Outdoor Gear Review 4 Season Tents: Stone Glacier Solus vs. Hilleberg Soulo
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2024
- The raffle for these two tents is live! Go to www.mindful-reviews.com/ to join and buy tickets. I will update this description as soon as the tickets sell out.
This review has been over 2 years in the making. I have put these two 4 season shelters from Hilleberg and Stone Glacier through the wringer spending more than 20 nights in each of them in temps down to -25c, -10f with upwards of 12”-16” snowfall on some nights. Both the Sky Solus and the Soulo are premium tents but they also both have their flaws. Watch this video to learn what worked for me and what didn’t with these two tents.
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Raffle details
2:03 - A note on specialized shelters
4:20 - My personal experience with both tents
5:36 - Categories of comparison
7:45 - In the field footage
15:11 - Sleeping pad size comparisons
27:36 - Price
27:59 - Advertised dimensions
32:57 - Practical vestibule space
33:05 - Practical space inside the tent
34:15 - Tent fabrics
36:30 - Doors
37:23 - Weight & Weight honesty
40:59 - Tent pegs
41:17 - Ease of setup
42:11 - Build quality
42:35 - Pole quality
44:26 - Weather resistance
45:10 - Breathability/Condensation
46:10 - Heat retention
47:05 - Personal X factor
52:53 - Instagram Q&A
56:44 - Final scores
Jay Nichol
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I have stone Glacier skyscraper 2P tent. When I bought mine it was $545, SG now sells the solis for $545 and the skyscraper for $645. The skyscraper is still cheaper and lighter and roomier than the hilleberg solu. The skyscraper has saved me in 2 different unexpected snow storms dumping 12-16inches and the vestibules are huge and also the cabin of the tent. I’m sure the Hilleberg is more robust in durability.
That skyscraper is a damn nice tent.
Kick ass review man, definitely both seem to have their strengths,both awesome tents! Appreciate the reviews 👍
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I just got back from a 16 day kodiak brown bear hunt in the stone glacier solus and a 6 day fall of 2022 alpine black bear hunt with it. Your comments around the solus are similar to my thoughts on its design. Firstly the tent is absolutely bullet proof in harsh weather. with the generous guy lines given the tent is an absolute fortress in snow, hail, freezing rain, 60 mph sustained winds as experienced in Kodiak this month and last. I can say I feel confident trusting this tent with my life in very remote and harsh conditions. I also have grown to like the door for being able to fully sit up at the entrance and even kneel to relieve ones self in the night. With that said, on heavy rain days its darn near impossible to keep rain out of the tent when dressing and booting up. I didn’t have any issues or problems with sliding my rifle and stone glacier 7900 under the vestibule from the outside by simply unhooking the bottom peg on the vestibule. One thing I noticed is you didnt attach a 3rd guy line between the two on the vestibule. With the 3rd guy line in place you get a bit more room to work in the vestibule and can easily operate a jetboil inside it. The 3rd guy line adds a noticeable amount of additional square footage to each vestibule so that is something to try. the space holes are strange but am getting use to them. I think I would prefer a zipper for access to the vestibule if I had the choice. the head vent is of biggest concern for me as in very rainy situations the vent will leak water into the tent if you have it “too open” which is a balancing act of condensation and waterproofness. I unfortunately learned this the hard way when getting blown off our glassing hill and coming back to a very wet western mountaineering Kodiak bag and some standing water under the pad. Yikes! That was scary but was able to get in the bag and fully dry it out over a couple days. Thanks for the reviews! I hope my additional comments help. My next trip with it will be a fall sheep hunt and then a later fall goat hunt. cheers!
Really appreciate those additional insights man. It’s so hard to nail all the details on one video so love when guys like you reach out with extra info. Also super jealous of hunting on Kodiak. Bucket list hunt for me for sure.
Kick ass review man, definitely both seem to have a purpose but both awesome tents! Appreciate the reviews 👍
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With only experience on the red label Soulo, I can say that it's my go to-'almost all season tent'. Especially for hiking in favourite Scotland.
At 6,2/1.88cm, the inside offers enough space for comfortable nights and using a mummy mat (25" wide at shoulders), it allows for storing a full 65 liter backpack in the vestibule towards the foot end.
And still always space to make my dinner or morning coffee in the vestibule with the outer door closed when rain and wind is battering the tent.
I've got a spacious >1.1kg 2 person ultra light tent for solo hikes, which is awesome in moderate weather/summer but sucks in brutal winds.
When I do multi-week hikes in sometimes remote mountain areas, I'll always bring the Soulo. Just because of the reliability and weather unpredictability over such a period.
Traded in an almost 1kg shovel for an 80 grams one and bought a down sleeping bag, considerably lighter than my old synthetic one.
