In this article, I will take a deep dive into the best ultralight 4 season tents for hiking. Everyone is always talking about ultralight/lightweight hiking tents, but they are almost always talking about 3 season tents. If you are like me and would like to find a lightweight option that can also serve during the winter, make sure to stick around!
Lightweight 4 season tents
The problem with “ultralight” in combination with “4 season” is pretty obvious. A tent that is suitable for winter camping will usually be heavier than one that is made for warmer temperatures/milder weather.
That being said, there is still a big difference in weight between the 4 season tents. I went ahead and did some research with the goal to create a selection of the best ultralight 4 season hiking tents. I hope you like it!
Please note that the combination of “4 season” and “ultralight” also means there is usually a pretty steep price tag attached. However, I did my best to include some “budget-friendly” picks.
Black Diamond Eldorado
Let’s start our list with one of the best option for the extremer hiker/mountaineers among us, the Black Diamond Eldorado.
Coming in at a trail weight of 4 lbs. 8 oz. this can definitely be considered an ultralight 4 season hiking tent.
These are the main features of this tent:
- Durable / Great build quality
- Expensive
- Single wall
- Not roomy (for two)
While this is definitely not the best option for the casual hiker, it’s still a great tent. It has been tested and approved by many hikers and mountaineers (Everest, Alps, …).
However, you will need to sacrifice comfort and a lot of money in order to get a super durable and lightweight 4 season tent. The tent is very roomy if you would use it as a single person tent, but is pretty small for a 2 person tent. Especially if you also think about gear. You could buy a vestibule separately in order to – kind off – deal with this problem.
The fact that it’s a single wall tent means that there will be more condensation. For some extremer hiking/mountaineering trips this might be a fair trade-off.
Also, the pole structure can be a bit difficult to set up.
All in all a great tent if you need a super well-built and ultralight tent. This is also the tent to go with if you want to stay protected from very bad weather conditions. Whether it’s rain, wind, a storm, a blizzard – this tent will be one of the safest one to be in!
That being said, it’s not the best option for milder hiking trips because it’s more expensive and less comfortable than certain alternatives. Also, the ventilation is not great…
If you are a true high altitude mountaineer, you will know that you will have to sacrifice space and convenience for durability, weight and weatherproofness. Therefore, this is my number one recommendation for high altitude mountaineering.
For more information/to check the latest price you can always take a look on amazon: Black Diamond Eldorado.
MSR Access 2
The MSR Access 2 is more suitable for those casual winter hiking trips. As long as the weather won’t be extremely bad – or you or not fully exposed – this tent should do the trick!
It’s even lighter than the Black Diamond Eldorado and this is a double wall tent (!). To be very clear 3 lbs. 10 oz. is very lightweight for a double wall tent!
Now it’s not as suited to be sleeping in when you are expecting heavy blizzards or storms. However, it will be more than good enough for a mild winter night!
Depending on what type of hiker you are, this might be the perfect extremely light 4 season tent. It all depends on how bad you expect the weather to be on your hiking trips.
For example, if you are a mountaineer who might encounter heavy blizzards, etc. there are better alternatives for you. This tent is perfect for treeline or base camp situations than actual high altitude mountains.
It’s also slightly more roomy and convenient than the Eldorado tent. However, setting up the tent is not super easy. This can be especially annoying when it’s already raining or snowing.
All that being said, this is a great all round, ultralight 4 season tent – no doubt about it!
In case you are interested in the latest price (these are constantly changing slightly), you should consult amazon: MSR Access 2.
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV Expedition Tent
Big Agnes a well-known brand that has been delivering quality hiking/mountaineering tents for quite some time now. The Copper Spur HV Expedition is another lightweight 4 season tent. It’s definitely suitable for winter, but it’s not as blizzard resistant as the Black Diamond Eldorado.
In a way, this tent is pretty similar to the MSR Access 2 – in terms of in what type of weather you should use it. However, there are a couple of big differences. The Big Agnes is heavier, but it’s a lot more roomy and comfortable. Also, this tent is relatively cheap for a lightweight 4 season tent.
The trail weight of the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV Expedition Tent is 6 lbs. 2 oz. So you are basically trading additional weight for space and comfort. Considering how comfortable and roomy this tent is, it’s actually still very light!
Note that I have featured the 3 person version of this tent because this will be very suitable for 2 people + gear. A very good base camp option.
From my research I found that the lowest price could be found on amazon, so if you would consider buying this tent I would recommend taking a look there: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV Expedition Tent.
Black Diamond Firstlight
The Black Diamond Firstlight is pretty unique because it is not waterproof. Wait, what? A 4 season hiking tent that is not waterproof? Well yes, the Firstlight was made with the intention of being a protection vs wind and snow, but not heavy rain.
It’s a tent that is mainly targeting mountaineers. However, it still feels like quite a risk of bringing a non-waterproof tent high into the mountains. The tent is water resistant and will definitely not get soaked after a minor rain shower, but it won’t stay dry in long and heavy rain.
Also, this tent is not very roomy if you are planning on using it as a 2 person tent. Especially if you would try to fit gear in there as well. The related benefit is that the tent has a very small footprint and you might be able to sleep on very tiny ledges, etc.
If you can deal with the fact that this tent is not super roomy and that it’s not waterproof, this might be an ideal choice! It’s a very lightweight 4 season tent, it weighs only 2 lbs. 9 oz. Which is really exceptional!
Conclusion: not being waterproof is a really big downside, but on the other hand, this is about as ultralight as a 4 season tent can be.
