24/02/2021

Brand Heritage: Hilleberg

Self-sufficiency informed Bo Hilleberg’s philosophy from the outset.

BRAND HERITAGE: HILLEBERG

Self-sufficiency informed Bo Hilleberg’s philosophy from the outset.

Words: James McCormack

(This story originally featured in Wild #172)

It was the early 1970s, and Bo Hilleberg—a Swedish forester who’d just established a company to sell forestry equipment—was facing what was, in his words, “a huge flop”: his first tent. Hilleberg had been in the forestry game for some years now, but soon after starting his company he realised he wanted to turn to what he knew and loved—the outdoor life. And that meant camping.

He’d grown up in Sweden with a forest out his back door. He spent as much time in it as possible, fascinated by the seasons, listening to the wind and howling foxes. And he read stories of adventurers and explorers; it seemed natural to him to become a forester. But military service was compulsory in Sweden at the time, and so Hilleberg was sent to train with the mountain hunters in Kiruna, far above the Arctic Circle. Self-sufficiency in the mountains there was paramount. No matter what the weather, each man had to carry his equipment, look after himself, cook and survive. It was training that would influence Hilleberg’s future approach to gear.

Out of the military and after some years in forestry, Hilleberg established his eponymously-named forestry supplies company. But—in part because of his outdoorsy background, in part because of his 1972 marriage to Renate Neuner (who unlike Hilleberg had sewing skills)—the company turned quickly to tent-making.

“It was a revolutionary advance. OutsideOnline named this 1975 version of the Hilleberg Keb tent in its list of ‘The Most Influential Gear of All Time’, a compilation of the 100 most important outdoor inventions ever.”

And it was here the husband and wife team were encountering failure. Hilleberg had been frustrated with tents that had inners and outers requiring separate pitching. In the Swedish mountains, blustery conditions and rain are unfortunately common. A tent’s inner would frequently get wet before the outer was pitched; the outer meanwhile would act like a sail in the wind. It inspired them to try something different: A foam-backed waterproof fabric. The idea was that the foam would reduce condensation buildup. And it worked…for a few days, after which everything got wet, and the foam layer peeled off.

The failure inspired them to try something different, and simpler: Sewing the inner and outer together. The Keb, as this new design was called, was the first commercial tent to offer simultaneous inner and outer pitching. It was an immediate success. Hilleberg originally envisioned tents as a sideline for his business; flourishing sales meant it quickly became the mainstay.Further innovations soon followed. At the time, polyurethane-coated polyester was the standard material used in tent production. But in 1975, Bo Hilleberg received a fabric sample from a Belgian textile supplier. It was lighter and more waterproof, and when Hilleberg cut the sample and tried to tear it, he found he couldn’t. It was silicone-coated, and because of the manner in which the silicone wraps around—and bonds so strongly to—the polyester, the material’s tear strength is greatly increased. Even today, PU-coated polyesters commonly used in tent production have a tear strength of 2-3kg. This new material, which became known as Kerlon 1500, had six to seven times that: 15kg. Hilleberg immediately saw the potential, and incorporated it into his tents. It was a revolutionary advance. OutsideOnline named this 1975 version of the Hilleberg Keb tent in its list of ‘The Most Influential Gear of All Time’, a compilation of the 100 most important outdoor inventions ever.

In the years since, Hilleberg as a company has remained utterly focussed on tents, never branching out into a wider product range. (It’s also remained a family company.) Designs have, of course, changed. The Keb is no longer offered; instead a tunnel tent, the Keron, released in 1981, is now the company’s signature offering. And it introduced a free-standing dome tent range in 1990. But what seems to have remained consistent through the years are the lessons learnt in Bo Hilleberg’s early outdoor days concerning self-reliance in harsh conditions in the Swedish mountains. And that means strength. The company puts it simply: “Greater strength equals greater safety.”

Invariably, this adds a few extra grams. Eschewing the common contemporary trend of saving weight but sacrificing strength, Hilleberg state they don’t wish to make the lightest weight tents. That’s not to say their tents are anachronistically heavy; they offer several 2-person 1.7kg options, suitable for less inclement conditions. But it’s not hard to see that Hilleberg’s tent offerings—especially those of the four-season flavour, which the company admits are not featherweight—are influenced by their founder’s early experiences. The strongest tents at the lowest weight for their usage, states Hilleberg. When conditions turn foul, it’s nice to know.

Written by
James McCormack

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