News
We are delighted to share that prominent German magazine, Outdoor Magazin, recently awarded the Helags 2 “Test Winner” in their latest test of 15 different 2-person trekking tents. “All in all, the Hilleberg Helags wins the test because it perfectly combines weather protection, comfort, durability, top-quality features, and low weight,” they wrote, giving it the highest ranking of “Outstanding,” or Überragend,” in German.
You can read more about the Helags here.
Photo: Ståle Aklestad
This year marks the 30th anniversary of our Akto tent, which was first introduced 1995. We extend our deepest thanks to all of you who have trusted the Akto for your adventures over the years. Our latest video, below, is a celebration of these incredible adventures and the Akto’s legacy.
You can learn more about the Akto here.
Gear reviewer Scott Gilbertson for Wired Magazine just rated the Akto 10/10, writing, “The Akto is the best tent I've ever used. It pitches fast, it's bomb-proof, it's roomy, it's relatively light, and by all accounts it lasts forever.” He put its all-season strength to the test with a winter trip on the shores of Lake Superior, where the Akto endured up to 40 mph gusts without issue. While impressed by its durability, ease of pitching and overall comfort, Scott concluded by writing, “…I don't know what it is—the Akto has some difficult-to-define quality that just makes me want to use it.”
You can learn more about the Akto here.
And read Scott’s full review online at Wired Magazine.
Photo: David Long
In our latest video, we’ve put our Unna, a very strong all-season solo tent, in our wind machine in speeds of about 30 meters per second (67 mph) to show how adding guy lines, double poling with 9 mm poles or using 10 mm poles can affect your tent in high winds. Check out the video to see the results!
You can learn more about the Unna here.
Outdoor Magazin, Germany's premiere outdoor magazine, recently awarded the Helags 2 “Best of Test" out of the 500 different outdoor products they have tested over the last year. Out of all the products, only the 45 which “performed best even under adverse conditions,” received this award. “Tents from the Swedish manufacturer Hilleberg are considered state of the art – and rightfully so, as our tests prove,” they wrote. They complimented the Helags’s durable materials, spaciousness, easy pitching and storm stability.
You can learn more about the Helags here.
Photo: Ståle Aklestad
If you’ve ever wondered what tent shape might be best for you, we encourage you to check out our new video, “The Different Shapes of Hilleberg Tents.” It explains the structural differences between our tunnel, dome, ridge and yurt tents, and why some shapes have advantages in certain environments or during different kinds of trips. While we believe that no one shape is better than the others, we also believe this video will help you find the one that is best suited to YOU and your adventures!
Check out our new pitching instruction video for the Rogen! It covers basic pitching, using the inner and outer tents separately, swapping in the optional Mesh Inner Tent, and much more. Plus it has tips for using your tent in all kinds of weather, from adjusting the head and foot end guy lines for either more ventilation or greater weather protection to configuring your door panels for easier use in windy conditions. We hope you enjoy the video!
Read more about the Rogen here.
Click the link below to see the full video.
The pitching instruction video for the new Saivo is here! Of course it covers pitching the tent, as well as pitching both the inner and outer tents separately. But it’s also full of lots of other information that’s useful with any tent and on any of your backcountry trips, from packing your tent so it’s immediately ready for whatever weather you might encounter, to details on using just the outer or incorporating a Tarp into your set up. And, with the help of our wind machine, our CEO Petra Hilleberg does a full set up in up to 31 meters per second/70 miles per hour wind conditions. Whether you watch the entire video or just pieces of it, we think there’s a good chance you’ll learn something!
Read more about the Saivo here.
Links to the English, Swedish, and German videos are below.
We are happy to share that Germany's premier outdoor publication, Outdoor Magazin just named the new Rogen 3 the "Best Tent of 2024" and awarded their "Editors' Choice Award." Outdoor Editor Philip Geiger wrote, "Hilleberg delivers the tent highlight of the year 2024: The Rogen 3." He praised the Rogen for being "fantastically comfortable, weatherproof, and very durable."
To read more about Outdoor Magazin Editors’ Choice Award click here.