Another great thing about this tent is that it’s a lot cheaper than most alternatives. If you want to know the very latest price take a look here: Black Diamond Firstlight
Nemo Kunai 2P
The Nemo Kunai 2P is one of my personal favourites when it comes to ultralight 4 season tents. Why? It’s a lightweight double wall tent that’s still very rugged and durable.
The Kunai actually reminds me quite a bit of the MSR Access 2. The main difference is that this tent is slightly heavier, but it’s also tougher and more weatherproof.
If you can live with the fact that this tent weighs 5 ounces more than the MSR Access 2, I’m actually tempted to recommend the Kunai over the Access. However, both are great tents and it all depends on the exact situation + personal preferences. This tent comes in at 3 lbs. 15 oz. and packs down to a very small package.
So what are the drawbacks? It’s a very basic tent with not a lot of additional features and the storage space is rather limited.
The build quality is definitely okay and very weatherproof. However, the materials that were used (in order to stay as lightweight as possible) are very light. This means that you will have to be very careful with sticks, rocks, trekking poles because you could easily make some holes in the fabric.
In case you are interested in the Nemo Kunai 2P, here is the amazon link: Nemo Kunai 2P
Nemo Tenshi 2P
Together with the Black Diamond Eldorado this is the best ultralight 4 season tent for high altitude mountaineering. It has a super strong design and will keep you safe and protected from the elements.
This tent is more of an underdog tent. The Eldorado on the other hand is pretty popular among mountaineers. That being said, the Nemo Tenshi 2P can definitely be considered good competition.
Coming in at 3 lbs. 14 oz. this one is actually even lighter than the Black Diamond Eldorado. Additionally,the Tenshi is a bit cheaper as well.
As with most lightweight mountaineering tents, it’s a bit cramped. There is not enough room to lie down comfortably with 2 persons. However, a true mountaineer should already be used to not lying comfortably. Also, the vestibule is a bit smaller than I would like – it’s pretty hard to fit the gear of 2 mountaineers in there.
In terms of weight, durability, build-quality & weatherproofness, this tent scores really well.
So is this better than the Black Diamond Eldorado? Hard to say… as usual I would end up with the overused answer: “It depends”. Both tents are solid options for mountaineers, that’s why both of them made this list. The Tenshi does beat the Eldorado when it comes to weight & ventilation, but the Eldorado remains a very trusted & more proven mountaineering tent.
As usual, I will include an amazon link in case you want to check out the latest price: Nemo Tenshi 2P.
Black Diamond Mega Light
Okay, so this one is more a glorified tarp than an actual tent. However, it’s truly extremely light and it can be used during winter – so it’s only fitting that it made the list of ultralight 4 season tents.
The tent comes in at 2 lbs. 5 oz. (trail weight). Which is pretty awesome! Now, you could buy an inner tent separately, but that would increase the overall weight by quite a bit.
It’s also nice to know that this is theoretically a 4 person tent. So this tent would only weigh around 0.58 pounds per person. That being said, it would be extremely cramped if you would actually use this tent with 4 persons.
If you would use it with 2 persons + gear, this tent is actually pretty comfortable (as long as your can live with the fact that it’s more a tarp than a tent of course).
You can use this tent both in summer and in winter. However, it’s not the best tent to bring in extreme wind. Even tough it has been tested in winds of around 50 miles/hour, it feels a lot more unstable than some of the alternatives on this list. That being said, it’s perfect for treeline camping on a mild winter night!
You can usually get the best price on amazon for this tent: Black Diamond Mega Light.
What type of tent should you get?
I covered quite a lot of different 4 season tents. All of these were lightweight within their own category. I realize that it might be quite challenging to find the winter tent that exactly fits your specific needs.
First, let me start by saying that there is a difference between hiking and high altitude mountaineering. For true mountaineering I would only recommend the Black Diamond Eldorado and the Nemo Tenshi from the ones that were covered in this article.
You could also go with one of the other options, but it won’t be the optimal solution.
If you are hiking in the mountains, the weather can also be pretty bad, but generally it’s milder at base camp than higher up.
If you are a hiker rather than a mountaineer, you can basically go with any option on the list. It all comes down to how much you value weight, durability, weatherproofness, space, etc.
If you are okay with a more minimalist option you could go with the Black Diamond Mega Light. However, as I already mentioned, this is more of a glorified tarp than a “real tent”. Nevertheless, this could be an option during the winter.
Keep in mind that – most of the time – a tent will become heavier as it becomes more stormproof/blizzardproof. You will have to find a good balance between weight and weatherproofness.
Double wall vs single wall?
Another question you might be asking yourself is whether you should go with a double or a single wall.
A double wall tent will have a couple of benefits like better ventilation and it will be a lot harder for water to reach the inside of your inner tent. This will generally result in a more comfortable sleeping space.
However, a double wall will increase the weight of a tent. In certain situation the weight is super important and you will simply have to sacrifice some comfort. This is also the reason why most mountaineering tents are single walled.
It can happen that a double wall tent is lighter than a single wall tent. Often this will be because the single wall tent is designed for extremer circumstances/weather and will have a sturdier design.
So the decision between a double wall vs a single wall tent should be based on the trade-off between comfort and weight/toughness.
Conclusion
4 season tent tend to be quite a bit heavier than the more common 3 season tent. However, there are still plenty of ultralight options if you know where to look.
Everything depends on what type of camping you are planning to do. Will you do actual high-altitude mountaineering? Will you do just regular hikes? Will you camp above or below treeline? What type of weather are you expecting…
All the questions above will determine what tent is best for you!
If you have been using one of these tents, I would love to hear about your experiences! Also, if you have any other recommendations when it comes to ultralight 4 season tents, feel free to let me know in the comments below!