Hilleberg Soulo Review (Red Label) “Bombproof” One Person Tent

Having used the Hilleberg Soulo for a few years now, my fondness for this tent has only grown, so I decided to write up a review based on my long-term use. To sum it up: If I were forced to choose only one tent for the rest of my life, I’d have no doubt: the Hilleberg Soulo.

Hilleberg Soulo in the Alps.

Yes, it’s not particularly light, and it’s not really a four-season tent in the classic sense either. It’s more of a three-season tent the other way around (autumn, winter, spring).

However, it’s a roomy, bombproof tent, and when fully pitched it’s silent even in moderately strong winds. It’s one of those tents you buy for life. I’ve had mine for about 6 years now, using it roughly 20 times a year, mostly across Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland — not multi-day expedition levels, but well beyond camping in the park.

As this is more of a long-term review, I’ll focus more on my experience than on the technical details, though I’ll still give a quick overview of those. So here we go.

Hilleberg Soulo in Iceland.

Table of Contents

What I like & Downsides

• What I like: Sturdiness, space, warmth, inner luminosity and, of course, durability.
• Downsides: Heavy (but worth it), condensation, and warmth again — on warm days it can heat up quickly, though there’s an inner mesh you can purchase separately.

Technical Specs — Soulo Red Label

Price

Where I live, it is about 1k EUR or CHF, without the footprint, which comes at an additional 100 EUR/CHF, more or less. You can check the price and availability of the Hilleberg Soulo on Amazon too.

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In Swedish Lapland, near the Aktse Hut

Other Main Features

The outer tent zipper includes an integrated fabric storm flap that covers the zippers to prevent water from entering. The entrance door has a two-sided zipper that allows you to open the upper part to create some air circulation.

To keep that open even in bad weather, the Soulo has an integrated “hat”. It’s a small, square piece of waterproof fabric that attaches to the poles to protect the top roof vent from rain and snow while still allowing airflow.

The ineer fells quote spacious even iwht a large pad like the Sea to Summit Etherlight Extereme

The Tent does not need to be seam sealed either; Hilleberg uses a special Keron thread that swells when wet, effectively preventing water from entering.

The inner has two side doors that can be fully opened and rolled up. One of them has two layers: a fabric one and a mesh one, so you can open the solid fabric layer and leave just the mesh layer closed for ventilation while keeping bugs out.

Hilleberg Soulo – with a random sheepdog that decided to follo me on a overnight hike in the Alps.

Colors

It’s available in three colors: green, red, and sand. I have the green, since I mostly camp in alpine environments and it blends in better most of the time. Sand is similar — it blends into other, rockier environments. Red stands out everywhere, and it’s often a good choice for winter camping in the snow, since it’s much more visible.

Note: it doesn’t come with a footprint, like almost every tent, but you can purchase one separately. I have one, and you can leave it attached to the tent when you store it.

It’s also available in two variants: Red Label and Black Label. I have the Red Label, and unless you need it for extreme winter expeditions, the Black Label (heavier Kerlon 1800 fabric, 10 mm poles) is overkill.

Living With the Hilleberg Soulo

As I said, for me it’s really a three-season tent. I’ve used it in summer, and if the sun is out, it gets very warm very quickly during the day.

It’s a relatively compact tent but still fairly livable. Unlike tents like the Big Agnes Fly Creek UV UL 1, which feel more like “niches” for sleeping, it’s possible to spend some time in the Soulo without feeling too cramped.

If you have something like the Sea to Summit Air Chair, it’s easy to turn your sleeping pad into a seat and spend some relaxed time in the tent instead of just lying down. (For reference, I am about 1,83 m, or about six feet).

With an Air Chair, you can easily sit upright and spend some time in the tent without feeling cramped, waiting out the bad weather.

You really feel protected in strong winds and rain. The geodesic design makes the tent very stable, but for the best performance in stronger winds, you need to stake out the guy lines.

