Hilleberg - Soulo BL (Black Label)

~~Winter camping can mean many things. The Nallo isn't a 4 season tent. Specifically, it isn't adapted to snow. Those cat curves on the lower perimeter of the fly are practically impossible to bury and the spindrift will flood the interior. You will regret using the Nallo in full on winter conditions (blown snow).~~ If you have a very limited budget and need one shelter to do it all, your best bet would be a mid with as many sides as you can get/are willing to carry (i.e., a rectangular pyramid -> a hexagonal mid -> an octagonal mid). Edit: My comments about the cat cut on the fly is due to confusion with the Anjan! My apologies for the confusion! FWIW, I've personally used and owned at different points 3 of what are now called the Black Label tents and 6 of the Red Label tents.

My Hilerberg Akto has withstood storms as bad as any I would want to be out in. Not designed for deep heavy snow but unless your planning on taking up ski touring or snowshoeing somewhere that shouldn't be a consideration because if it snows too heavy for an Akto you won't be walking out in just boots, it has a solid inner which helps to retain body heat which is pretty much the only source of heat you'll have most of the time. At approx 1.5kg weight it's suitable for backpacking . Though not designed for it a modified Akto was used succesfully on a solo expedition to the North Pole, not bad for a backpacking tent. If you really want the option of camping during heavy snowfall then the Scarp 1 with the crossing poles seems on paper to be the most versatile option as you can use it in summer without the extra poles though I have never used one. I've used a Hilleberg Soulo extensively in heavy snow and it performs just great but then If I just had walking boots in that kind of snow getting out would have been a survival situation so I do think it's more of a specialist tent.

Hilleberg always gets props for being a robust tent, but what a lot of people don't realise is that they're pretty lightweight for what they are! Using their classic freestanding Soulo tent as an example - I'm not sure it's possible for it to be any lighter than it already is whilst maintaining that level of robustness. So it follows, then, that wanting something with equal robustness as the Soulo but at half the weight is just unrealistic. The X-Dome has a similar strength:weight ratio as the Soulo in my opinion - but it's 40% the weight of a Soulo! Both tents achieve their relatively low weights due to excellent design and wise material choice. Most other tents that are as strong as a Soulo weigh more than a Soulo, and most tents as strong as an X-Dome weigh more than an X-Dome. And it is sad that the YouTubers have discouraged some would-be buyers. I have a lot of respect for the British wildcamping YouTubers... But I wonder why they can't imagine the unintended impact of their videos. Even though they sometimes put effort into detailing what was their fault, they must know the overall message getting through to viewers is a fear mongering one - "the tubes will break". That's unfortunate. Another thing y'all Americans should note about the British wildcamping videos is that the climate in the UK is really something else!!! Conditions change rapidly, and to extremes, in a way that perhaps doesn't occur where you live. This unpredictable weather means that a 3-season tent will sometimes leave you on the side of a mountain with your tent in pieces... Happens all the time.

I would normally suggest the Hilleberg Soulo, but you are probably too tall for it. The Hilleberg Unna is another solid option, with much more space. It looks like it has no vestibule, but you can unclip the inner in one corner to create one. Sticking with Norwegian tents the Nortent Vern 1 is a good option, or Varde 1 though it is quite heavy. As a bit of a wild card look at the new TFS Saga tent. It hasn’t been released yet, but there are several teaser videos on the TFS YouTube channel. It is aimed at the UK/European market. Suitable for taller European users, high winds and damp conditions. I think it will be available at the end of the year. I’m not sure any of these tents are truly ultralight, but realistically a 4-season tent that can handle high winds is going to be 2kg+. Checkout novice wild camper on YouTube, he is 6’5”, and does a lot of 4 season tent reviews from a British perspective; high winds and wet conditions. https://youtube.com/@novicewildcamper

I've used both. I find Hilleberg 1-person tents to be pretty nice size-wise, but there's no denying a 2-person tent feels luxurious. Right now my only tent is a 1-person tent.

