Hilleberg Akto Review: Best Solo Tent

Hillberg, small The modest Swedish company has quietly driven out the toughest, strongest, windiest, resistant, best-made backcountry shelters to buy for decades. AKTO was first released in 1995 and only saw one design change every year. This is why Hillberg has something like a cult supporter. The Hillberg tents are also very expensive, “Is it worth it?”

To investigate, I asked Hilleberg to send me the iconic four seasons, one person, a hoop-style tent, Akto. It retails at $740 (you can find it because of the low sales), and it’s not cheap, but after nearly two weeks of use this fall and winter, I think it’s definitely worth the money. Akto is Best tent I’ve ever used With a very wide margin. It’s not perfect, but I’m sure it’s the best solo tent you can buy and the only one made of nylon that might have a shot to make us Buy it for your life guide.

Think it’s different

Photo: Scott Gilbertson

When Akto arrived on the scene in 1995, it was a groundbreaking tent. (For reference, the name means “single” in the language of Sami, an indigenous person in North Scandinavia.) At the time, almost no one made four people. Season One Person tents were not made from silicone nylon – it is now a standard fabric for lightweight tents. And no one was making a hoop tent. Fast forward to today, and the majority of the outdoor industry is making such a thing (e.g. Tarptent’s Scarpa 1),Akto remains more or less in the same tent. When something goes well, don’t ruin it. (Technically, Hilleberg added a small vent hood on top of the flydoor at one point. I’m glad they did that. That might be my favorite feature.)

Enough history, let’s enter the tent. Unless you’re using ultra-light tents in the cottage industry, it’s probably very different from most backpacking tents you’ve used.

There are two things that make Hilleberg’s Akto stand out. The first is the hoop style design. Another thing that makes this tent different is the fabric that is stronger and lighter (although perhaps not super light) than most other tents I have tested. More details are below.

Akto is not independent. The design consists of a single curved pole in the center of the tent, like a hoop on a covered wagon. The ends then seep out of its curved central pole with two stakes at each end. A freestanding design has several advantages so that you can easily move after the tent is set up. But after spending time with AKTO and other non-state designs, I found out that the trade-offs were OK. Skip the freestanding design and you get a light tent with a low low-end wind profile, but still strong enough to change the wind at night. It’s also easier to pitch.

Photo: Scott Gilbertson