are hardware wallets still a thing? which one is the most solid right now?

So couple notes. 

1.Ledger most popular and kinda works, but they use 3rd party libraries that got hacked and propagated in their connection interface, fixed within a day but produced shitstorm on socials. Dishonest policy about backup/restore workflow, there is possibility for authorities to request it via court.

Developer (Haskell, Rust) / Decentralized AI / Web3 Data Analytics

2. Trezor seems to lack funding and struggles 

3. GridPlus has interesting concept by using key card for authorisation and support for multisig

I would say cold storage is necessary, whatever option available should be used. As only alternative I can think of is multi layer auth similar to Bravos/Starknet wallet