to wrap guy lines directly around the exposed pole gives you extra security in the worst conditions.

“Every time — wherever we used it and whatever the weather threw at us — the Helm 1 Compact performed way better than we expected. At times we thought it couldn’t possibly stand up to another gust. But the Helm battled on.”

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Our verdictThe best all-round tent for UK wild camping. Full stop.The Wild Country Helm 1 Compact is an all-rounder in the truest sense — there is genuinely nothing we would change about it. It is small, lightweight, roomy, reliable and affordable, and it delivers phenomenal all-round performance for a tent at this price point. Trail Magazine agrees: Best Value 2022 and Gear of the Year 2023.If you are a UK wild camper, a thru-hiker or a weekend backpacker who wants a tent that will handle everything from a still summer woodland to a howling winter moorland — and you do not want to spend a fortune doing it — the Helm 1 Compact is the tent to buy. We cannot recommend it highly enough.Check price at Outdoor Action →

FAQs

Is the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact good in the wind?Absolutely. The exo-skeleton central pole design gives it remarkable stability for a tent at this price. We have used it in some of the worst conditions the UK threw at us — including ferocious gusts on Dartmoor’s Yes Tor — and it battled on every time. You can also wrap guy lines directly around the exposed central pole for extra stability in extreme conditions.

Is the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact good in the rain?Yes — and the pre-attached inner-and-outer pitching system is a real advantage in the UK. You never have to pitch a wet inner in a downpour. Just erect as one and you are straight into a dry sleeping space.

How easy is the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact to pitch?Very easy. Two poles, pre-attached inner, and you can have it fully pegged out with all guy lines in under 4 minutes. On a calm night with just 4 pegs it is faster still. Packing away is equally straightforward — the wide-mouth bag is forgiving even in cold weather with thick gloves on.

Is the Wild Country Helm 1 Compact worth the money?Absolutely. At £250, it is Trail Magazine’s Best Value award winner (2022) and Gear of the Year (2023). Small, lightweight, roomy, reliable and affordable — it offers UK wild campers the best blend of benefits of any shelter out there at this price point. We cannot think of a single thing to criticise.