While our founders Bo and Renate Hilleberg were visiting the US from Sweden for the holidays, they sat down with their daughter – and our CEO – Petra Hilleberg, to answer some questions submitted by you! Want to know our philosophy on making tents? What tents we're working on for the future? How we support tents that we've made since the beginning? Check out our latest video, and a big thank you to everyone who submitted a question.
Happy New Year from all of us at Hilleberg the Tentmaker.
Photo: Martin Hornsey
Get your 2024/2025 Hilleberg Tent Handbook now at www.hilleberg.com/catalog.
We are honored to receive the biennial “Best Brand” award in the tent category from Germany’s Outdoor Magazin for 2023. Since the award’s inception a decade ago in 2013, we have won the tent category every time. This year, readers voted among 29 different tent brands, and we received a fifth of all votes. A tremendous thank you to everyone who voted for us!
For 2024, we are very excited to introduce two new tents: the Rogen 3 in the Yellow Label series, and the Saivo 4 in the Black Label series.
The Rogen 3 is our first 3-person dome tent in the Yellow Label series and both it and its 2-person counterpart the Rogen 2 (formerly just the Rogen), are excellent choices for any adventure in snow-free conditions. The new Rogen 3 adds even more versatility to the Yellow Label series and has an impressively light packed weight of 2.5 kg / 5 lbs 8 oz.
The new 4-person Saivo 4 is the ultimate expedition dome tent. It is exceptionally strong and has an expansive interior volume. In addition to one standard vestibule, the Saivo 4 also has a larger vestibule with an extra pole, offering excellent gear storage space and more comfort. The Saivo 3 (formerly just the Saivo) receives the same vestibule configuration. The Saivo 4 is a wonderfully spacious and impressively strong all-season tent that is a great choice for trips in all conditions, from the finest to the most formidable, and has a packed weight of 6.8 kg/ 15 lbs.
Check out the news flyer below for more information on our new tents.
Huntin' Fool recently published an article with Hilleberg Ambassador John Barklow about how a harsh reality check early on in his career permanently influenced his gear philosophy. Today he shares his rigorous testing methods and extensive gear knowledge on his social media platform. We highly recommend you check out all the outdoor advice on his Instagram page @jbarklow and read the article in the September issue of Huntin' Fool (@huntinfool_official), or by clicking on the image below.
Tilmann Graner, a longtime Hilleberg Ambassador, has spent decades working professionally as a musician and photographer while also making time for adventures. The reason he's taken countless trekking and climbing trips in over a dozen countries around the world: “It’s important for the soul, for the brain, to get fresh air and to see that there’s something greater than you,” he says. The conclusion of our 5-part series with The Great Outdoors, one of the UK’s premiere outdoor magazines, outlines how Tilmann has continued to find joy in the outdoors for over 50 years. He relies on the ability of his fully freestanding Allak and Staika tents to pitch camp anywhere, so he always can always find the most captivating view.
Click here to read the complete article.
In our latest video, “Tips for a Better Tunnel Tent Pitch” we’ve pitched a Nallo in our wind machine to show important a proper pitch is to your tent’s performance, especially in bad weather. Our CEO Petra Hilleberg demonstrates how simple it is to correct some common pitching mistakes that make a big difference. Always remember to:
- Tighten the peg tensioners
- Properly adjust all the guy lines
- Tighten the pole cups
- Peg the entire perimeter of the tent
- Shape the vent cover(s)
Felicity Aston MBE is a polar explorer with over 20 years of experience. She's also a leader, an example to others, and someone who simply loves to spend her time outdoors. The fourth installment of our 5-part series with The Great Outdoors, one of the UK's premiere outdoor magazines, explores the impact adventuring has made on her life, and why she uses only Keron GTs for her journeys. “Expeditions can be used to shed insight, and to explore more than just the geography and the landscape. You can really explore not only yourself, but your relationship with others,” she says.
Click here to read the complete story.
There is some debate about whether to pitch the vestibule or foot end of single vestibule tunnel tent into the wind. There is no true "right" or "wrong" choice, but in our latest video, we make the case for our strong recommendation to put the vestibule into the wind. We pitched a Nallo in our wind machine, in winds of about 30 meters per second/65 miles per hour to demonstrate our thinking. Check it out here!