That balanced out the Soulo weight gain.
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“First a word from our sponsor” 😂
I finally sold out lol
Great stuff as always 👍
Thanks brother!
Great Review! 5’ 6” 158 never has a room issue. 😁💪
Definitely jealous as far as shelter options go!
Amazing video sir. Thank you so much.
My pleasure. Appreciate the feedback.
Great review - as always. I've been looking for an under 6lb 3 person freestanding tent that is 3+ seasons; Hilleberg has some of the toughest 3 season tents around, but also some of the heaviest.
Yeah that’s a tough one. Definitely a weight penalty with Hilleberg but pays off with the durability.
Excellent review, bravo. After long and painful searches on different sites, I choose a tent for climbing 7 thousandth mountains between Hilleberg nalla 2 and SG skyscraper 2. They are approximately the same in terms of characteristics, but the skyscraper is more convenient in every respect, and Hilleberg products seem more reliable due to the thickness of the fabric by more than 2 times and name. After your review, I will buy a skyscraper.
Take a closer look at it, it is much longer, more functional and more comfortable than your tent.
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Really detailed video, thanks. I had the Solus too and have posted a few vids on CZcams ( I used to have the Soulo but for me it's too heavy and I have a 2kg max target for my shelters). I found the portholes a pain in the *ss too however I did store all my gear and cooked in them too. If you pull the wings out you can actually use your stove OK. I queried this portal design with Tim at Slingfin and he was really responsive. I suggested he change them to rainbow zippers but his argument was that zippers are unreliable and freeze ( though the main doors are zippers so that doesn't really stack up to me ). I also didn't like the way the rear vent pools water and pours it in the inner. Again he took on board some ideas I gave and I think that will change in future models. It's a quirky design but I was super impressed with its strength although the thin silnylon does tend to bow in over the frame in high winds. Andrew
Thanks for the extra input!
SlingFin make some tents for Stone Glacier. For example the SG Skyscraper is a SF Crossbow with slightly different denier on the fly sheet.
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Great review
Thanks man!
Thank you for another very good and detailed review. I think I've seen all your tent rewievs and it's interesting to hear about your experiences. :) I would like to mention the red label Hilleberg Unna, which has some similarities with the tents in this video. The internal dimensions are 230 x 110 cm and the height is 100 cm. Then I have room for both a large sleeping pad and my backpack inside the tent and I can also sit upright on my sleeping pad. I am 183 cm/6 feet tall. Hilleberg says the tent doesn't have a vestibule, but there is still room for my 100 liter Osprey backpack out there if I put it on its side, which is handy if the backpack is wet. The fly goes all the way down to the ground, but it is possible to lift it up and fasten with loops and toggles on both sides for better ventilation when needed. It has 6 guy lines and can withstand a lot of wind and snow, and it is also possible to use double tent poles (or 10 mm poles from Hilleberg Staika) to make it even more sturdy. The tent weighs 2.25 kg on my scale. I use it from late fall to early spring and am very happy with it. :)
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Great review. As always your style of back-packing matters. I carry almost all my gear in small light sil-nylon organization bags. The little drawstring openings to the vestibules work for me as I can take my mini bags that don't get used at night and organize into the vestibule of choice. Example..optics/ food/survival & medical gear.Things I will use I keep in the tent. I take my empty backpack and it goes under my pad at the foot for extra insulation or slid into the vestibule side flat. I love all the organizing pockets in the SG (designed by Slingfin) tents. Zippers are the biggest point of failure so I understand a company wanting to minimize their use. I have Hillebergs but tend to not use them back-packing as they are made of such bomb-proof and heavy materials that for the space they are just too heavy. I use them canoeing or for all terrain vehicle use. The whispy fabric SG tents need a floor saver which does add back some weight.
In the end... I went with the Skyscraper 2 from SG a two man tent that weighs about the same as a Hilleberg Soulo and twice the space with two full size vestibules. Solo use ck...my son or wife comes..ck. I end up hating all solo tents. No versatility..and a coffin feel.
Great points. Also great tent choice.
Awesome review. Could you post some pics of the tents in their storage bags? I have had a difficult time finding footage of tents as they would be packed. Thanks!!
If you look at the time stamps I have footage of the tents packed up near the end.
Hey. Just responding to Episode 119 Sheet Hunt Gear List and this video:
Hilleberg - use a proprietary hot sewing technique so you don't need to seam seal. I've owned the Soulo red label (with a footprint circa 2.6kg for mountain backpack hunting in NZ). It is a bomb shelter and really is in an elite four season class compared to the Stone Glacier tent. While you might say it is a Winter only option, it has saved me in big tops winds at night that I doubt a lighter 3 season tent would cope with given the design, pole and tent fabric construction. For big conditions, Hilleberg!
