Most type of tents are 3 season tents, meaning they’re great for warmer weather, but won’t keep you warm in tough winter conditions. For winter camping, you need a four-season tent with features to stand up to extreme cold weather.
To help you find a tent that fits that description, we’ve put together this list of the best cold weather tents. All of the tents in this winter tent review are design to keep you comfortable in the harshest of conditions.
Planning a winter camping trip? Be sure to check out our 20 top tips for keeping warm when camping in the winter.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Best Cold Weather Tents
- Big Agnes Battle Mountain Mountaineering Tent
- ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 3
- MSR Access 4-Season Tent
- Black Diamond Eldorado Tent
- Russian Bear Cuboid 2.20 Yurt Tent With Wood Burning Stove
1. Big Agnes Battle Mountain Mountaineering Tent
The Big Agnes Battle Mountain Mountaineering Tent is a bomber basecamp style tent, which means its designed to stand up to extreme conditions associated with high-altitude cold weather camping, like high winds and heavy snow. It’s not a spacious family camping tent or an ultralight backpacking tent, but its durability is tough to compete with.
This dome tent has a UV-resistant polyester ripstop tent and rainfly, and both high and low guy lines for security in strong winds. Double-layer, dual zipper doors allow you to close only the mesh section to encourage air flow or close the nylon layer as well for full coverage.
DAC oversized clips make it easy to clip the tent to the poles, even in thick winter gloves. Color coded poles and webbing also help with easy setup. Oversized stake out loops are designed to be used with whatever’s handy, like ski poles or an ice axe.
The Big Agnes Battle Mountain Mountaineering Tent comes with two vestibule options, one with a single-zip door and one with a double zip door that can be set up as an awning with trekking poles. It also includes a removable gear loft for extra space for small gear storage, plus interior loops for attaching accessories like lights.
It comes in 2-person and 3-person tent sizes.
2. ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 3
The Tasmanian is our best cold weather tent for those on a budget.
This 3-person backpacking tent for winter camping has a dome-shape design that covers 14 square feet of space and includes a large vestibule. Now, there are more livable cold weather tents on the market, but not many in this price range.
It has an innovative two pole design that has a lot of structural strength. With the fly pulled taught, this build can handle snow loading and light winds.
For those who appreciate extra storage space, this tent has two separate vestibule areas, one at either end. This allows users to store extra gear or spare clothing outside the main sleeping area, which keeps everything nice and cozy.
For one or two people, the ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 2 is a slightly smaller option. Whether you get the 2-person or 3-person type, the ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian is a budget cold weather tent for those who don’t want to pay premium prices.
3. MSR Access 4-Season Tent
The MSR Access 4-Season Tent, available in 1, 2, and 3-person sizes, is ideal for winter backpackers. It’s warm and durable, yet still lightweight, with the 3-person model weighing just 5.06 pounds.
The tent body has limited mesh to keep the inner tent insulated and warm. A central-support frame helps the tent stand up to snow buildup and the Easton Syclone poles shouldn’t break in bad weather. The flysheet has an Xtreme Shield waterproof coating.
As for other features, the 2 and 3-person sizes have two internal storage pockets, the 1-person has one storage pocket. Similarly, the 2 and 3-person sizes have two doors with a vestibule on each side for additional gear storage. The 1-person has a single door and vestibule.
4. Black Diamond Eldorado Tent
Next up is the Black Diamond Eldorado Tent. This is another lightweight option, weighing just a few ounces heavier than the MSR.
This tent has lightweight and flexible aluminum poles that will bend, not break, in the wind. Various guy line points across the tent body help with wind resistance.
The tent body has single-wall fabric for warmth, but zippered peak vents, a hooded over-the-door vent, and a floor vent to allow for airflow as needed. The single door minimizes seams and zippers for cold air to sneak through. An optional vestibule provides exterior but sheltered gear storage.
Unlike the other tent options on this list, the Eldorado is only available in a single 2-person size.
5. Russian Bear Cuboid 2.20 Yurt Tent With Wood Burning Stove
The Russian Bear Cuboid 2.20 is a larger tent for campers who want more room to move around.
This tent is designed to be used with a tent stove, which is included, and has a stove jack in the roof. With a stove, it still has plenty of room for 2 cots on the floor. You can use bunkbed style cots to fit more beds inside or just leave more floor area open for living space, though you still probably want to limit this tent to no more than 3 people.
(For larger crowds, go with the Russian Bear Cuboid 4.40.)
A heavy-duty, freestanding aluminum alloy pole system makes up the frame of this vertical wall tent. The tent has a triple layer floor to provide insulation from the cold ground and ensure that snow or ice underneath the tent doesn’t melt from the heat of the stove.
The tent walls are double layered and made from water and windproof materials. A skirt along the bottom of the outside of the tent ensures that water doesn’t get in that way either. The tent has windows to keep things breathable, but they have five layers so you won’t lose any heat when they’re closed.
One of the tent walls can be opened up to create a screen room with three large mesh windows for additional living space in warmer weather conditions. An additional floor piece can be used underneath the screen room.
With the screen room, this high-quality Russian Bear tent has roughly 104 square feet of floor space. With the wall closed, the tent has an area of about 52 square feet. The 6’3″ peak height allows most campers to stand and walk completely upright inside the tent.
Final Thoughts on the Best Cold Weather Tents
With so many different types of winter tent on the market, it can be hard to pick just one to cover all of your needs. The main factor is ensuring that the tent will keep you warm. Once that is sorted, you will need to figure out what matters to you when buying a tent.
Some options to consider are the size you require, whether you require a lightweight cold weather tent for portability, how much you’re willing to spend, and what other features you need.
Don’t forget the importance of other cold weather camping gear, like your sleeping bag and sleeping pad, for keeping warm during your winter camping experience.
Look to the above brands, plus brands like Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, and Geertop, for more great winter tents and other cold weather camping gear.
