MSR - Elixir 3

This is such a solid backpacking tent. With thick fabrics, metal hardwear, and an extremely well thought out design, I would recommend this to anyone who isn't afraid of carrying an extra pound or two for a bulletproof piece of equipment. It's rated as a 3 season, but is at least partially double walled allowing for additional insulation.

Ultra lite and backpacking are different things, and for the added durability there is a weight difference

i have one, and it’s been great. it’s held up in some pretty gnarly weather and been a great tent for pretty much any situation we’ve used it in.

to summarize what you probably want in a good tent, especially one as versatile as you want: strong pole structure, more solid body than mesh, enough mesh and vents for proper airflow, and portability. increased visibility is also always a plus, especially if you’re camping in wintry climates. generally, for something that will be tested by harsh conditions on a regular basis, it’s good to stick with the established brands rather than rolling the dice with amazon-affiliates: they’ve been around for a long time, and they’re a lot more likely to stand by their product than a shifty company that has never heard of the phrase “quality control”. MSR elixir is great, and usually is cheap. it’s very storm proof, does well in high winds, and can handle both texas heat and colorado blizzards comfortably. it’s a bit heavier than the REI half dome, but i’d wager it probably handles rough conditions far better. with gear, the cloud up 2 design is going to suck. you’re going to probably want two doors/vestibules if you have a lot of gear, and having the entrance like that seems like it would be far more annoying that a standard side entrance for a tent. also, there’s no such thing as a true all-season tent (at least one that can handle alpine conditions without being a sauna/greenhouse any other time of the year), but the elixir is one of the few that can come close to fitting the bill. if you want something that will let you do some serious winter camping (high elevations, high winds, high snow loads, etc.), you will need to go outside of that price range unless you find it used somewhere or it falls off a truck. i wouldn’t trust the onetigris “4 season” tent, since it looks like they’ve equated “4 season” with “no mesh”, allowing them to sell a cheaper tent at a higher price point. as a rule of thumb, i’m generally cautious about onetigris and other brands like them that try to market themselves as tacticool bushcraft warrior tent brands, since that’s usually compensating for shitty equipment. the north face tent you’ve shown might be a good mountaineering tent, but it’s probably overkill (if it’s any good) because you likely won’t be doing any alpine expeditions any time soon. a “treeline” 4 season tent like the MSR access 2 would be a better fit if you want a true 4 season tent, and it occasionally is on sale — i managed to get one used for $100 and it’s been a pretty good tool for camping in harsh wintry conditions. that said, it’s very expensive (for good reason), so you’re probably better off sticking with something like the Elixir, as you’re probably not going to get as lucky as i did any time soon.

The MSR Elixer 3 would work and has a unique yet intuitive pole design that is incredibly strong in high wind. I have an Elixer 2 and it has held up without fail in many wind and rain storms.

We have the MSR Elixir 3 from 4 years ago. It's still going strong.

Have one as well. LOVE IT!!!

I have had MSR Elixir 3 for several years and it has been solid and easy to set up. No idea where it sits on the lightness scale nowadays, but at least it doesn’t weigh like rocks. Would recommend it.

I've got an MSR Elixir 3 person tent, and it's just big enough for my wife and I and our packs. The poles and pegs are titanium, so they're super light and strong. It can also be used as an ultralight tent by connecting only the fly to the footprint. We've had it for 6yrs, and it's still going strong

personally for me and my gf we use the MSR elixr 3 person. perfect for us both with space for our stuff or even just get the 2 man

I've used the Elixir 3 pretty extensively. Been through beach winds, pacific northwest storms, and the dry heat of Death Valley. It's a great tent, and I'd recommend it, however, I would not buy it again. It is challenging to get a tight pitch of the fly without it sagging onto the mesh, and with the vents in the fly being lower (great for waterproofing), it's generally poor for ventilation. We'd always wake up with a little condensation touching the mesh. You'd think with little details like the rain gutters along the zippers, MSR would have taken better care to allow the user a better pitch. Regardless, the tent has always served us well despite it's shortcomings.

at a trail weight of 6 lbs, this is not a backpacking tent. that's at least 30% more than it should be.

a 4 lb tent is not ultra light.

not an elitist, backpacking with the tent you have is better than not going at all. I was just stating that 4 lbs is not ultralight. you would need to be down around 2 or less to be in that class and i wouldn't consider anything over 5 to be a "backpacking tent". that doesn't mean you can't use it while backpacking though. 20 years ago we didn't have anything close to that light. we were backpacking with eureka timberline tents (with the lighter poles at least) and they were probably nearly 10 lbs.