What is your favorite cold/4 season tent?

We've rented the Nemo Moki and really liked it, but before buying one, wondering if there are any other or better options that people have tried.

Thanks.

Trying to convince Mr.MN to let me buy this.

Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Deluxe 8-Person Tent

I'm using a Hilleberg Unna, a spacious solo. I like that it's long enough for me and has a big side door. I just bring the outer and a footprint in the winter, and pile snow around the perimeter if I want to have it 10-15 degrees warmer inside than out (leaving a couple of vent holes). Or if the weather isn't too bad I can sleep under the stars, it's pretty light and I don't mind taking it along for peace of mind even if I don't use it. If you need a bigger tent Hilleberg has lots of models to choose from. This is my first time uploading photos, hope I'm doing it right...

I've done a fair bit of winter camping, and none of it so far was in anything actually *designed* as a four-season tent. There are basically four considerations you'll run into when looking at these:

1) Ability to stand up to high winds - this is a big deal for things marketed as "mountaineering" tents, but completely irrelevant for Minnesota use. I mean, maybe if you wanted to set up in the middle of a lake, but that has its own issues.

2) Ability to handle heavy snow load - this is a concern, but still on a much smaller scale than for mountaineering. Most tents will be okay as long as they have some sort of slope to them, and not just a big flat spot in the middle (ie avoid the car-camping dome ones). You can also push the limits if you remember to shake them vigorously from time to time.

3) My personal favorite, being as free-standing as possible. Staking in snow is a pain, and while it *can* be done with snow stakes and sand bags and deadman's sticks and whatnot, it's usually more hassle than I want to deal with, especially when it's subzero and I want to minimize how much have to use my hands for as much as possible. I usually look for something where there's one or two stake-out points required for the vestibule, but none *needed* for the main tent itself. (You can tolerate a somewhat flappy rainfly for snow in ways you can't for actual rain.)

4) Having a fair bit of ventilation available, but with options to close it up if it's windy and snow starts blowing through the mesh. For things that aren't designed for winter, you end up just trying to balance that out with a more moderate amount of mesh in spots that are located a little higher up. Not enough ventilation and you'll get giant stalactites of frost on the ceiling from your breath. Too much and you'll get snow inside and be a bit colder (although a tent isn't really keeping you warm - that's the sleeping bag's job).

My tents for winter use have included:
Walrus Rapede XV (could use more ventilation)
REI Half Dome (flatter top than ideal)
Exped Andromeda II (NOT freestanding)

My uncle swears by a North Face VE25, which is a legitimate mountaineering tent, but also quite heavy as a result. I'm willing to compromise more on other aspects to save weight, so go for more moderate designs.

For the last few years I've also been doing most of my winter camping in a hammock. If I were to buy another tent for this, the two I've had my eye on are the MSR Access and Big Agnes Copper Spur Expedition version. Of course, there are also the schools of thought in favor of just tarps, lean-tos, or "pyramid tents", as well as the whole canvas hot tent scene.

I recently picked up a Seek Outside 8- man Tipi from another member here on the site. I have only stayed in my portable ice house before, so I was pretty limited to staying on a lake. I am currently building a dogsled at the moment and this shelter will help keep the sled light, weighing in at around 7 pounds.

I use an Eureka Alpinelite XT. Good ventilation, solid build, perfect for one. Weight is about 8# . All in all great tent .

Base camp cold weather tents

Ditch the idea of a cold tent. Once you've hot tented, you'll never go back. Pure luxury.

awbrown: "Ditch the idea of a cold tent. Once you've hot tented, you'll never go back. Pure luxury.


"

I never gone tenting in January but if I ever do I am for sure going with a hot tent. I don't care how much it weighs as long as I am comfortable.

I'll never go over to the hot side! (well maybe someday...) I like the mobility of cold tenting or even just a bivy sack (but still being nice and warm in a toasty sleeping bag).

True that freestanding is a very useful feature, one of the attributes of the Unna that I failed to mention. Also true that a mountaineering tent is usually overkill for the bwca. But if you want something freestanding, and you're picky about anything else, the one thing that fits the bill might also happen to be a mountaineering tent.

