I've been thinking about this thread and it has been bothering me. The advice that we (including me) have been giving to this guy is not the best advice. We have been suggesting the best and most expensive tents, on the market. The kind of tents that you can depend on in extreme conditions. Conditions where if the tent fails it could mean that you die. That kind of reliability is expensive. But that's not the kind of conditions that he is anticipating.
He states that he wants to carry the tent in the back of his Jeep and that he's not going to be packing in. So he's going to be car camping and that includes winter car camping. Even in winter he's not going to be placing himself in extreme risk conditions because if the tent fails he just climbs into the Jeep, waits until morning and goes home. No Big deal.
Idaho Elk Huntr:
Here are some suggestions that more closely mirror the kind of conditions that you anticipate.
The Cabelas XPG-4, four man, 4-season tent with aluminum poles costs $500 and it's one of the best values on the market for top-of-the-line tents.
There are a bunch of 3-season, 4-person tents on the market for around $300. Even though you anticipate winter camping, they would probably serve your needs most of the time since you will never be far from the Jeep. These tents all have full coverage rain-flys and that's signifigant in winter.
Eureka Taron-4 ($330)
Marmot Limelite-4 ($300)
Mountainsmith Genesee-4 ($170)
Mountain Hardwear Shifter-4 ($270)
Kelty Gunnison 4.3 ($240)
All of these tents can be purchased at Campmor.com.
Hope this helps.
KC
