Nordisk Lofoten 1 ULW Review

Overview

The Nordisk Lofoten 1 ULW is a double-wall solo shelter built around a single obsessive engineering goal: the smallest possible packed volume at the lowest possible weight. At 490g race weight and an 11×22cm packed size — roughly the footprint of a large water bottle — it was designed to meet the demands of a reliable shelter that you can pitch in an instant, carry without noticing, and pack in the bottle pockets on a race vest. It’s a legitimate double-wall tent, not a bivy, but the headroom makes that distinction feel academic on some nights. It offers good protection in an extremely lightweight package but compromises on space, making it an ideal racing tent where a lack of space for a few nights is not really an issue.

Key Specs

Spec	Value
Weight (race)	490g
Weight (total)	565g (incl. packsacks, foot-end pole, bonus pack)
Packed Size	11 × 22 cm
Capacity	1 person (convertible to 2P)
Peak Headroom	70 cm
Flysheet	100% nylon ripstop, 7D, 26 g/m², silicone (3-layer, both sides), 1600mm HH
Groundsheet	100% nylon ripstop, 15D, PU, 3600mm HH
Poles	7.5mm aluminium, 3 poles
Guy Lines	1.2mm Dyneema
Pegs (included)	5× Nordisk tooth peg + 5× triple twister (bonus pack)
Comparison	See how Lofoten 1 ULW compares to similar gear

Performance

Weight and Pack Size

This is where the Lofoten genuinely earns its reputation. At a race weight of 490g it’s one of the lightest double-wall tents in the world — and when packed, it’s definitively the smallest, thanks to poles built with ultra-short segment lengths that allow an uncompressed pack size of just 11×22cm. That’s not marketing spin; the poles really do collapse to a length that fits alongside a hydration bladder. For bikepacking, fastpacking, or any discipline where volume is as precious as grams, nothing double-walled matches this. The Lofoten 1 ULW will pack down smaller than most tarps while still offering the full benefits of a tent — protection from wind, rain, and snow.

Livability and Headroom

Here’s the trade-off, and it’s a real one. The Lofoten is small — there’s no getting away from it. With a head height of just 70cm it’s significantly lower than other one-person tents. You are not sitting up in here. The Lofoten is best thought of as a luxury hooped bivvy rather than a tent; some experience is required to work with it given that it’s not tall enough to sit up within. That said, the side-entry design helps. The entrance on the side rather than the end makes it much easier to get in and out, and there’s no sense of claustrophobia because the tent is at its tallest above your shoulders and the steep head wall keeps the inner away from your face.

Taller hikers will feel the pinch more acutely. At 6’2” (190cm), one user reported barely being able to lie down without their head and feet touching the ends. If you’re over about 183cm, check the floor dimensions carefully before committing.

Vestibule and Cooking

There’s just about space for boots, stove, and waterproofs in the fixed section of the tiny porch

— but don’t expect to cook comfortably under cover in driving rain.

An unusual and genuinely useful feature is being able to prop up the door with the supplied bonus pole to make a tarp-like cover over the entrance

, which extends the usable cooking area considerably in light rain. In sideways weather, that option closes off.

Weather Protection

Despite the fly’s delicate soft feel, the 3 layers of silicone coating on each side ensures high durability and water repellency fit for a wet and windy Scandinavian climate, and the Flex-rope Suspension System adds high flexibility and strength.

That’s a genuine claim backed by real-world feedback:

one long-term owner used the tent across several 7-day multiday hikes in the mountains of Norway and Sweden, in both hot and cold climates

, with positive results overall. The 1600mm HH on the fly is on the lower end of what you’d want for sustained heavy rain — this tent handles three-season Scandinavian wet, but it’s not a storm fort.

One reported failure mode worth flagging: during a storm where wind did a 90-degree turn in the night, relentless sideways rain caused contact between the inner and outer layers, resulting in some dampness to the sleeping bag. That’s a geometry problem inherent to the shelter’s low profile, not a fabric failure — but it’s good to know the limits.

Groundsheet Durability

The groundsheet is only 15 denier and would not be happy on rocky ground without some kind of sacrificial footprint.

On abrasive terrain like volcanic rock or sharp granite, a tailored Nordisk footprint (sold separately, ~200g) is close to mandatory. On grass or packed dirt, it’s fine.

Setup

The ultra-lightweight and compact design allows pitching in about 2 minutes.

The Flex-rope Suspension System takes a pitch or two to get dialled, but once you know the sequence, it goes up fast. The inner pocket detaches to serve as the packsack, which is a tidy bit of design economy.

Convertibility

One innovative feature is that the flysheet and poles are identical for both the one-person and two-person versions — only the inner changes. The solo version therefore gains a useful vestibule for pack storage; the two-person version sacrifices that porch to fit the larger inner.

Buying the 2P inner later is a viable upgrade path without purchasing an entirely new tent.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Genuinely exceptional pack size — 11×22cm with poles is unmatched at this weight
• Double-wall construction protects the inner from condensation contact better than a bivy
• Side-entry is more livable than end-entry at this low headroom
• Door-tarp mode with the included pole is a thoughtful touch
• Quick setup, reportedly under 2 minutes once you know the system
• Convertible 1P/2P via inner swap — the fly is shared
• Dyneema guy lines are lightweight and high-strength

Cons

• 70cm peak headroom means no sitting up, ever
• 15D groundsheet needs a footprint on anything but soft terrain
• Tiny vestibule limits gear storage and practical cooking in bad weather
• Tight fit for anyone taller than ~183cm
• 1600mm HH on the fly is adequate for three-season use but not generous
• Inner/outer contact possible in extreme sideways storm conditions

Who Should Buy This

The Lofoten 1 ULW is the right shelter for the person who has already decided to sleep, not lounge. Adventure racers, bikepackers, and fastpackers running point-to-point routes will get the most out of it — people who cover big miles, arrive late, sleep hard, and leave early. The philosophy is ‘get in, get your head down and get a good night’s sleep’, nothing more. If you spend meaningful time in camp — cooking, reading, waiting out weather — you’ll find the limitations grating. Compact solo backpackers under about 6ft who prioritize volume and weight over livability will appreciate what this tent does better than anything else in its class.

Verdict

The Nordisk Lofoten 1 ULW does exactly one thing better than any other double-wall tent: it takes up almost no space and weighs almost nothing while still giving you a genuine two-layer shelter with protection a bivy can’t match. The 70cm headroom and minimal vestibule are not bugs to work around — they are the price of admission, and you need to accept them fully before buying. If you’re racing, bikepacking, or simply obsessed with volume, this is a genuinely clever piece of kit; if you want a tent you can actually live in for multi-day trips with rest days, look at the Nordisk Telemark series or something like the Terra Nova Laser Pulse 1 (500g, 12cm more headroom). Rating: 7.5/10