Your Sheep Hunt - you might consider the Rincon over the Owhyee if footprint size is not a issue. If you are using a Exo K7000, your going to need the space. I can comfortably fit myself, a dog on a thermarest z-pad and my K3200 with about room for another pack in the Rincon. The Owhyee looks great for a single person summer option, ultralight set up as the sleeping a vestibule area is going to be taken up by your large pack. Both the insert and main tent will fit in the insert bag with a bit of effort.
Exo - with you on the stretch pocket and U-shape zipper as I use the Exo Dry Bag insert This is killer overall individual canon ball individual dry bags. I am able to pack all my dry gear quickly and safely and have hunted in wet conditions and never had issues. Means you can pack optimally - filling spaces.
Lighters - brilliant, why would you not? I always carry two at a minimum
Aziak Bino Clamp - 8grams versus the Swaro Universal Adaptor (140g from memory) and big and bulky. Be interested to see how the Argali walking poles work out for individual bino use
Fabric Rips - take a strip of Tear Aid, used this to repair a lot of things including shoe fabric
Great insights.
That Stone Glacier is a rebranded SlingFin HotBox. So if you prefer an Orange/White colourway you could check them out. They do claim that the side vestibules can be used for storage if you peg out the snow skirts to create a bit more space - but yes, that does seem a stretch. As an alternative winter shelter you could also check out their WindSaber, which is getting very positive reviews (though you'll have to lay out Hilleberg-level money).
Haven’t looked at the windsaber. I’ll check it out. Thanks.
I have the windsaber, it is god tear. I just wish I could get it in green. Check out the portal 2 in green and brown for summer hunts.
This was a good comparison. I’m currently looking for a winter setup and was considering the soulo. I have the Niak and I wish I could get that tent in a 4 season. The Unna is interesting but I can’t pull the trigger on a tent with such a shallow vestibule. I also don’t think it can handle above treeline conditions. After this video I think the soulo is definitely too small for me. I’m 6’1” and I have wide shoulders. Have to put my pad diagonally in the Niak. I don’t personally like the design of the SG so I’ll be looking for a different setup but I appreciate the information.
I ran into a guy using his Niak in deep winter conditions this year while I had the SG. he was doing fine. In hindsight I think that Niak is tough enough for almost any winter conditions for people who know what they’re doing. This was like -20c with severe snowfall.
Gr8 review m8
Thanks!
Excellent review! Very in-depth. One thing I am curious about is the inside guy system that the Solus has. Slingfin makes a pretty big deal about their truss system and the internal guy system and that it is supposed to strengthen the the tent during high wind conditions. I noticed you did not mention anything about the internal guy system. When in the tent during heavy winds did you use the system? If so, any comments on it's effectiveness?
It's a great question and to be honest not something I have researched thoroughly. Appreciate you bringing it up, I'll look into it more for the next video I have with a tent that has this system.
Who is this guy?!?! What have you done with Grizzly-Jay with his bushy beard? LOL Would love to see a review of some of the new Argali tents down the road.
🤣🤣🤣 the Owyhee is on the way and I’ll be running it for sheep in august.
I don't really see the issue with weight. I carry either an Akto or Anjan 2 inside my pack when in the Scottish mountains, both weigh about 4 lbs. Adding 2.5 lbs isn't a big deal, carrying 22.5 lbs rather than 20 lbs in your pack is nothing, used to carry the Tarra wegihing 10lbs and sometimes a nallo at the same time ( 5.5 lbs ? )..
That’s all well and good when you’re carrying 20lbs. My average hunting pack is 70lbs for a 12 day backcountry hunt. I still have to get the animal out when I kill it, adding between 75-125lbs depending how many trips I make. If I add 2.5lbs with every piece of gear the job not only gets very uncomfortable but my likelihood of success drops dramatically. Unfortunately for me 2.5lbs is absolutely not “nothing”
How much wind can stone glasier solus withstand? 80? 100 km/h? Does the tent flap loudly in strong winds?
I have no way of quantifying that. It is very robust. And I can't say I noticed any noteworthy flapping apart from what all tents do.
The "portholes" in the Sky Glacier are vents for air flow
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looks very similar to slingfin
Did you listen to the review? It’s made by slingfin.
Why not go floor less TeePee Peax, Luxe, seek outside etc?
Totally could. Just different tools for different jobs.
Now put them up on a mountain in 80 mph wind and see which one will save your life. There'll be no comparison.
I agree the Hille is tougher but the SG is no slouch. The SG is really just a re-coloured Slingfin Hotbox and I've seen people take those some pretty gnarly places.
The stone glacier looks like an awful tent there is nothing i like about it at all, it would be the soulo all the way👍
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