Hi Martin. I'm the Seekoutside 8-man owner as mentioned earlier.
And like the Varanger owner/s above, I'm biased, so "buyer beware"!
As I see it, benefits of the SO is lightness, ease of use - I put mine up one-handed very quickly (four pegs, put in pole, and you're undercover. Take your time putting the other pegs in to "round it out"). Fantastic customer service from Kevin and his Mrs at SO (yes, even despite me being in the UK and them in the US), and the fact that they were specifically designed for hunters in the very inclement conditions found in the mountains in winter in the US. I have no concerns whatsoever in using it in any of the conditions likely to be found in Scandinavia in winter - been there, done that, and intend to do it again! Yes, the material is UV-protected, but wouldn't recommend leaving it up for months at a time, as all material on any tent will degrade if so treated.
Mossie protection? Mine has it on both doors (and having two full-length doors is really useful, particularly if the wind shifts!) It can also be pegged out in three different "sizes", useful if you need to have a smaller pitch, "normal" for most conditions, and the opportunity to peg it off the ground - ie the bottom of the tipi has an airgap - if you want more floor space and a nice draft in hot weather.
Leaks? Dunno - never had any on mine, and I've never bothered to seam-seal it - not necessary on a new 8-man, although you can if you want to. Personally, I dislike the "top-hat" arrangement of the Laavus - too much faffing about for a less than perfect weather-seal! I believe all SOs come with a stove jack in the ceiling - simply push the stove-pipe through it, and you're done. If you're not using the pipe, just pop down the external flap over the split. (Note, instead of cutting a hole in the stove jack to accommodate the pipe, simply make some radial cuts in the material and push the pipe through).
To give an idea of size, when Norwegian Air told me my hold luggage was a couple of kilos overweight, I simply pulled out the tent of the luggage and stuffed it into my (already partially-full) small rucksack used as carry-on. Try that with a Varanger 8-10!
Guy-out points? There is a second set of guy-out points on the SO if you need them, but I have never needed to do so, despite some fairly strong gales.
This is my second SO - I had the 6-man, and to be frank, it was perfect for my needs - ie one man camping with table, chair, stove and plenty of space to lunge around in. "glamping, I think they call it! But the wide-open spaces of the 8-man proved irresistable
And with only a kg or so weight penalty, why not?
Re floors, that a really interesting one. In the past, all my tents had built-in floors, for all the usual reasons - stops water coming in, etc etc. But now, I wouldn't pay you to give me a floor! Sure, put a tarp down if you want protection under your bedding etc, but not having to mop up pools of water from wet clothes, condensation, spills and so on, wiping off mud transferred into the tent from muddy boots, not worrying about having stones/sticks etc putting holes into the floor - the list is endless!
THe argument about car camping - ie that weight/pack size isn't important - is valid to an extent. But only to an extent. Heavy tents are more of a pain to carry - larger pack size, more difficult to erect, need more guying to keep it taut particularly in a gale - and all those lines create further drag - and are more difficult to dry out once you're home after a typical British/European trip!
Finally, would be interesting to see how many of those with Scandinavian Laavus have since sold them on
I only sold my 6-man SO to get the 8-man!
