If you plan a long hike with your friends or family members and need shelter, you will want to see this selection of the best 4 person backpacking tents, all ultralight and reliable, from the leading brands in the outdoor industry.
Some of the tents below are light enough that it would make sense to use them as 3-person backpacking tents. This works best if you have lots of gear that needs to be protected during the night. You can also view our backpacking 3-person tents.
Note that all the tents here have at least one vestibule, the majority of them are with two. So you always have at least some storage space for gear.
Our list of the best 4-person backpacking tents
The list is ordered by weight from heavier to lighter:
We have put the upper weight limit to around 3 kilograms. But it may be useful also to check the weight in the relative sense. So you will see the ratio of the total protected space and the tent’s weight given for each of the tents in the list.
The term total protected space means the inner floored area plus the area under the vestibules. This ratio is a useful parameter that shows how effective the tent’s construction really is.
1. Kelty Grand Mesa 4 Tent
This Grand Mesa 4 is from a Kelty series that has been around for years already. But this is its latest updated version. This tent is proof that lightweight backpacking tents do not have to be really very expensive. What you have here is a very affordable tent without bells and whistles but with all that you need on the trail. It offers full protection from the elements and from insects.
This is a simple dome tent with two poles only. This is a lightweight DAC Pressfit aluminum design. The fabric is surprisingly durable for such a light tent. So you have a 68D polyester used everywhere, and it is with an 1800 mm waterproof rating, plus a No-see-um Mesh on the canopy.
Best Seller
Pros:
- Quick-Corner design.
- Great carry bag design.
- Very easy to use.
- Durable fabric.
- Tall tent.
- Great price.
Cons:
- Single door.
- One vent.
Available from:
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The feature you’ll like here is the Kelty’s Quick-Corner Technology that includes narrow but deep sleeves in the corners, and here you place the ends of the poles. So this is instead of the usual grommets or pin-and-ring attachment elements. This makes the setup very easy and one person can do the job without problems.
The feature you might not like is its single door and its single vestibule. So the storage area is not so great for 4 users. See some numbers now:
- Packaged weight: 7 lb 7 oz (3.37 kg).
- Floored area: 54.5 ft² (5.06 m²).
- Vestibule area: 14 ft² (1.3 m²).
- Dimensions (L x W x H): 98 x 80 x 56 inches (249 x 203 x 142 cm).
- Packed size: 18 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches (46 x 19 x 19 cm).
Note that the tent is very tall, so this compensates for the fact that this is a simple dome, and you still have enough volume inside. Its ratio of the total protected area and weight is 1.9 m²/kg.
2. Kelty Dirt Motel 4 Person Tent
If you are familiar with Kelty as a brand, then perhaps you know that they launched this tent instead of their well-known Kelty TN 4 tent. So the structure is again the same, this is a very typical dome-style tent with two main X-crossed poles plus a short ridge pole that makes the doors vertical.
Best Seller
Pros:
- Simple structure, easy to use.
- Ventilated.
- Durable fabric.
- Great packed size.
Cons:
- A bit steep price.
Available from:
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The tent has two doors and two vestibules created by its full-size fly. The mentioned poles are top-quality DAC Pressfit aluminum. The Pressfit system was invented in 1996 and this is a 7001 aluminum alloy.
The fly is a 40D siliconized ripstop nylon with a 1500 mm waterproof rating. The canopy is mostly a no-see-um mesh. The floor is durable 70D nylon with a 3000 mm PU coating. All seams are sealed. For ventilation, they have added vents on vestibules.
Here are the numbers:
- Packaged weight: 6 lb 14 oz (3.12 kg).
- Floor area: 55.5 ft² (5.15 m²).
- Vestibules area: 9 + 9 ft² (0.83 + 0.83 m²).
- Total protected area: 73.5 ft² (6.8 m²).
- Peak height: 46 inches (116 cm).
- Packed size: 16 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches (41 x 19 x 19 cm).
So you realize that here the total protected space and weight ratio is around 2.2 m²/kg.
3. MSR Papa Hubba NX Tent 4 Person
As usual with such ultralight tents, this MSR Papa Hubba NX Tent 4 is also built from the best possible materials. This includes 4 DAC Featherlite NSL poles plus a ridge pole. The main poles create 4 intersection points so the structure is really stable and strong.
