4 Season Tents

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DS66

Mountain climber

Dislocated

Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 24, 2011 - 09:36am PT

I am looking for a bomber 3 person base camp type tent. I have a Bibler 2 person, great tent but a little crowded for two on extended stays.

Have been checking out Mt Hardware Trango 3.1 and Hilleberg Tents. Anybody have personal experiences or recommendations? Perhaps another manufacturer / model?

Thanks.

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:11pm PT

4 Season Tents

Not worth the extra money...

I have a Walrus. Good tent. Not worth the $350 I dropped for it though. Buy a good 3-season tent and Man-Up. What the worst that can happen???

Srbphoto

climber

Kennewick wa

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:31pm PT

What the worst that can happen???

yur gonna die!!!!!!

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:36pm PT

I have used a WildCountry Hyperspace for the last 20 years or so... maybe more,
a bit heavy, but totally secure when all hell breaks loose on the mountain

the tend design has outlived the parent company, and is now marketed by Terranova in the UK...

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Product_Type/Tents/Expedition_and_Mountain/Hyperspace_GREEN.html

I recently had to replace the rain fly which had succumbed to exposure to the elements (I'm proud of that)...

this tent has stood me in good stead for decades, including sleeping three with not much problem.

On the Columbia Ice Fields

at the toe of the Petain Glacier, Canadian Rockies

Mt. Washington

cooking in the vestuble, Boulder Camp, Bugaboos

Mountain climber

there and back again

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:43pm PT

DS66, I think the extra room is worth the extra weight. I am partial to my Trango and my old VE. Trango has more pockets and space, but the height is what I like. The Hilleberg was easy to set up and did not seem as heavy. I don't like single wall tents. They suck in heavy rain and are not warm enough. The only thing going for them is that they are light. The only single wall tent I liked was the Megamid type.

Good luck in your hunt for the right tent.

Studly

Trad climber

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:48pm PT

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:52pm PT

The concept of a "Four season" tent always amuses me. I don't think they actually exist. If it is burly enough for winter it is going to suck in summer. Conversely if it is light and cool enough for summer it will blow in winter. Or it will just be marginal in all seasons.
Buy the tent that fulfills your needs 75% of the time and deal with the rest.
If you are going to mostly be base camping in the frigid gnar gnar or mostly ratting around the desert you should get the tent appropriate to those needs.

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 02:09pm PT

Buy the tent that fulfills your needs 75% of the time and deal with the rest.
If you are going to mostly be base camping in the frigid gnar gnar or mostly ratting around the desert you should get the tent appropriate to those needs.

I guess that is what I meant by my earlier sentiments.

Unless you expect massive snowfall at basecamp, do you really need a 4-season tent. There are ruggid, water-proof, 3-season deals out there.

Is it worth the extra cash? I guess it depends on yer expedition....

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Dec 24, 2011 - 02:11pm PT

^^^ Xactly ^^^

Psst, hey Bluering ssshhhhh, don't tell any one we agreed. lol
Happy Chirstmas Eve!

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 02:30pm PT

Philo, I hear ya. It's okay to agree on no-brainer common sense sh#t.

Politics and the rest, eh, it's an individual journey.

But there are real good 3-season tents out there!

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 02:45pm PT

Bluering, 4-season tents are the shizz when the wind kicks up at JTree.

You sound like you're selling a tent.

Seroiusly though, 2-3 man 3-season tents are almost identical to "4-season" tents. The 4-seasoners are just designed to handle heavy snowfall. I'd rather have a tent that efficiently handles rainfall and is wind-ambivolent.

Ya know?

StahlBro

Trad climber

San Diego, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 03:00pm PT

I have had a Mountain Hardware Trango for 5 or six years. Use it for mountains and desert. It is heavy, but pretty bombproof in high winds and deep snow, with vestibules at both ends. Sleeps 3 fairly well.

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 03:10pm PT

This is why I have 3 tents. Pick a tent for the job.

Not a silly topic, just a silly discussion.

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Dec 24, 2011 - 03:21pm PT

You make mountain climbing sound so glamorous.

Adamame

climber

Santa Cruz

Dec 24, 2011 - 04:58pm PT

Stephenson's Warmlite.

corniss chopper

climber

breaking the speed of gravity

Dec 24, 2011 - 05:47pm PT

Anyone who can tie into a rope and build a belay anchor can make a tent
or modify a cheap one to handle the elements.

The outrageous prices they want for 4 season tents these days
makes a Wallmart sewing machine very tempting.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-2600I-Free-Sewing-Machine/4764723

corniss chopper

climber

breaking the speed of gravity

Dec 24, 2011 - 06:01pm PT

Wow. A person could start a tent making business with that one, some space in the garage and 2 seamstresses from Costa Rica.

mike m

Trad climber

black hills

Dec 24, 2011 - 06:07pm PT

Tried and true North Face VE-25

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Dec 24, 2011 - 06:43pm PT

I've managed in everything from a plastic tube tent to my high end 3-man tent that I have now..

we made a tent in 1980 because we couldn't afford a good tent...
I think I bought my latest tent in the late 80's early 90's....

have a bunch of other tents for non-extreme situations.

If you are going to spend weeks in a tent, in weather that is unknown of in California, it makes sense to invest in a tent that is made professionally and will stand up to the abuse of the mountain environment.

You have to assess what you are going to use it for, and then ask around about a good value that matches your criteria, just like everything else. People in the business usually make tents at a higher quality than anything you can make at home... and the cost of those tents are high because the market is not that great, and the tents tend to last a long time (in my case, 30 years, which is a lot older than many of you reading this).

People who have 4 season tents, by and large bought it because they used 3 season tents and realized that such a tent wasn't adequate for the purpose they had in mind.