Tarptent for four seasons?

Depends on whether you mean tarptent the brand or the design catagory. Henry Shires tents seem to generally have fairly large unsupported "roofs" – not especially well suited to snowloading.

Pyrimid shelters (Golite / Oware / BlackDiamond) have many fans as winter shelters; all feature pretty good snow and wind shedding charactoristics. I use the Golite Hex enthusistically.

The Rainbow should be as good as any with snow loads. I will definitely use the extra mid-height points when that occurs, but haven't had it out in those conditions yet.

Here is another enthusiastic recommendation of the Hex 3 for winter camping. If you can hang on for awhile I believe other manufacturers will be coming out with pyramid and similar design shelters in the coming months. GoLite had some new models on display at the gear show in August. Oware’s website says it is coming out with a mini-pyramid soon. It is about time for Shires and SMD to come out with new tents. If you have to buy now you should be able to find a used Hex here at this forum periodically and on ebay.

Taking my Tarptent Virga (or similar) into winter conditions is not my first choice. However, were I planning a trip where I might expect snow once or twice but not strictly speaking a winter trip (e.g., in the Beartooths in late September) I'd be OK with the Virga or siilar.

For wintertime camping though, on the snow, with frequent storms, I would choose something else. Pyramids, and thir cousins, have a well served following. When pitched well they stay up in bad weather and provide ample room. The Oware Alphamid works well and the Black Diamond Magelite is wonderfully roomy.

One problem with the tarptent style is that in many cases you have mesh running the bottom edge and that let's in plenty of spindrift snow. You can ptich a tarp snug to the ground solving that problem. And, of course, a more traditional tent will not have this issue (to the same degree anyway).

** Ken **

I'm with Ken on this. The mesh will catch spindrift and get clogged with snow. Better to use a floorless tarp than a Tarptent and a teepee over any other tarp shelter.

You'll really want to steer away from the "2" series Squall and Rainshadow due to the flat roofline. Great for headroom, awful for snowloading.

I have never taken a tarptent when I expected snow, but I habe used on a few times when we were semi surprised by snow. I was using the original squall whose roof is a bit more sloped than the current squall2. Over night it snowed a bit… I though I remembered 2.5" but friends tell me it was more than that. Most of the snow rolled right off… though a couple of times I needed to give the tent a little smack to encourage the snow to roll off. I don't know how it would have worked out if there was more snow and/or I didn't wake up periodically. The other issues is that I had some wild blown snow come through the netting which ended up getting my quilt a bit damp. I haven't been hit with snow in our double rainbow yet… I expect it would fair better than the squall, but I won't take it if I was expecting real snowfall.

Personally, I would want something that was more vertical and that I could seal if I was really expecting snow. I am fond of pyramid/tipi style tarps for ultralight snow trips, but I have to admit my favorite shelter was using a Bibler i-tent as a solo shelter. It gave be enough room without being oversized and kept the weather outside.

If it makes you feel better, I use my DR for winter camping. As for the netted sides, you can use a bivy, dig a trench (which I do), or select a protected location (if possible). It's never been severely dumped on with snow, but contrary to others experiences, I feel it sheds pretty well when guyed out…and I love that it can be freestanding with my poles.

Edit: Looking back at Marks post, I agree with his remarks. Although my DR can handle a little weather, it is not a mountaineering/severe weather tent. For my low level area where I know I can find additional shelter if protection is required, it fits the bill.