Winter tent options

[sethd513]

Any suggestions on a 3person winter tent that can double for car camping in the summer comfortably. No more then 5 lbs loaded would be the goal but I'm clueless as of what I should use. Is there a 3 season tent out there you would use in a snow storm? I was going to use my marmot limelight 2p but i think 2 person is to small for the winter for the wife and I. Thanks


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[nsherry61]

Why is your 3-season tent too small for winter use?

The limelight should have enough vestibule space to manage just fine.

One of the big advantages of a heavier, stouter tent in winter is not needing to knock the snow off your tent if there is a heavy snow. If you're willing to get up in the middle of the night on the off chance that you actually experience heavy snowfall, and you don't plan on camping in areas exposed to extreme wind, use your 3-season tent. Heck, the limelight is stout enough to be fine in all but the most extreme (and frankly avoidable) situations.

Heck, even if you have a winter tent, there are many times where a lighter 3-season tent would be desirable in the middle of winter, just because you want to save some weight the the 3-season tent is all the protection you need. I highly recommend doing some snow camping near enough to your car/house/shelter that you can escape if needed, and see what you really need (i.e. generally much less than we think). . . should I go into my tarp recommendations for snow camping?

[sethd513]

My plan was the limelight 2p because it feels stout and with the rain fly on I feel it stays about 5 degrees warmer then the outside when the two of us are in it. I was unsure of gear bulk inside and if it was going to be twice or 3 times the amount as any other 3 season night. We plan on backyard for the first time which should be ok but my concern is just that of being at 2500 or 3500 feet is much different. But these are the chances we seem to take.


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[nsherry61]

. . . I was unsure of gear bulk inside and if it was going to be twice or 3 times the amount as any other 3 season night. . .
Gosh, I hope you don't have 3x the bulk. Maybe 30% more bulk if you go really light in non-winter and are planning for really cold winter conditions. Either way, the tent has room for quite a bit of gear in the vestibules.

I think I generally pack about 30-40L for a week in non-winter seasons and 50-60L for a week skiing or snowshoeing in winter. You should be able to line up the gear you plan on using and see. 4-season tents are warmer in the wind because of solid inner tent panels instead of mesh, but I think, for most people, the extra 3lbs of tent is probably better used in sleeping bag insulation and/or just staking the tent fly a little closer to the ground. . . or cuddling closer to your wife. ;)

[Sarcasm the elf]

I use my regular 3 season tent for all my normal year round hiking. Unless you are going into real mountains, into somewhere in northern New England (especially the White's), or know that you are heading into a storm, the a 4 season/mountaineering tent is generally unnecessary.

Regarding space, a two man tent should be fine for two people in the winter, the two man mountaineering tents I've used are about the same size as my regular two man tent, with the exception that they have a larger vestibule. Personally I would find a three man tent unnecessary.

Do bring a second ground pad for extra insulation though.

32045

[sethd513]

My only thought for extra gear would be either one huge piece of reflecticts or two smaller just for a little extra off the ground. I'd love to hit the whites but if we have a bad winter like predicted I'll be running a loader or a plow all season so idk.


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[sethd513]

And I guess when I say 3 times the gear I have footwear on the brain. Less then a pound to under 3. Any advice on a light weight winter boot with removable liners?


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[nsherry61]

Scary truth. When hiking or snowshoeing, I use the same footwear summer and winter, I just change my socks. . . liner sock, then vapor barrier liner, then insulating sock, then waterproof liner, then shoe, then gater. Vapor barrier and waterproof liners can be plastic bags (bread bags), but try out the bags first because many are not durable enough types of plastic to hold up for even a day of hard hiking. I have long skinny feet, so any shoe that is long enough for my feet has plenty of room for all the socks I could want, and then some.

32046
This picture is under a $6 8x10 poly tarp in 10* weather on 6'-8' of powdery snow on a solo, two day snowshoe trip in January 2013, in the Oregon cascades. It was the slowest snowshoeing I've ever done. We had just received 3' of fresh snow and even with 30" snowshoes and only a 25lb pack, I was still wading through snow up to my mid-thighs. Have I ever said how much I really don't like tents even though I own several very nice ones. I got to lay under my tarp, in my custom shaped living chamber, watching the snow fall and blow around all night.

When skiing, I use my ski boots. And, on multiday trips, I generally still use vapor barrier liners over liner socks in my ski boots to keep the boots and my insulating socks dry. Since my ski boots are waterproof enough, I don't use a waterproof liner over my insulating socks.

[sethd513]

I found a 4 season tent for a good price. Roomy no mesh seemed to be the right choice for the two of us. With a 3000mm floor rating would you use polycryo for a ground sheet or will that hold up fine on top of hard packed snow. We will be sleeping on r5 pads on top of reflextix.


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[nsherry61]

I find that with most tents I've used, the floor weeps a bit of moisture through where there is direct pressure on it against the snow. There is never enough moisture to puddle or cause real problems, but, when kneeling or sitting directly on the tent floor over snow, my knees or butt do get damp as does the bottom of my sleeping pad. A polycryo ground sheet should eliminate that issue (either inside or outside the tent), although, the polycyro is so slippery it will create headaches of its own. I wouldn't bother with an extra ground sheet myself.

[sethd513]

I think then I'll go with a 4' by 20" reflectix sheet over the 3' to keep the majority of the weight on something that doesn't matter to much.


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