Best Tent for Winter Backpacking

I want to start winter backpacking in New England and am looking to buy a new tent for the conditions. I have an ultralight Marmot backpacking tent that has a single wall built in fly construction and is not free standing. I doubt it is a good idea to rely on such a tent in the winter. Mainly I am wondering if a good free standing 3-season tent would stand up to winter conditions.

The main question I have is which balance of warmth and ventilation is desired for winter camping. Almost all 3-season tents have plenty of ventilation to reduce frosting on the inside of the tent. But with so much open mesh it could get as cold inside as outside. But of course you have a sleeping bag to do most of the warming. Also I would think that any tent that can keep out rain could keep out snow (as long as 3 feet of snow isn't dumped on you in one night) and a good 3-season tent should suffice in windy conditions.

If a good 3-season tent would do the job suggestions as to which in particular would be appreciated.

Welcome to the forum, MrBubbles. Hope to see you more often.

To answer the question, I have a 4-season Walrus Warp 2 Tent that works great. Don't know if they still make it, but Walrus is made by Moss Tents, which is high quality at a very reasonably price.

Maybe check them out. :wink:

Have you considered a floorless teepee style tent? Black Diamond makes one called the Megamid which has been around for years, and Golite and Mtn. Harwear now have similar products. They can be pitched directly over a snow pit, giving you massive headroom. Also, being only one piece shells, they are extremely light. They are much roomier than any convetional tent of comparable weight (and there aren't many out there that can compare). The megamid is 9' square and weighs about two and a half pounds.

These types of tents are inherently well ventilated and you can buy an optional bug netting for most of them. This way you can use them in the summer, too, for a simple but large shelter that's still reasonably light. Lots of mountain guide types swear by the megamid and I know that NOLS uses them for their courses in the Tetons.

I think they cost around 200 bucks.

skintowin said:

Have you considered a floorless teepee style tent? Black Diamond makes one called the Megamid which has been around for years, and Golite and Mtn. Harwear now have similar products. They can be pitched directly over a snow pit, giving you massive headroom. Also, being only one piece shells, they are extremely light. They are much roomier than any convetional tent of comparable weight (and there aren't many out there that can compare). The megamid is 9' square and weighs about two and a half pounds.

These types of tents are inherently well ventilated and you can buy an optional bug netting for most of them. This way you can use them in the summer, too, for a simple but large shelter that's still reasonably light. Lots of mountain guide types swear by the megamid and I know that NOLS uses them for their courses in the Tetons.

I think they cost around 200 bucks.

Click to expand...

LOL...had a buddy who bought one of these because he thought it was cool...then he spent about 2-3 years trying to sell it to me! I didn't bite. They work well, but be sure to see it in the shop before buying so you know what you're getting :wink:

Pretty sure Walrus is now defunct, but Moss is still going strong (my Walrus still works, though ). Your best bet is to go to multiple outdoor shops and pick their brains. Buy with whoever gives you the best service. I've been pleased with my Mtn Hardwear tent for some ugly weather in the past, but I know it's not the only option.
Make sure to weigh the various components as to how much they mean to you: size, weight, durability, price, et cetera. I strongly suggest buying the footprint that goes with the tent as well. Hope that helps!

MSR bought Walrus. There are still used Walrus's, including the Warp out there. MSR does make 4-season and expedition tents, not sure if any of them are based on the Warp.

My choice of 4 season tent was Hilleberg. However, I've not done enough winter backpacking to offer the voice of expereince. Hilleberg is definitely worth checking out though.

Several winter campers I know that travel the world to the highest mountains stake a plastic snow fence around their tents to help keep them in place during the high winds of their 14-20k' climbs.

Yeah, I haven't been in the tent market for quite some time as you all can see :wink: