Chip said:
this past weekend the recorded low in my Sierra Designs alpha CD was 49 degrees, 40 outside the tent, so that's good. We also didn't get the mice and sniffing coyote that the guys in the lean-to near us did. no spindrift, no wind. no sudden streams or puddles. As you can tell, I like tents. My non-expedition type camping is in the woods on the AT and ADK, mainly after it snows. I'm thinking my 3 season will work with the rest of my gear in all but the worst these woods can offer.
I think there are 3, maybe 4, issues
1) Spindrift, Wind and Ventilation - On my floorless 'Mid, I generally bury the edges of the tarp/tent to seal out the wind and spindrift. This is very, very effective and has shaped how I use my 3 season tent in the winter. If you have a 3 season tent with loads of bug netting, you will need to bury the edge of the fly to seal out wind, otherwise you can expect spindrift to settle through the netting. If your 3 season tent has limited netting, you can bury the fly or not on your whim. Our old A-frame tents didn't have netting in the walls so we never bothered burying the fly on that tent in the winter. Some 3 season tents are more ammenable than other for this trick. TNF and Moss (now Marmot) typically have low slung flies that are easily buried in the snow. BIG WARNING - if you bury the edge of the fly, you must be double sure to use the door and other vents to keep clean air in the tent, especially if you are using a stove!!! I've seen folks get sick from CO so be very careful. This said, I can't see carrying the extra weight of a winter tent just on account of spindrift. But years of winter camping in a floorless tent have shaped my opinion here. I consider the fly on my 3 season tent to be sufficient for winter camping alone and consider the floor to be a (heavy) bonus regardess of the netting walls.
2) Snow loading - I think snow loading is more of an issue when snow storms and drifting can drop multiple feet of snow at a time. Its not unheard of for high altitude mountaineers to die in their tents buried by big snow. But I can't see that happening in the Northeast. IME, all tents do best when you stay on top of shoveling them out during snow storms. The ability to withstand snow seems to depend on 3 things: a) steep side walls, b) no flat surfaces on the roof c) number of poles. But these generalities are very hard to make. My single pole 'Mid collects snow at the flatter outer edges. Our 3 pole TNF frog tent collects it on the flat top and back. And I've seen so-called whimpy 2 pole hoop tents shed snow like a champ. Bottom line is this, no matter what tent you get, you'll want to shovel it out regularly if it is snowing hard.
3) Warmth - I think the biggest robber of warmth in a tent is drafts. After years of using a single walled 'Mid, I would rather have my 'Mid with the edges buried (sealing out the drafts) than a double walled tent without its edges buried. I've been in double walled tents enough that for me, I've concluded they don't provide enough warmth for the weight. I would rather put the extra ounces/lbs into a warmer sleeping bag and parka.
4) Frost - All tents frost up in the winter. I actually think the champs here are 3 season tents with lots of bug netting. The frost tents to collect on the fly and not in the tent. With non-netting tent walls, you can get frost on the tent liner. My 'Mid is very frosty but I don't care cause is just falls on the snow.
Floorless tents are certainly not for everybody. And they certainly are not the right choice if you are dealling with wet snow, imo. But if you do use a floored tent, I think you can do an awful lot in a 3 season tent.
