Black Diamond - Mega Light 4 Person Tent

Yup. I use my Black Diamond Mega Light in the Aleutians (“Birthplace of the Winds”) for its lightweight, large floor space and great wind resistance. It’s even better for snow camping for the reasons you state.

I've done a fair bit of touring using a 'mid shelter, first an OG MegaMid, then a MegaLight. (I've also used MLD 'mid shelters for backpacking and climbing.) A 'mid shelter is the most weight/space efficient ski touring shelter (other than a snow cave), but it has limitations in very stormy conditions It is thus a viable choice if you limit your tours to days with good (i.e., non-stormy) weather forecasts. A few tips re snow camping with a 'mid shelter: * We usually dug a square hole 2 or 3 feet (i.e., up to 1 meter) deep and erected the 'mid shelter centered over the hole. We made the hole roughly 1 foot (30cm) or so smaller on each of the 4 edges than the 'mid shelter perimeter. For example, for a BD MegaSnow with a footprint is 106" x 106", we would dig a square hold around 94" x 94". Be sure that you have a center pole long enough to do this. * To avoid having the centerpole stabbing the snow and sinking, place the bottom of the center pole on something with flat surface of some sort to disperse the load. I've used several things for this, including an avy shovel blade with the handle removed. * Bring loops of paracord and girth hitch them to the shelter's stake tie outs. IME, skis and ice axes work best for stakes. An alternative is to anchor with deadman, which come in different forms, e.g., a buried stuff bag full of snow. 'Mid shelters have more load on the tie outs than a freestanding tent, and thus snow stakes sometimes work in firm snow but sometimes easily pull out. * Many people use two ski poles strapped together to make a center pole. Although that works, we usually preferred a dedicated center pole, e.g., BD CF pole which comes with the BD MegaLight and MegaSnow. You may need to make a pole jack of some sort if you dig the square hole as described above. * You can cook inside a 'mid shelter, which is a nice feature, but be certain to have ample gaps in the side of the tent to allow fresh air to enter the tent, and open the top vent as wide as possible. * Because 'mid-shelters are single-wall, expect condensation issues. Some days will be worse than others. On cold nights, the condensation may freeze on the shelter walls. On warmer nights, when the condensation is in liquid state, bring a ChamWow (or Amazon knockoff) to wipe the condensation. * Prepare your backpack such that you can strap a wet 'mid shelter on the outside of the pack.

>I don't know of any single-pole design that would perform better MLD Solomid/Duomid/Supermid HMG Ultamid 1/2/4 Locus Gear Khufu/Khafra Black Diamond Megalight Oware Pyramid Basically any single pole traditional mid with steep sides will do better with snow loading than the two pole and asymmetrical mids.

Can’t get more simple than a pyramid tent! MSR Front Range, Big Agnes Gold Camp 5, Black Diamond 4p Mega Light, Seek Outside Cimarron…lots of options. Very strong in bad weather, while being lightweight. Very quick to setup once you get the hang of setting up the stakes in the correct places, as there is only a single pole (or you could even use a tree branch, if you happen to forget the pole. Which I of course have never done…) On trips without bugs you can choose to leave the mesh inner tent at home. The only downside is the lack of a vestibule for wet gear.

Sounds like a perfect scenario for a 4P pyramid shelter with an optional inner nest. You could even get two nests of different sizes for different trips with and without the whole clan. The challenge is finding one within your budget in Canada while keeping the weight down as low as possible. At the bottom end of your budget, the [Trekkertent 4 ](https://www.rivercountryproducts.com/product/trekker-tent-4/)is only US$99 new. The MLD Supermid lies at the upper end of your budget, but that's before possible taxes and import duties, and doesn't yet include a nest. The BD Mega Light used to be reasonably priced in Canada but it's gone way up since I last looked. Perhaps you could find lightly used versions of the above Supermid or the Mega Light, then look for compatible inner tents on AE. There are also lots of reasonably priced large 4P - 6P tipi style / hot tent style pyramid tents on AE. Grab your favorite beverage and start scrolling!

Be more specific about what severe cold weather means to you. Winter in the mountains / arctic with sub freezing temps and no liquid water around or 40 degrees and constant rain in a coastal forest? Multi day / week trips or a quick night out? Floorless / meshless pyramid style tents are a popular light weight option with ski tourists and other winter travelers. They work well in winter conditions as they give you a lot of room for the weight, you can pitch them with your poles (and skis as stakes) and dig snow out from under to make more headroom. The black diamond mega light/ mega mid was the classic in this category but a bunch of brands make similar ~4 person square pyramid tarps now including some out of more exotic ultralgiht fabrics. Two person single wall mountaineering bivy tents are also an option but can be quite cramped. The lightest of these like the bd firstlight use a water resistant but not fully waterproof fabric and really only make sense in sub freezing temps or when the forecast is mostly good but you need a tent for a possible thunder storm.