Will Copestake is an experienced kayak guide, backpacker and climber, and general outdoor adventurer. Even for Will, not everything has always gone perfectly to plan. “You go out and make loads of mistakes, and I’m still making mistakes, and always will be making mistakes,” Will says, smiling. The third installment of our 5-part series with The Great Outdoors, one of the UK's premiere outdoor magazines, outlines Will’s growth in the outdoors, from bumbling backpacking trips to summiting 282 mountains in one year, how he turns “mistakes” into fun opportunities for learning, and, of course, why his tent kit is made entirely of Hillebergs.
Click here to read the complete story.
In 2020, Emily Ford became the first woman and person of color to complete the 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin in the wintertime. Since then, she’s been unable to resist winter adventure. She spent last winter in Alaska mushing dogs, and on her drive home to Minnesota she stopped by for a Tent Talk with our CEO Petra Hilleberg. They talked about Emily’s past adventures, including her 2021 ski crossing of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota using a Nammatj GT. “These tents are so cool,” she says, “It makes a huge difference to have something to go into that you know is going to withstand anything. The winds were ripping on some of these lakes.” The two also talked about some of her plans for the future, like her goal to one day complete the three well-known trails in the US – The Pacific Crest Trail, The Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail. Emily shared some excellent adventure advice, so make sure you check out the video!
Winter adventurer Emily Ford has one wish: “It’s the thing I always wish I could give to people as a gift – just grabbing a tent and sleeping outside for multiple nights." The second installment of our 5-part series with The Great Outdoors, one of the UK's premiere outdoor magazines, delves into Emily’s latest adventures , both the physical and spiritual aspects. She talks about her winter completion of Wisconsin's 1200-mile Ice Age trail and her most recent winter ski crossing of Minnesota’s Boundary Water Canoe Area with her four-legged companion Diggins. The two encountered blizzard conditions but stayed warm and secure inside their Nammatj GT. Click here to read the complete story.
We're hiring!
Would you like to work with a small, prestigious, and global company with strong growth that has been making some of the highest quality and most sought-after outdoor equipment in the world for over 50 years? A family-owned and operated concern with a dedicated focus on nature and the environment? Are you driven by building relationships and taking care of customers? If this, along with a genuine passion for the outdoors, is what makes you thrive, we want you! We are currently hiring a new Customer Relations Star to join our US office in Redmond, Washington!
We are looking for an outgoing, enthusiastic, multitasker with attention to detail and a curiosity for others and for learning new things, who is enthusiastic about, and experienced in the outdoors. Having backpacking experience is important and having used our tents is a plus but not necessary.
We’ve been working with our friends at The Great Outdoors, a premiere outdoor magazine in the UK, to explore the question, “what is an adventurer?” by showcasing four people who make adventure a big part of their lives. Emily Ford, Will Copestake, Felicity Aston and Tilmann Graner have a strong sense of wonder and curiosity for the great outdoors and, like you, they get outside simply because they love to. Click here to read the first installment of the series and stayed tuned for each adventurer’s story.
Our newest video, “Important tip on how to peg your Hilleberg Anjan or Helags tent,” goes into detail on how to best pitch the Helags and Anjan tents to keep them happy and healthy.
Because of their structure, these models do not have door bands in their vestibules. The curved patterning on their outer tent walls would cause the door bands to lift off the ground and be a trip hazard.
For all our tents, we recommend that you peg down all the peg loops around the entire perimeter of the tent in most conditions. For the Anjan and Helags models specifically, regardless of whether you peg the other loops, it is important that you always at least peg down the peg loop by the pole next to the vestibule door, and that you pull this peg point a little bit forward.
Pitching your Anjan and Helags models this way prevents the pole from shifting when you open the vestibule door, which would put a lot of stress on the zipper and the surrounding fabric. Avoiding unnecessary strain will extend the lifetime of both your zipper and your tent – watch the video to see how it’s done!
