GearJunkie Tested & Loved the Hideaway Solo 24 (Formerly the Sidekick)
It is one thing for us to explain why the Hideaway Solo 24 works.
It is another thing for someone to sleep on it.
GearJunkie recently tested the Hideaway Solo 24 (formerly the Sidekick) sleeping platform in a real vehicle camping setup, and their review gives a useful outside look at what the Solo 24 is built to do.
Not just how it looks on a product page.
How it works when someone is actually sleeping in the back of a vehicle.
Built for Smaller Vehicles and Simple Setups
The Hideaway Solo 24 is the narrowest sleeping platform in the Hideaway lineup. At 24" wide, it was designed for smaller SUVs, hatchbacks, and vehicles where space matters.
That narrower size is the point.
Not everyone wants to turn the entire back of their vehicle into a bed. Some people want room to sleep on one side and keep gear, a cooler, a dog, or another setup option on the other. The Solo 24 gives you a flat, comfortable sleeping surface without taking over the whole cargo area.
That is one of the reasons GearJunkie focused on its adaptability.
The Solo 24 can work for solo vehicle camping, compact car camping setups, weekend road trips, and people who want to use the vehicle they already own instead of buying a dedicated camper.
A Better Way to Sleep in Your Vehicle
Anyone who has tried to sleep directly on folded seats knows the problems.
The surface is rarely flat. The gaps are annoying. The angle is wrong. Gear ends up everywhere.
What seemed simple in the driveway can feel a lot less simple at midnight.
The Hideaway Solo 24 is designed to solve that problem.
It creates a level sleeping platform inside your vehicle while preserving storage underneath for gear. That under-platform space matters because good vehicle camping is not just about where you sleep. It is also about where everything else goes.
GearJunkie noted the Solo 24's useful storage, tool-free setup, and lightweight construction. The aluminum frame keeps the platform sturdy without making it unnecessarily heavy, while the 500D Cordura rolltop provides a practical surface for everyday use.
Tool-Free Setup, Real Storage, Better Sleep
One of the most important parts of any car camping setup is how easy it is to use again.
If setup takes too long, the system becomes one more thing to manage. If it is awkward to adjust, it starts to feel like a project. If it blocks your gear, you end up fighting the setup instead of using it.
That is why we care so much about simplicity.
GearJunkie highlighted the Solo 24's easy, tool-free setup and the way it opens up usable storage below the sleeping surface. That combination is the heart of the Hideaway system: a flat place to sleep, gear organized underneath, and a vehicle that still works for the rest of your life.
The most important part of the review, though, was comfort.
Despite the narrow 24" width, the reviewer found it comfortable to sleep on and noted that it gave him enough room to rest without feeling like he was about to roll off.
That matters because comfort changes whether people want to do this again.
A vehicle camping setup does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be comfortable, practical, and easy enough to keep using.
GearJunkie’s Takeaway
GearJunkie gave the Hideaway Sidekick an overall score of 8.4 out of 10.
We are grateful for the review because it reflects the way we hope people use this product: not as part of some huge lifestyle change, but as a simple way to make the vehicle they already own more useful.
The Hideaway Solo 24 is not trying to turn every vehicle into a camper.
It is trying to make sleeping in your vehicle easier, flatter, more organized, and more comfortable.
For a lot of people, that is enough to get started.
Read the Full GearJunkie Review
GearJunkie’s full review goes deeper into the hands-on testing, setup, construction, storage, comfort, and overall use of the Hideaway Solo 24.
If you are considering a compact sleeping platform for your vehicle, it is worth reading their full take.