That's more like a bomb shelter... it could hold about a foot of snow (probably more!). I used to have a Moss tent that was awesome, kinda like that one.

I agree, snow camping is really all about the daytime and a good sleeping bag

MinnesotaJenny: "I agree, snow camping is really all about the daytime and a good sleeping bag"

Get a hot tent and you'll enjoy your evenings as well. After all, winter is dominated by darkness.

Basking in a Tee shirt in the warmth of a crackling stove, sipping a wee glass of Canadian whiskey, in the company of a couple of good friends is hard to beat.

I think a lot if it is about what your are trying to accomplish.
For myself I prefer a hot tent because I am usually getting to a destination and base camping while spending the days gathering wood and fishing. If I was packing up and moving every day I would be more likely to use a 4 season tent.

Tandem cold weather pack tent







Solo cold weather pack tent

x2jmorris: "

awbrown: "Ditch the idea of a cold tent. Once you've hot tented, you'll never go back. Pure luxury.



"

I never gone tenting in January but if I ever do I am for sure going with a hot tent. I don't care how much it weighs as long as I am comfortable."

My Snowtrekker weighs 26lbs and my 4 dog stove weighs 12 pounds. Its not that heavy for what you get. I have portaged both in shoulder season in the bdubs and its very manageable. They are amazing tents. The weight is nothing on a pulk in winter as well. The tent keeps you warm but also allows you to dry your gear which is almost more important. Plus, its nice to be able to stay up after the sun goes down and play cards etc in the warm tent in winter. Cant say enough good things about my Snowtrekker.

If your cold tenting,I actually do not see a need for a 4 season tent in Minnesota. A good 3 season plus tent will do. Now a tent that is all mosquito netting will not do. Overall spent 100's of days in the winter in the BWCA and 90% was in a 4 person timberline tent. Done great in it. I would be more worried about my sleeping mattress and bag.
Yes there will be a occasion you would want a 4 season,but rare.
Also more important is location where you pitch in the winter for protection. Nothing worse than a howling wind going thru the tent. Maybe that is when a 4 season may be better.

K I’d try all but the whiskey, yukky

I don't get the opinions about lack of wind. Yea it doesn't blow as hard as at altitude but with the down in hardwood forests around me SE WI, it can blow pretty hard. I prefer at least a 3 pole frame, as much fabric interior as possible, big vestibules (the Extreme has some of the deepest I've seen).
I did own a Walrus Hurricane Hole tunnel tent, true mountaineering tent, now discontinued and sold mine years ago,

a Big Sky International Chinook with a full fabric inner, solo and a favorite of mine,

Both of these featured an external frame with the fly/outer shell and the fabric interior that set up in one operation.
And recently acquired Alps Mountaineering Extreme Outfitter 3,


Have used a geodesic 4 pole dome of mixed makers parts, Eureka/CampTrails/Cabelas

and a CCS Lean1+,


Also have done some hot tenting, but it's a difficult fit with solo camping.
The Nemo Moki looks great. The Kodiak springbar style uses a floor and that can be a problem if there are no vestibules to hold snowy boots and gear. The $700 range opens a lot of canvas tent options for potential hot tenting. I'd also suggest checking Ebay for used 4 season tents.

butthead

MN_Lindsey: "What is your favorite cold/4 season tent?"

you'd think with the thread title and the above question, people would not respond "hot tent"

oh well ...

I have gone to a hammock with tarp, it eliminates a lot of problems, as somebody else said, it is the bag that keeps you warm, the tent is only to keep snow and wind off you, I don't know that an uninsulated unheated tent can increase the temp any more than a couple degrees

IMO, there is nothing like sleeping in a hammock looking at the Milky Way, in the winter, no leaves, no bugs, sleep under the stars (unless it's snowing in which case the tarp)

I have started another thread to discuss the sleeping setup in super cold weather

ZaraSp00k: "

MN_Lindsey: "What is your favorite cold/4 season tent?"

you'd think with the thread title and the above question, people would not respond "hot tent"


oh well ...