For longtime Hilleberg Ambassadors Günter Wamser and Sonja Endlweber, horseback riding is a way of living – not just a way of traveling. The nomadic pair and their four horses have been steadily making a massive loop around the American West for over a decade and a half. Our latest video follows just a small segment of their journey along part of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington State. Günter and Sonja reflect on how their lifestyle came to be and the many years and countless nights they’ve spent in their Keron GT. You can check out their Instagram and Facebook for updates as they continue their travels. And for more details about their past trips and tents they’ve used, you can check out our Hilleberg Tent Talk Video with Günter Wamser and Sonja Endlweber.
Hilleberg Ambassador Sarah McNair-Landry, unlike most, doesn’t think of Baffin Island as a frigid, barren and isolated island in Northern Canada. To her, it’s home, and the perfect winter playground for her pastimes: kite skiing and surfing, dog mushing, whitewater kayaking and rock climbing. Between being a multi-sport athlete, documentary videographer and Master Polar Guide, she has found time to sit down with Petra Hilleberg for a Tent Talk. The two go over everything from getting into winter camping to navigating polar bear country and recap some of Sarah’s past expeditions across the globe, discuss what’s next for her, and outline how she chooses tents for her adventures.
The Keron and Keron GT models are Sarah’s “home away from home” during her multi-month-long arctic trips. “They’re just bomb-proof,” she says, “I just have full confidence that they’ll be fine in any storm, which is huge when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and in these super windy, remote locations” You can view the full Hilleberg Tent Talk Video with Sarah McNair-Landry on our YouTube channel.
At Hilleberg, we’re passionate about the details. Our latest video takes a deep dive into guy lines, which a lot of people don’t think about that much. To us, they’re so important that we developed our very own proprietary lines that we pre-attach to every Hilleberg Tent and Tarp.
The video goes over everything from basic setup and line runner adjustment, to pitching with terrain or site constraints. We always recommend using guy lines, in any terrain, on any model, so you are prepared for anything you might encounter. Each tent has an optimal guy line configuration that is found in the model’s individual pitching video.
We are happy that prominent German magazine, Outdoor Magazin, named the Helags 2 “Test Winner” in a review of lightweight trekking tents. They said, “No other model in the field combines low weight, robustness, comfort and weather protection as skillfully as the Helags,” and gave it the highest rating of “Outstanding” or “Überragend” in German. Take a look at the online article here.
Learn more about the Helags 2 here.
Hilleberg Ambassador Kerstin Langenberger has a love for conservation and adventure in harsh climates like few others do. As an experienced photographer and nature guide, she has spent much of her life exploring the arctic regions of Europe. She and Petra Hilleberg recently got together for a Tent Talk where they went over what it’s like to travel solo, why Kerstin is so passionate about climate activism, and how she has made an impact with her photography. Head over to our YouTube channel to check out the full Hilleberg Tent Talk video.
For treks with frequent and harsh storm conditions Kerstin uses a Nammatj, “I really love this tent, it’s huge inside, it gives me so much space, it’s relatively light and it’s just perfect for my arctic travels,” she says. She also often uses her Akto, “I like that it’s small as well because you can pitch it up everywhere without having to think much about it,” she says. In the places where Kerstin often travels, weather can turn very foul very suddenly, so she counts on both of her tents to keep her safe and secure.
To find out more about Kerstin, you can visit her website here: www.arctic-dreams.com
Not every adventure needs to be a remote multi-day trip. Sometimes, adventure is right out your back door! Hilleberg Team member Jon Dykes recently rode from his house and had a fun – and exciting – overnight bicycle adventure, with some unexpected adverse weather providing the element of the unknown. Watch the video about Jon’s trip here!
Jon and a friend decided to take the Helags. “Here in the Seattle area wet weather is always likely, so we chose the Yellow Label Helags for its light weight, strength and overall comfort. We’re both big guys and loved having plenty of space in the tent to sleep and get out of the wind — which there was a lot of! The Helags held up beautifully,” Jon said.
This year we are proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our manufacturing facility in Rapla, Estonia! A profound thanks to our entire Estonian team for all that they do, and big congratulations to them for being featured in a recent article in the Äripäev journal. Check out the article (in Estonian) here!
We also thank everyone who shared extra love for the Estonian team on our Facebook and Instagram posts! One of our favorite comments was from Jimmy Andersson on Facebook,
“I bought an Akto in 1999 and replaced it with a Niak in 2019. The tents are sewed by the same person. Wonderful to see that you take care of your staff so well that [they] stay for 20 years at least.”
