Hyperlite Mountain Gear - UltaMid 4

I’ve never found vents that work in rain… In my experience, vents only work when it’s cold and dry and I’m using the fly for wind protection. In that case, the vents allow some of the warm, moist air to escape instead of condensing on the inside of the fly and forming ice crystals. I still get some ice formation, just… less. When it’s raining hard, the RH is simply too high for vents to allow enough air to exchange. Instead, I tend to look for a tent design that allows me to keep the fly as open as possible during rain. For instance, if there are generous vestibules on opposing sides, I can keep the doors partially open to allow a cross-breeze. That’s the only way. Right now, I’m using three tents that I think are quite good: The Two by Gossamer Gear, Unbound 2 by HMG, and, Ultamid 4 by HMG. Those tents can be pitched or configured to allow a lot of airflow when it’s lightly raining or closed all the way down for maximum protection when it’s wild. I’ve seen some intimidating videos out of Scotland, though. Depending on where and when you’re going, you may want a freestanding four-season tent that’s more capable in heavy wind. Sounds like a fun trip! Have fun. Good luck.

Ultamid 4 by HMG. I use it for snow camping on Mount Rainier all the time. Works fantastic.

>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.

Tarptent DR LI is great but for 2 people + gear it’s a bit cozy. I’d look at 3 person tents - ZPacks Triplex, HMG Ultamid, and I think Tarptent has some 3 person tents too. https://preview.redd.it/70ryh7hoa8jf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3eb6fca572dee4e6610c40b05fc5a63e3423ca

All of the ultralight tents especially dcf ones are expensive. I’ve got ones by Durston (XMid Pro 2), Hyperlite (Ultamid 4), and Tarptent (DR LI). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of them but personally my favorite is probably the Ultamid but the DR LI is a close second. I feel like the Ultamid is bomb proof - with plenty of living space. But the DR LI has great headspace and smaller footprint. I found the XMid to be fiddly to setup compared to the other two but great space in the vestibule. For me it was worth the price … but I managed to find deals on all 3. And Tarptent has great customer service (had to have my DR LI) patched after a tree fell and put a hole in it. https://preview.redd.it/7roxru6cb8gf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da37b103129e341f6977062c940e8cc7fb893cf2

We did 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) in an HMG UltraMid4 for 500 miles. Worked great. With 3 you’d have tons of space at a pretty light weight. Plus you can split the inner and outer as your kids get big enough to share weight.

I disagree with the people saying that your question isn't suitable for the UL sub. Ultralight isn't about being below five kilos in pack weight. It's about removing any needless weight for the job you are doing. If you're in 17 miles an hour of course you're going to need a stronger tent than if you're in five miles an hour. And if it's -30 C then your clothes are going to be heavier than if you're in 10C in order to keep you warm. On the topic of the tent question the only genuinely lightweight tent that you will find for four season will be a pyramid or tarp style tent. The MLD Trailstar is exceptional against wind but awful against snow so you need a more classical pyramid shape like the MLD Supermid. A classic pyramid shape will be very good against snow loading as they are so steep the snow can't reach thick enough to cause a collapse and they are still pretty good in wind provided you have a strong enough pole in the center and they came with enough guidelines because some like the hyperlite ultra-mid apparently underperform quite a bit in wind compared to something like the super mid (please will everyone stop calling their tents something mid). Quite a few people sleep on the pyramid 10 ignoring how strong they can be if designed for strength. Designed puts all of the force onto the pole but through compression instead of bending which is the force a pole will be strongest in and so they can survive lots of pressure put on that pole which comes from the wind and due to their fairly aerodynamic shape the wind will also not be applying that much force onto the pole to begin with. But pyramid tents do still have an upper limit, morso in wind than anything else. If you need a stronger tent then you need to ask what exactly you will be camping in to determine what type of tent. A geodesic dome like the Soulo or abisko dome will perform best under snow loading and wind particularly from any direction so if you're in places where wind speed might change often they are very good choice. Tunnel tents however are more weight efficient for the amount of strength and space they give. In the lengthway they might even be slightly stronger than 4 geodesic Dome as they are that little bit more streamline although from the side they will be worse but still pretty strong. The biggest factor of a tunnel 10 however is that the snow loading will be less than a dome tent. But there is a reason tunnel tents are the favorite for expeditions. But also what is your pack size because if you are cross-country skiing because the snow is that deep and pulling everything on a pulk to make it a lot easier to carry the weight you need then having the extra space in a tunnel tent will be very helpful. If the snow isn't all that deep and so you're able to just walk with boots or snowshoes and stick everything in a pack then a dome will probably be the best as for the same way you can get a lot stronger and so take it out in even worse conditions then you are planning. And lastly if there's just going to be high wind instead of very high wind then a pyramid tent will be more than adequate. The scarp is a strong tent, I'm not really sure how you're getting it to double the price unless hillerberg offers Swedish discounts because in most places they are half the price of a hillberg. The Xmid2 isn't really cut out for Swedish winters. It's fine under snow loading because of the steep angles and can reach surprisingly high winds for a two pole tracking pole tent particularly with all the guidelines but is ok up to 45mph (reports of higher but even Dan himself said he doubted those reports). For through hikes and what most people will be doing in ultralight that is more than strong enough but Scandinavia and the UK receive very high winds in winter and you will normally assume you will experience at least a 40mph and if the weather becomes worse than expected it won't be unrealistic to say that you might experience 60mph on any large hill or mountain at least once a week and quite often not all that predictable for when it will happen. A couple other brands you should look at are Fjallraven, Nortent and the Nordisk Seiland. All are Scandinavian manufacturers. Terranova makes some strong four season tents such as the Southern cross which might be the lightest weight four season tent you will be able to find that is a classic tent instead of a pyramid tent. But you really need to ask yourself what you will actually be doing on these hikes. If you are summit camping then you will need something like a nallo, Seiland or abisko dome because nothing else could be strong enough for the wins that you might get. If you are camping in the forest however the trees will massively reduce the wind you receive and so even an X-mid could be strong enough and a pyramid tent will definitely be strong enough.

Great breakdown of the concepts - for those wanting something that's actually ultralight but still handles moderate winter conditions, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid in DCF is probably the best compromise at around 1.5lbs (without inner) and can handle significant snow/wind when pitched properly and dug into snow.