Overall, its compact, fully free-standing footprint makes pitching on bare rock or small alpine ledges easy (no wide guy-line footprint needed just to keep it upright).

Pitching System, Time & Ease 

It’s an outer-first pitch tent, but the inner is pitched with the outer (and the footprint if you buy one and leave it attached). It’s a bit of a faff to unravel the guy lines the first few times, but with practice that becomes easier and faster. And it really helps the way you pack them up.

Pitch relies on external pole sleeves and clips, which makes pitching with winter gloves easy too

It’s a free-standing tent, so if there is no wind, you don’t need to use the guy lines. That means it can take anywhere from five to ten minutes to pitch if you fully stake it out.

However, you can’t pitch the inner alone; for that, you would need to purchase the inner mesh separately.

Hilleberg has a series of videos on how to pitch it too on their channel and on their website. Here is their Soulo pitching video

Storage Space

There’s a gear storage space inside the tent, a small corner on the side where you can put a backpack or a small bag and some clothes. I use a Sea to Summit Extreme large pad, which takes up a good chunk of space, but I can still keep stuff at the bottom of the pad, on the tent floor. Typically clothes, food, or other equipment.

There are two fairly large mesh pockets inside the tent to store some essentials.

There is also a storage area on the inside in the middle, next to the sleeping pad area, and in the vestibule area – better with a footprint.

The outside storage space is reasonable too, enough to keep more gear, like a large backpack or boots. Inside, there are two side mesh pockets where I keep stuff I need handy.

Again, better to get the footprint, as it covers the vestibule space too, and oyu can place

With the footprint, the Vestibule Area offers decent space to store items even when the ground is wet.

Accessories

There are a few accessories available that are sold separately. Here they are:

• Footprint, which adds 230 g in weight. I’d highly recommend getting one, as it covers the vestibule area too. That’s handy when pitching in a wet environment to store additional gear on the dry footprint.
• Inner mesh with a standalone pole holder to pitch the inner mesh only. This won’t save you any weight. I don’t have it for the Soulo, but I do have it for the Nallo GT2.
• Repair kit, handy to have too, just in case. I have one.

Warranty and Repairs

Hilleberg offers a lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and craftsmanship. So far in six years of use, nothing to report in that sense. Wear and Tear is of course not included, but if you need a repair, that’s another area where Hilleberg shines.

I’ve never had to contact them about the Soulo itself, but I did need a minor repair on my Nallo GT2, where one of the straps holding the stakes got cut while pitching on rocky terrain. It was easy to reach out to them, easy to get a quote, and the turnaround was fast. And they offered the repair for free, minus shipping costs.

Is the Hilleberg Soulo worth the Price, and would I buy it again?

To be honest, it stings shelling out that much for a tent. It’s about 1k EUR where I live.

So I thought about it for quite a while before biting the bullet and buying one. But yes, I would buy it again. Not that I expect I will have to buy another Soulo ever, as It’s a buy once, cry once type of purchase.

And, while I did not buy another Soulo, I did buy a Nallo GT2 a couple of years later. I am using that more as a type of “basecamp” tent, as it feels like a palace for one person.

I am digressing a bit here, but that is to say I was so happy with the Soulo, I went for a second Hilleberg tent. And I am thinking about an Enan too, for the summer.

Final Thoughts on the Hilleberg Soulo

Tu Sum the review up, six years and roughly 100 nights in, the Hilleberg Soulo still hasn’t given me a reason to look elsewhere. It’s not the tent I’d pick if weight was the only thing that mattered, but for the balance of stability, space, and durability it offers, nothing else I’ve used comes close.

If you camp in colder climates, demanding or rough conditions often enough, that “buy it for life” actually pays off, the Soulo earns its price and its weight. And peace of mind.

yuo can check for the latest prices and offers for Hilleberg Soulo on Amazon too.

Additional Resources

• Here are more One Person tent recommendations here.
• Here is the Soulo page on the Hilleberg Website.