If you missed the posts, you can find them here:
In this Tent Talk, Petra sits down with Hilleberg Ambassador and remarkable adventurer Lina Hallebratt. They discuss everything from how she got started long-distance backpacking, to her back-to-back White Ribbon trips, to what she thinks about when choosing a tent, to how she camps with her dogs – even how her Chihuahua Bounty usually goes with her on her amazing adventures in both summer and winter!
Their conversation is in Swedish, but there are English closed captions (CCs) on the YouTube video.
Every year, the editors of Germany’s Outdoor Magazin evaluate the most innovative products in the outdoor market, and, after extensive lab and field tests, choose a single product for each category as Editors' Choice. We are honored that they have named the Helags 2 an Editors’ Choice Award winner for Best Tent 2022.
Editor-in-Chief Alex Krapp wrote, "With the Helags, which has been perfected down to the smallest detail, Hilleberg offers the ideal lightweight tent for tours in spring, summer, and autumn."
The Helags 2 joins a number of previous Editors’ Choice tents, including the Niak, Anaris, and Soulo.
To read more about Outdoor Magazin Editors’ Choice Award click here.
Learn more about the Helags 2 here.
Trailspace.com recently put up an in-depth review of the Helags 3. Reviewer Sean Van Cleve gives 5 out of 5 stars to the Helags 3 and goes into great detail about pitching configurations, living and storage space, ventilation, and stability. Check out Sean's review here.
Get your 2022/2023 Hilleberg Tent Handbook now at www.hilleberg.com/catalog.
We've just released the Soulo & Soulo BL pitching video, which covers everything you need to know about pitching your Soulo. Along with basic pitching instructions, this video goes in depth on guy line use, pitching in stormy conditions, using your tent in the snow, adding a footprint, and different ways to pack your tent, as well as using the outer and inner tents on their own, and using the inner or optional Mesh Inner Tent with a Tarp. Throughout the video there are also tips to getting the most out of your tent.
Links to the English, Swedish, and German videos are below.
We are proud to announce that the Niak has been honored with the Guides Choice Award from the American Alpine Institute (AAI). The Niak is our 6th tent to earn this designation, joining the Keron, Nallo, Unna, Anjan, and Saivo. The AAI Guides Choice Award is based on comparative evaluations by professional climbing guides who put equipment through rigorous field testing around the world during one or several climbing seasons.
Guide James Pierson says of the Niak, "I have the Niak, and I really love it. It's lighter than the Unna, just as roomy, and can stand up to all but the harshest of conditions. I had it on a Mt. Baker trip in June where we had 60 mph sustained winds, with probably 70-80 mph gusts and it survived."
To read more about Guides Choice Award click here.
Learn more about the Niak here.
Our latest short video, How to Clean Your Tent, gives our recommendations for cleaning your tent, both in the field and at home. Keeping the zippers free from grit, washing dirt off the tent fabric and ensuring your pegs and poles are in good condition all help maximize both your tent's performance and its longevity.
We are very happy that Germany's prominent Outdoor Magazin named the Helags 3 Test Winner in their recently published Trekking Guide. Giving it a rating of "Outstanding", they praised its luxurious spaciousness, light weight, versatility and ventilation, as well as simple and quick pitching and high-quality materials. Learn more about the Helags here or order our 50th anniversary tent handbook here.
In our latest short video, we cover how the Door Bands and Ground Straps on our tents work, what we use them for, and how they can be adjusted if needed. Read more on our FAQ page, or feel free to contact us with any questions, either by emailing tentmaker@hilleberg.com outside of Europe or tentmaker@hilleberg.se in Europe, or via our Contact page.
Our latest Yellow Label tent, the Helags, is here! Very light and roomy, the two-vestibule Helags is available in both a 2- and a 3-person version and is perfect for any warm weather adventure. Learn more about the Helags here, or dive deep with the just-released Helags Pitching Video. Links to English, Swedish, and German below.