People shit on hilleberg prices till they use a hilleberg in less than ideal weather. I’ll tolerate the price for the long life and ability to handle some nasty weather. Most places in the states below tree line don’t need one though.

Hilleberg, TarpTent, SlingFin, Samaya. Real expeditions are more likely to choose Hilleberg. Their strongest tents are not super light, but they are made to withstand serious weather.

I swear by my Hilleberg, but that's a terrible deal, even on a great tent.

Get a Hilleberg! 😂buy once cry once.

Hilleberg is the tent for severe weather. They have different lines depending on how you want to trade weight versus sturdiness. None are "ultralight", but that is not what you are looking for in extreme cold/winds/snow.

I hunt in Alaska we always use a Hilleberg

Hilleberg makes fantastic tents. Not cheap though.

If you really want to buy once cry once, the best tents available are probably from hilleberg. If you want a very decent budget one to start out and see what you like and don’t like, I’d recommend naturehike

Completely disagreeing with this. This is a well known influencer site and list. So, it is merely a sales pitch. Lets check out the list: North Face Stormbreak. 200$ for a polyester tent in 2025! Half of the amazon junk would be more resistant to weather, and weighs half. It is an amazing tent, but only if we are in 2000s. Kelty, is it half covered in mesh, it is horrible in summer and it cannot stand winter. Then there is Hilleberg. Top of the top winter tent. If the list contains a Hilleberg I dont think there would even be a place for MSR in the list. The list then should be dominated by other Hillebergs. Also, where is the Zpacks, or Xmids? Where is mongar, or lanshan? Those are amazing <1 kilo tents .. some of which are on amazon. I agree, Amazon has a lot of junk. But also a lot of very high quality products not paying influencers. There are many better tent makers outside of this list and for many of the items in the list, they are indeed amazing products. However, for many I dont think their brand name justifies their price in 2025 anymore.

Ok let me pitch on the list then: This is an incoherent list: contains tents with different sizes and persons count, so it is creating more confusion than being helpful. Apart from that several of the tents there have well known problems: \- Hilleberg is a winter tent; if you rely on this list and buy it for a summer holiday you will die. \- Elixir does not use seam sealing and instead use a sealing technique mostly seen in cotton fabric tents, and it is known that it leaks. So late autumn it is a dangerous tent. \- North Face Stormbreak is a very old, reliable tent, but uses polyester, so it weighs around 3 kilos. You can easily find a tent with the same specs, much better material for half the price and would weigh around 2 kilos. \- Rei and Nemo tents in the list are all dome tents, which are literally replicas of each other (i would even say knock offs of Big Agnes there with inferior build quality). Many of them are half covered with fabric instead of mesh in their inners, which is terrible for summer. Always go for as much mesh as possible for summer. For early autumn, late spring they are probably good. But definitely master of none. I dont know how they are in a "best" list \- Kelty again is an old reliable tent, but has pole sleeves, so setting it up is a chore. It is covered with fabric again, so not so good for summer, would be good for mountain weather in the summer though. Still, material is outdated and setting it up is much slower than current lines of tents. \- Hillebergs are top of the top, and big agnes clearly earns its place in the list. \- MSR tents there are both very light options, but nothing special there. Personally i would carry 500 grams more instead of paying premium to a tent design that is so common. It is a very good alternative for ultralighters. \- There are other tent types, such as inflatables, such as popup tents, such as summer tents. The list contains none. So, if you are trying to find a tent to buy .. ditch this list and check out other sources. It is incoherent, it misses out a lot of different alternatives and it doesnt factor in criteria such as who? how? where? when? how many people? duration? conditions? It is basically the sunday paper of tent recommendations. A potpourri of cool images.

Hilleberg it is then. Assuming it’s 3 adults… I’ve been backpacking for “a long time”. I’d put up with a 2 person tent. No way am I cramming myself into a 3 person tent. I’ll just bring my own tent in that case. Nobody wants to be the person in the middle.