Late to the show, but I'm not entirely convinced by the current answers.
First, we can't really talk about 4-season tents without considering the activity and conditions
The term "4-season" can mean anything from a tent that can cope with a bit of snow like the Hilleberg Red Label series, to full-on expedition tents like the Hilleberg Black Labels.
And when SectionHiker is talking about "too heavy or too hot", his context is long-distance walking in New England conditions. If you're doing a different activity in a different place, your definitions will change.
When I was a climber, I didn't mind carrying a bomber, comfy tent for a few hours to set up a basecamp - a couple of kilos was "light". Now that my focus is long-distance mountain walking my definition of "too heavy" has changed radically - nowadays I would shoot for a quarter of that, even in the UK winter.
And "too hot" means very different things to someone who walks in Sweden vs someone who walks in Arizona.
So if "a true 4-season tent" means a tent that would work for everything between the Mojave in June to a winter ascent of Denali, the answer is obviously no. But if you're talking about a shelter for a walk that might involve a steamy valley and an inch or two of snow by a chilly glacier, the answer is very much yes. But you have a number of workable options, and the right choice for you will depend on a wide range of factors.
Second, skills and equipment selection are as important as your choice of shelter
For someone with experience, a 9oz/250g flat tarp or a 12oz/350g pyramid tarp could match any 5lb/2.5kg Hilleberg Red Label for performance and safety in moderate winter conditions. And they would easily adapt to provide excellent summer shelter as well.
But to pull this off requires:
- Good judgement of conditions
- Skillful site selection, guying and pegging
- The right choice of sleeping system and optional additional bivy protection etc.
- And it also requires a different attitude to comfort and exposure to
nature.
So there are no free rides. With modern materials you can push lightweight shelters into some pretty hairy conditions, but only if you know what you are doing and are prepared to compromise on comfort. Or you can enjoy the comfort and safety of a Red Label Hilleberg, but at the cost of lugging 3-4 times the weight. And there is a spectrum of solutions in-between.
As always, the right answer depends on your application, skills and preferences
So as always with questions of gear selection, the real answer is that it depends. It depends on your activity, the range of conditions you'll encounter, your skills and experience, and your personal preferences, dislikes and tolerance of risk.
I wish I could offer you some kind of easy answer, but that would be dishonest. Even seasoned walkers struggle with their choice of shelter, and with how their shelter integrates with their other equipment selections. Most keen mountain walkers are continuously refining their systems as their experience develops. If you ask a more specific question we could offer more specific advice. But more generally I would urge you to join the online communities that gather around your field of interest and begin the long process of building your knowledge and experience.