Order your free 50th anniversary Handbook at www.Hilleberg.com/Catalog
We just posted little video where Petra Hilleberg shows you our new Trekking Poles. She goes into details about their construction and about why we decided to offer them: They work perfectly as poles for our Anaris tent and Mesh Tent 1, our Tarps and our Mesh Box and Mesh Ridge shelters. They are also, of course, excellent sturdy and light hiking poles!
We just posted our Anaris Pitching Video, which shows both how to pitch our Yellow Label Anaris as well as its remarkable versatility. Very light, roomy, and airy, the two-person Anaris is a great choice for backpacking and other snow-free adventures and is easily light enough to be a mansion for the solo traveler who wants extra comfort. The Anaris pitches with trekking poles or by suspending the ridge ends, and can be configured in a myriad of ways: Roll away one or both doors on both vestibules for even more venting and views; flip one wall of the outer tent over the other or roll both walls up for multiple customized warm weather options; or use the outer tent on its own as a highly flexible “super tarp.” Go to the Anaris page for more.
Below are the videos in English, Swedish and German.
In the Fall of 2019, Petra Hilleberg sat down with Günter Wamser and Sonja Endlweber to record this Hilleberg Tent Talk, covering Gunter and Sonja’s epic, decades-long nomadic adventure of traveling, by horse, from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska and beyond. The pair tell Petra about traveling on horseback through South and Latin America, Mexico and North America, their life as true nomads, living with horses, riding Mustang horses trained by prison inmates, and, of course, living in Hilleberg tents. Their stories paint vivid pictures of wilderness, of people, of self-discovery, and of life-long adventure.
While Günter is an aircraft engineer by training, he discovered early that travel was his calling, and began doing long motorcycle trips in Africa and South America. In 1994, he switched to horses and began his long ride from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska – an adventure that turned into a way of life. Sonja Endlweber worked as a business consultant, but, after watching a slide presentation by Günter, she discovered that her true calling was to join Günter and ride through North America.
For 2021, we are excited to introduce three new tents: the Helags 2 and 3 in the Yellow Label series, and the Soulo BL in the Black Label series.
The new Helags is available in a two- and a three-person version, both with two entrances/two vestibules, and both remarkably roomy and very light: 2.4 kg/5 lbs 5 oz packed weight for the Helags 2 and 2.6 kg/5lbs 12 oz for the Helags 3.
The Black Label version of the one-person Red Label Soulo, the new Soulo BL has the same surprisingly roomy, fully freestanding construction with integrated vestibule, but with Black Label Kerlon 1800 outer tent fabric and 10 mm poles. It has a packed weight of 2.8 kg/ 6 lbs 3 oz, just 400 g/14 oz more than the Red Label version.
We are also introducing optional Mesh Inner Tents for the Helags 2 and 3. These will fit into the Kaitum 2 and 3 as well. In addition, we have a new accessory peg, the Y-Peg XL, which shares the same three-finned cross section as our other Y pegs but in a longer and thicker profile.
Read more
We are very excited that Fish Alaska Magazine has given the Nallo 3 GT their Editors' Choice Award for 2020! Read more about the Nallo 3 GT here or check out the full list of the award-winning gear here.
In this Talking Tents, Petra sits down with Alasdair Turner, who is a bit of an outdoor Renaissance Man. A professional mountain guide and photographer, Alastair has climbed all over the world, worked with science expeditions in Antarctica as well as with fish and wildlife scientists, explored the mountains with his young son, and has generally actively sought out what he calls the “dark, desolate places on the planet.” He and Petra discuss both his life-long outdoor journey and the variety of Hilleberg tents he uses when guiding all over the world, on photo trips, and while camping with his son, and even how a Keron 4 GT became a honeymoon suite in the high mountains of Alaska.
We are honored that Outdoor Magazine in Germany, gave the Anaris their 2020 Editors’ Choice Best Tent Award. Calling it a “versatile lightweight tent in top quality”, the editors wrote: “In contrast to other ultralight tents, the Hilleberg Anaris brings low weight, weather protection and durability together”, and that “it is the diverse set-up options that make the Anaris the ultimate ultralight tent tip”. In summary, “There may be lighter tents, but none can be used as versatile and is as durable and comfortable as the new Hilleberg Anaris.”
