TETON Sports Mountain Ultra 4 Tent Review

TETON Sports is a company that specializes in outdoor recreational equipment. Founded in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2005, Teton makes sleeping bags, backpacks, tents, cots and camp pads, hammocks, and accessories for camping. Their philosophy as a manufacturer is to keep overheads low to help deliver overbuilt products at competitive prices.

TETON launched the Mountain Ultra tent series in 2014. They offer this “ultralight” tent in 1, 2, 3, and 4-person sizes. We’re reviewing the 4-person Mountain Ultra, a dome style-tent made mostly of micro mesh and featuring a cross and ridge pole configuration.

Here are the specs and features of the Mountain Ultra 4 Tent:

• Size (set up) 98″ x 83″ x 59″
• Size (packed) 25″ x 7.5″ x 7.5″
• Total weight 9.46 lb (4.3 kg)
• Trail weight 7.7 lb (3.5 kg)
• Rainfly 66D 3mm ripstop 2000mm PU
• Tent fabric micro mesh
• Two doors and vestibules
• T6 Aluminum Simple Cross and Ridge Pole System
• Orange/grey color scheme
• Footprint (floor protector) included 150D Oxford
• Mesh gear pockets
• Engineered to prevent condensation and allow summer views
• Oxford bathtub floor with extra-high walls and reinforced heat-taped corners and seams
• Reinforced mesh seams and anchor points for extra durability
• Customer service guarantee and limited lifetime warranty

What we like

Our first impression of the Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 4 was that it’s a sleek, attractive, and unique design. As a seamless dome-style tent made mostly of micro mesh, with a cross and ridge pole configuration, the Mountain Ultra manages to be both simple and different from other tents.

Most self-proclaimed “ultralight” backpacking tents look great on paper but end up being some mix of too small, not durable enough, or insufficiently breathable. As you’ll see, we didn’t have any of these issues with the Mountain Ultra 4.

The packed size of the Mountain Ultra 4, at 25” x 7.5” x 7.5”, is small enough to work for backpacking in the real world. It’s not the most compact packed four-person tent, but it’s certainly not the biggest either.

When we set the Mountain Ultra 4 up, the overall footprint was 98” x 83” x 59”, or 8’2” by 6’11” by 4’11”. This tent has ample room for several adults. The two-door vestibules take up a portion of the floor space; vestibules are a nice feature to provide additional protection from bad weather, and also a place to store gear.

The T6 aluminum poles cross over one another in a “cross and ridge” design with one main pole acting as the “spine” and two perpendicular poles supporting the tent laterally.

The tent’s micro-mesh construction makes it stand out from competitors’ offerings. As TETON explains, the micro mesh allows for maximum ventilation during nice weather and even enables you to stargaze on clear nights. To address potential durability issues, TETON reinforced the mesh floor seams and corners.

The Mountain Ultra’s rainfly is 66D 3mm ripstop polyurethane with 2000mm waterproofing. That means over 24 hours, this rainfly can keep 2000mm of water out of the tent. It’s a sturdy and attractive rainfly, and it’s fantastic for keeping dust or water out of the tent. Another feature of the rainfly we appreciate is the pass-through ventilation to help prevent condensation from building up inside the tent.

Along with the rainfly, the Mountain Ultra features a high-walled Oxford bathtub floor with reinforced, heat-taped corners and seams. It is our favorite type of floor design because it’s incredibly effective at keeping water out – even standing water during a rainstorm.

TETON includes a 150D Oxford footprint – an exterior floor protector – with the tent. We thought this was a nice touch because most companies sell these as separate accessories. The footprint adds a bit of extra weight, but we recommend bringing it along to help preserve your backpacking tent.

TETON advertises the Mountain Ultra 4 as a 3-season tent, but users have reported that it’s suitable for cold weather and even snow. It won’t perform as well in snow as a dedicated winter tent built to remain insulated in conditions with heavy snow, but it can still do the job. The manufacturer also reports that it can withstand wind gusts of 50-60mph when the included guylines are attached.

The Mountain Ultra 4 allows for easy setup: one person can set it up in five minutes or less. The setup is easy and intuitive. If you don’t like written instructions, or want to see the tent in action, you can find the setup directions here in video form.

As a company, TETON prides itself on a full-service limited lifetime warranty and excellent customer service. We haven’t used their warranty or in-house customer service, but plenty of satisfied online reviewers out there confirm these claims.

What we wish was different

 In torrential downpours, the Mountain Ultra’s all-mesh inner tent construction is a liability. Some users reported that in the time it took to set the tent up, the floor would flood before they could get the rainfly attached.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way for TETON to address this issue. Perhaps they could modify the Mountain Ultra to pack with the rain fly attached. The best solution for users is to set the tent up under an overhang or another shelter, if possible when it’s raining hard.

The footprint (exterior floor protector accessory) lacks buckles. In theory, the tent could slide off the footprint. If you set up on a flat grade and don’t knock the tent around from the inside, it’s probably a non-issue, but it would also be an easy fix for the manufacturer.

The Mountain Ultra 4 is an excellent value for some users, but it isn’t a budget tent. Although it is far from the most expensive tent on the market, it’s a premium ultralight tent at a premium price. If you are looking for good value for weekend car camping, you can find equally durable and suitable options that are less expensive.

Although TETON advertises the Mountain Ultra as “ultralight,” some hikers would dispute this claim. At a best case scenario weight of nearly 8 lb, the tent weighs in at almost double what some competitors’ offerings weigh. 

What other customers say

L.A. says this tent is the best ultralight tent on the market this year, and maybe ever.

Baxter C. generally uses a one person tent, but he decided to get the Mountain Ultra 4 for some extra room on a six-state trip; he wasn’t disappointed.

Matthew K. says easy setup, easy access, low weight, and great value made this tent perfect for his four-day Appalachian trail hike in New Jersey.

Wrapping up

The Mountain Ultra 4 is truly versatile. It’s light enough and compact enough for backpacking, but it’s roomy, durable, and has the right features for many different types of outdoor enthusiasts.

As we mentioned, it’s not the lightest “ultralight” tent out there; but it’s much lighter than most four-person tents, and the room, durability, and breathability still set it apart from other ultralight models on the market.