The best 4-season tents for year-round camping adventures

If Goldilocks were searching for the best 4-season tent, she’d choose the Black Diamond Eldorado. It ticks the boxes of being versatile enough to grab first on nearly any all-season adventure. The ToddTex is sturdy, durable, and stands up well in the wind. The high and steep shape of the Eldorado works great for sloughing off snow accumulation which also means taller people might feel it’s a more comfortable space to maneuver around in.

The Eldorado sleeps two and is designed with two internal poles so you can set it up from the inside if the weather is dumping precipitation. Reviewers like the simplicity of the two-pole design since there’s less to carry and less to deal with when setting up.

While camping in nice weather, condensation should be no issue in the single-wall tent since it comes with a mesh door. In harsh weather, when you want the best protection and have the door zipped closed, the tent ventilates through two vents at the peak. This should suffice, but it’s unlikely to keep condensation down as well as a double-walled tent would.

If you’re looking for an all-around heavy hitter for camping in any conditions, the Eldorado hits the mark without costing a fortune or being too heavy to comfortably pack along.

Investing in a good 4-season tent often means dishing out big bucks. The materials used to produce an insulated camping tent often come with a larger price tag than 3-season tents. But our budget-friendly pick is the Eureka Mountain Pass Tent, which costs under $400. The double-walled tent sleeps two with a decent amount of room inside to rest comfortably. The double doors and vestibules mean someone can easily crawl out for a midnight bathroom trip without disturbing the other.

Setup for the Eureka all-season tent is fairly simple thanks to the central pole hub, which not only saves time and keeps you from fumbling around, but means you can do it alone. Setup instructions are also sewn into the tent’s stuff sack, so if you need a quick refresh or loan out your tent to a friend, the instructions are easy to access.

Unlike most 4-season tents on the market, this one comes with its own footprint which adds to the value of an already well-priced tent.

The Eureka Mountain Pass Tent is made with durable 20D 400T polyester ripstop fabric that’s designed to be breathable, while the rain fly offers protection with 68D 185T polyester taffeta 1800 mm material.

Eco-conscious shoppers looking for a 4-season tent will be happy to see REI’s Arete ASL 2 earned a bluesign certification, indicating it was made with a process that reduces energy and water use during production.

The Arete sleeps two people and is ranked as an all-season tent thanks to its structurally stable design that uses four poles. Despite the number of poles and the tent being double-walled, the weight of the Arete stays manageable at five pounds 10 ounces. Another standout feature is the color-coding on the pole sleeves which helps with setting up, especially on the first few outings.

In addition to the double wall helping to manage condensation, the tent has mesh ventilation areas in the ceiling and in the door.

While the rainfly does feature a vestibule, the shape doesn’t leave tons of storage room. However, it’s sheltered well enough that you can keep it open on rainy days for ventilation without risking the interior of the tent getting wet.

The REI Arete ASL 2 is one of the more reasonably-priced 4-season tents to make our ranking, so it’s a solid combination for those looking for something budget-friendly that uses a sustainable manufacturing process.

Want to go ultralight while sleeping soundly, knowing you’re protected from the elements in some of the best material out there? The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 weighs a bit over one pound and is made with Dyneema Composite Fiber (DCF). For starters, Dyneema is 15 times stronger than steel, it’s waterproof, it’s UV-resistant, and incredibly lightweight (it floats on water). This makes it one of the most weatherproof and windproof tents on the market. But it might not be for everyone.

The Ultamid 2 doesn’t come with a floor, mesh doors, or poles. Instead, it’s a pyramid tent designed to be set up with one interior central pole or an anchor point above. The company sells its own carbon fiber pole or suggests using adjustable trekking poles or anchoring the top to a stable tree limb. Some reviews say they have the best luck lashing two hiking poles together to form the center pole due to the height.

As for the lack of a floor, winter mountaineers find digging out some snow to make a level floor works great. Dry conditions in the other seasons just require sweeping away any rocks or pinecones that could spell an uncomfortable night’s sleep. But if you’re heading into wet conditions, you might want to invest in a dry floor.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear sells inserts with mesh walls for bug protection and a bathtub floor to help keep things dry. The single insert could turn this into the perfect ultralight 4-season solo tent, which leaves the other half ideal room for storage.

If ultralight minimalism is your mantra, the Ultamid 2 is as strong and lightweight as they come.

If you’re camping expeditions involve all types of weather and you’re packing everything you need on your back, weight is a major consideration. We’ve picked the Black Diamond FirstLight Tent as our top pick for backpacking because it’s a sweet spot between size, weight, and protection.

Packed down, it measures six by nine inches and weighs just under three pounds. Together, this means it won’t add massive bulk or weight to your backpack. But the materials don’t skimp, and the Black Diamond excels when it comes to a windproof tent.

The FirstLight is made with the company’s proprietary NanoShield single-wall fabric and a 70D poly floor to withstand the elements. However, the material is only water-resistant, not waterproof. Spelled out in weather conditions, this means it can handle an afternoon drizzle but not if it dumps rain for several days. To counter that, the FirstLight handles wind like a champ.

A consistent negative review for the Black Diamond FirstLight Tent is that it doesn’t come seam-sealed from the manufacturer. It does, however, come with the materials and instructions to seam-seal it yourself. But this means extra work for you before an expedition that’ll include setting up the tent in a dry, shady spot, seam-sealing it, and then letting it dry for the recommended one to two days.

If you’re into a small DIY project and looking for a lightweight backpacking tent for all four seasons, the FirstLight offers great protection while adding minimal weight to your bag.

The well-loved Trango series is built to excel in alpine conditions and offer exceptional weather protection through all seasons. The first iteration of the Trango hit the market in 1995, but the design and materials have come a long way since then. Today, the Trango 4 Tent sleeps four with two doors and one main vestibule, with a smaller back vestibule for easy entrance and extra storage. In total, this all-season tent uses five poles, but it’s color-coded to make setup easier. With reflective guy-out loops that add to the tent’s visibility at night, some reviewers say setup is a one-person job.

For warmer weather, the tent’s two doors feature both a full canopy door and a mesh door, so you’re able to open up both sides to just the mesh door for great airflow while keeping bugs out. There’s even a zippered mesh ceiling vent to better help with air circulation.

The Mountain Hardwear Trango 4 Tent also shows up in our ranking of the Best 4-Person Tents with the award of “Best Survival Tent” thanks to its four-season durability. It’s on the heavier side (over 11 pounds), so backpacking with the Mountain Hardwear Trango 4 might not be ideal for some. If you’re looking for a solid, reliable alpine basecamp tent for smaller groups, this could be a great match.

Mountain Hardwear touts the Stronghold Dome Tent as the shelter found at basecamps across the globe, from Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park to Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Yosemite Valley. The company designed this extreme-weather tent to withstand the harshest of base camp weather, and the reviews agree: It stands up to the claims. The design, in combination with the tent and fly materials of 70D Nylon Taffeta 2000mm and 40D Nylon Ripstop, also help it excel when it comes to windproof tents.

Because of its weight, the Mountain Hardwear Stronghold is not a winter backpacking tent. It tips the scale at over 41 pounds which means this tent is probably only suitable for camping when your gear is hauled to the campsite or basecamp by means other than schlepping it up a mountain yourself.

While the poles and guy system are color-coded to help take any guessing out of the setup, the Stronghold Dome is still a beast to assemble with 15 poles. Reviews say setup takes at least two people.

If you’re looking for an expedition-grade, extreme-weather tent that’ll serve as a respite at basecamp, the Stronghold Tent could be your favorite second home.