For SOTA VHF activity, why not consider a stock X-200 or X-300 Colinear? A Diamond X-200 weighs nothing and be assembled in 6 or 7 minutes.
There’s an awful lot to be said about spraying RF 360°
Back in 2011, I made 244 contacts from G/SP-004 Shining Tor, which may still be the record for a SOTA single day VHF FM activation. It was done with an X-300 colinear, FT-857 and about 7 Watts.
I did end up spoiling a brand new 20Ah SLAB, by over discharging it. I watched the voltage meter on the 857 fall to just over 9.5 Volts when I finally pulled the plug. However, I was having so much fun, I didn’t care.
https://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/marathon-on-sp-004-shining-tor-quick-report/5518
My best ever 2m FM contact, while working with the X-300 was with SA7CKN, a distance of 1070 Km, during a lift, from G/SP-013 back in 2015. This would have been a nice 2m contact with a beam and working ssb.
Well worth a try.