I have gone to a hammock with tarp, it eliminates a lot of problems, as somebody else said, it is the bag that keeps you warm, the tent is only to keep snow and wind off you, I don't know that an uninsulated unheated tent can increase the temp any more than a couple degrees


IMO, there is nothing like sleeping in a hammock looking at the Milky Way, in the winter, no leaves, no bugs, sleep under the stars (unless it's snowing in which case the tarp)


I have started another thread to discuss the sleeping setup in super cold weather"

I use to have a thermometer in a cold tent,and you would be surprised how much difference that little thin layer of nylon added.. especially if you have like two people giving all that body heat in the tent. My memory fades me,but at times 10-15 plus degrees or more. I was going to say more than that but not sure. The tent does make a difference.
We cold tented down to -35 degrees F. Biggest thing is have great insulation below you and yes a very good sleeping bag. You can't get one that reads too low.

ZaraSp00k: "

MN_Lindsey: "What is your favorite cold/4 season tent?"

you'd think with the thread title and the above question, people would not respond "hot tent"


oh well ...


I have gone to a hammock with tarp, it eliminates a lot of problems, as somebody else said, it is the bag that keeps you warm, the tent is only to keep snow and wind off you, I don't know that an uninsulated unheated tent can increase the temp any more than a couple degrees


IMO, there is nothing like sleeping in a hammock looking at the Milky Way, in the winter, no leaves, no bugs, sleep under the stars (unless it's snowing in which case the tarp)


I have started another thread to discuss the sleeping setup in super cold weather"

Or "hammock"

ZaraSp00k: "I have gone to a hammock with tarp, it eliminates a lot of problems, as somebody else said, it is the bag that keeps you warm, the tent is only to keep snow and wind off you, I don't know that an uninsulated unheated tent can increase the temp any more than a couple degrees


IMO, there is nothing like sleeping in a hammock looking at the Milky Way, in the winter, no leaves, no bugs, sleep under the stars (unless it's snowing in which case the tarp)"

I prefer to sleep under the stars as well, but usually being solo, having what I think of as a "security tent" gives me some extra peace of mind to get myself out there even if it might be cold and snowy. I used to just bring a bivy sack and tried to plan my trip around the weather. I bought my winter tent after chickening out one time due to an unanticipated storm that didn't seem to appear in the forecast until the night before my trip.

My 10-15 degrees warmer in the tent statement is based on backyard tests. The mostly still air in a smallish solo tent can warm up significantly from your breath and the heat that is escaping through your sleeping bag. Your mileage may vary of course. I agree the sleeping bag is where it's at for warmth, but just knowing I can have that extra 10-15 degrees inside the tent if I want to helps me get past all the nagging reservations I might have about going on a solo winter wilderness trip (the worst is the friends and family saying you're crazy...). Another nice thing about a tent is that it's a place to stash things to help stay organized in camp, and to keep from losing stuff in the snow, especially if it snows overnight. A tarp for just wind and snow protection is definitely a good option too though.

For me, a hammock is something I would like to try sometime, but I don't have any problem sleeping on the ground so I just havn't had any reason to change.

I went car camping last winter and slept in my hammock, brought along a bunch of seasoned wood I wanted to get rid of, I have more wood than I can consume at home, so I slept in my hammock with a fire about 10 feet downwind, normally I don't build fires but this one was a beautiful fire and I am proud of it.
First I took some logs that were about as big a round as my thigh or maybe slightly bigger and built a ring about 4 feet across by standing them on end, then I placed the next biggest logs in a straight line, alternating rows, within the ring, finally building a tepee on top after three layers.
I knew I'd end up waking up to pee, which I did, while I was up I rotated the logs in the ring that were 25-75% burned on the inside, when I woke up in the morning I had the most amazing bed of coals to make break-feast. The radiated heat kept me nice and toasty all night.

I know what you mean about the feeling of being vulnerable in a hammock despite a tent only really giving protection from bugs. But the way I figure it, I'd rather go in the woods than in an accident because some idiot was too busy texting or a minute late to work.