Four season tents can be a significant investment to add to your camping equipment. Their additional layers and heavy-duty material make them the foundation for a great cold-weather shelter, but can they also be used for protecting against the spring thaw or the summer heat? Once you’ve found your ideal tent, you won’t want to put it back into storage as soon as the snow melts. Here are the pros and cons of setting up camp with your four season tent all year long.
Table Of Contents
What is a Four Season Tent?
A four season tent, as the name suggests, is a tent specifically created with year-round usability in mind. The tent is made of double-wall canvas, often lined with a waterproof coating on the outer layer and a fireproof coating on the inner. Special attention is paid to the seams and the poles of the tent to ensure that they can withstand heavy snow and rain without leaking or collapsing.
Four season tents usually also feature angular walls and shorter ceilings than the average three season tent. This helps keep snow from piling up on the roof and provides extra stability against strong winds. Many four season tents have a built-in flue that can be unzipped or removed to allow the pipe of a tent stove to fit through for extra warmth in the coldest months.
Breathability
Although it may seem like four season tents are primarily meant for winter, they are called “four seasons” for good reason– the tent’s structure and weight are meant for any weather or time of year. The outer layer of a four season tent is treated with a water-repellent and UV-resistant coating, which keeps the tent warm and dry. The tent wall’s inner layer is light and breathable, helping to limit condensation forming on the inside of the tent.
Since a four season tent is made with thicker fabric and multiple layers, there will be little to no mesh on the tent walls or ceiling, which may restrict airflow in the heat of summer. On the other hand, the extra insulation can make for a cooler internal temperature, provided that you pitch your tent in a place where your tent won’t experience the most direct sun rays in the heat of the day. You’ll want to open the doors or windows in your tent to allow for breezes to pass through and increase ventilation during the day.
To really increase your chances of the perfect tent temperature, try out a portable or window-mounted air conditioner built specifically for tent camping. Using an air conditioner inside a four season tent will almost guarantee a refreshing temperature inside since its insulating properties will keep in cold air in the summer just as well as it does the warmth in the winter. If you’re pitching your tent in the mountains, though, you’ll benefit from the increased insulation no matter the time of year.
Canvas wall tents are a great choice if you’re looking for large windows and spacious ceilings. Not only will wall tents have the durability to withstand any inclement weather all year round, but you also have easy access to beautiful views and fresh air from the comfort of your tent. If equipment storage is a concern, a wall tent provides a copious amount of vertical space, so anything that can be stacked or leaned against a wall will allow you to store your gear while stretching out with plenty of extra room.
Pro: Excellent water-repellent and insulating properties
Con: Less ventilation if in intense heat
Durability
A four season tent will be your most durable option when it comes to shelter any time of year. Their double reinforced canvas walls, additional guywires, and heavy-duty structural poles make for a great barrier against snow, rain, or wind.
Four season tents are also intended for use in a wide variety of locations. They are made without a built-in floor, as opposed to many nylon-based three season tents, which allows you to pitch your tent on uncertain terrain or in uniquely-sized locations if need be. Four season tents are perfect for intense mountaineering, where you may find yourself spending the night in an alcove near a cliff edge– and they are equally well suited for a relaxing weekend enjoying the view by the lake.
Planning a camping trip in the cooler months, even if snow isn’t quite on the ground yet, means that warmth will be a big consideration when it comes to your packing list. No matter what kind of tent or shelter you choose, you’ll need to plan ahead to have the proper gear for cooking, dressing properly, sleeping well, and keeping your equipment from getting waterlogged from frost or dew.
A four season tent with a stove jack gives you the opportunity to use a tent stove to moderate heat within your tent. The heat-resistant lining on the canvas wall, coupled with the stove’s flue pipe and spark arrestor, allows you to use the stove safely while keeping your tent free from excess condensation or rogue sparks. Even if you’re planning to set up camp in the early fall or spring, when the weather isn’t at its most intense cold, a tent stove will make the whole adventure a little more comfortable.
Try a canvas bell tent if you’re looking for extra durability– snow slides right off a bell tent’s sloped ceilings, and the extended guy wires ensure that your tent stays in place no matter how intense the weather. In warmer months, the large door flap and accompanying windows of a bell tent will allow for a cool breeze to blow through, and you’ll have plenty of extra space inside when you’re no longer setting aside the center of the tent for your stove.
Pro: Extremely durable, with lots of built-in reinforcement against weather
Weight
While a four seasons tent excels in strength and durability, its additional layering and structural integrity make it a significantly heavier tent than any three season counterpart. Many four season tents weigh in at ten to fifteen pounds. There are some that are only five or six pounds, but they will be on the smaller side, so take dimensions into account when you’re looking for your ideal tent. If you’ll be packing in your camp on a backpacking trip or a similar adventure, a four season tent may take up too much of your overall weight to be worth the additional comforts it provides.
Backpacking with a four season tent is not impossible, though– you can even find propane tent stoves and fire-resistant tarps that are only a few pounds. Decide what you want to prioritize, and what you’re willing to carry, before strapping on your pack for a four season tent excursion on foot. A ten pound tent is certainly a doable load if you take it into account when packing the rest of your gear.
Con: Increased weight when compared to three season tents
Size
Both three and four season tents come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. On average, though, a four season tent will be larger and feel more spacious, especially when it comes to vertical space.
These tents are made to accommodate your equipment, your sleeping arrangements, and your tent stove (which requires a small diameter of space around it for fire safety), so it is automatically taking more elements into account than the typical three season tent. If you’re using a four season tent in the warmer months, then, you’ll have much more expendable space at your disposal.
For glampers, large groups, or longer camping trips, a canvas wall tent is one of the most spacious tent options. Wall tents are constructed to look almost like a permanent shelter with tall walls, an expansive doorway, and a gently sloped roof. Once inside, a wall tent will give you just as much standing room as a cabin tent, making for a comfortable indoor experience.
To house four people overnight, look for a tent with minimum dimensions of 10×12 feet. A 16×20 foot wall tent can hold eight to ten people even while accounting for the safety radius of a tent stove, which means that a party of twelve could comfortably share a canvas wall tent of this size if you’re not planning to use the stove in a warmer time of year.
Pro: Increased space to account for stove setup, comfortable standing room, and easy layout for sleeping arrangements
Final Thoughts
Adding a three season tent to your equipment when you’re already comfortable with a four season setup is never a bad idea, though. Nylon three season tents are much lighter, are more compact for packing, and can make an ideal– although usually not quite as spacious– shelter in most weather conditions. They are built to withstand rainfall and even light snow, and their mesh layering and optional rainfly make it easy to ventilate in heat.
They are also quicker to set up and tear down, so making camp will be a breeze if you’re used to the relative complexity of setting up a four season tent. Plus, nylon tents can be cheaper and more easily accessible, providing you with an extra option for shelter in situations where a four season tent might simply be too much.
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