As for the fabric, you have a thin 20D ripstop nylon rain fly with a 1200 mm DuraShield polyurethane & silicone coating. On the floor you have a 30D ripstop nylon with 3000 mm rated DuraShield polyurethane. The floor is a bathtub-type design so you are safe from splashes.
Best Seller
Pros:
- The materials.
- Useful vestibules.
- Compression stuff sack with a pull handle.
- Strong frame.
Cons:
- A bit too low.
Available from:
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You realize from the picture above that the tent is low profile and with a full-coverage fly that creates two vestibules. So the structure is aerodynamic and it will perform great in windy places. The peak height is 44 inches (112 cm). The walls where the doors are located are quite steep for extra volume.
Here you have a few more numbers. The packed weight is 6 lb 8 oz (2.96 kg), and the floor area is 55 ft² (5.14 m²). The two vestibules add 11 + 11 ft² (1.02 + 1.02 m²). So the total protected area/weight ratio here is 2.07 m²/kg. The packed size is (L x D) 21 x 7 inches (53 x 17 cm).
4. Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 4 Tent
This tent is the largest in the series of three Copper Spur HV UL tents, the series includes also a solo tent and a 2-person tent. I would start with the numbers because they are quite impressive.
- Packed weight: 5 lb 10 oz (2.55 kg).
- Dimensions: 96 x 86 inches (244 x 218 cm).
- Peak height: 50 inches (127 cm).
- Floor area: 57 ft² (5.3 m²).
- Vestibule area: 14 + 14 ft² (1.3 m² + 1.3 m²).
- Packed size (L x D): 21.5 x 5 inches (55 x 13 cm).
So the total protected area here is 85 ft² (7.9 m²). This gives the total protected space and weight ratio of 3.1 m²/kg. Such a value is hard to match.
Best Seller
Pros:
- Ultralight.
- Ultra-compact.
- Versatile.
- Excellent features.
- Awnings.
Cons:
- Expensive.
Available from:
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The tent is a dome tent supported by X-crossed hubbed DAC Featherlite NFL and NSL poles. There is one extra brow pole that pulls the side walls up and creates extra volume. This is behind the letter HV in the name of the tent.
Both the fly and floor are silicone-treated (SilNylon) proprietary patterned random rip-stop nylon. This treatment is stronger and more durable than PU-coated materials, and they claim it is stable against UV radiation.
5. Klymit Maxfield 4-Person Tent
Klymit as a brand is best known for its excellent backpacking pads, but recently they have started building tents and have a few on the market. This Maxfield 4 is an excellent example of a backpacking tent. It is ultralight with its 5.6 lb (2.5 kg) weight. You can use it as a 3-person tent and it will still be ultralight even in this group.
It is a bit unusual by the design, namely, this is a tunnel-shaped tent. It is supported by two loops that are connected by a ridge pole. The poles are Yunan aluminum 7001 alloy hubbed structures.
Best Seller
Pros:
- Incredible weight.
- Great ventilation.
- Great packed size.
Cons:
- Not a very large floor area.
Available from:
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The fabric includes a thin 20D nylon mesh on the canopy and a 15D nylon ripstop fly with a silicone/polyurethane coating with a 1200 mm waterproof rating. The floor is a bathtub-type 40D PU-coated nylon ripstop with a 3000 mm waterproof rating.
The tent has two doors and two vestibules. The tent’s base is irregular and tapered. The two vestibules are of very different shapes and sizes. So see some numbers now.
The floor area is 53 ft² (4.9 m²). The two vestibules add 16 + 9.5 ft² (1.5 + 0.9 m²). So the total protected space (TPS) is 78.5 ft² (6.12 m²). This means that the ratio of the total protected space and weight ratio is 2.4 m²/kg and this is a great value.
The tent is low profile and the peak height is 45 inches (114 cm). The packed size (L x D) is excellent 20 x 6.5 inches (51 x 17 cm).
Note also that the tent is nicely ventilated and its carry bag is simply perfect. This is a great 3-season backpacking tent. You might want to know that they also have its smaller version Maxfield 2 tent, they sell them at the same place on Amazon, so follow the link below.
Final thoughts
In our selections of the best 4 person backpacking tents, you can see truly are the best options in this capacity group and from the top brands. There are differences in the weight, from the heaviest to the lightest tents here you have a bit more than 800 grams difference.
But there are also differences in the inner floor area, and more importantly in the total protected area with vestibules included. This is why you might want to consider the ratio of the total protected space and the weight, it is given for every tent here.
You can see more about this series in the following video:
