Even a very good 4 season tent can be abused and demolished, if you don't know what you are doing. Encouraged by a nice experience with VE-25s on Denali, I ordered several for a backwoods archaeological project we were doing on Santa Rosa Island. I knew we needed tents that could stand up to high winds - about 60mph. I got one for each of us, which, sure enough, was luxurious - worthwhile when you are going to be living in one for a four month period. We never had to backpack them, but space and bulk were a consideration.

At our base camp, we focused on a central building and pitched our tents roundabout, in whatever setting appealed to each of us. One night I entered the building to start breakfast to encounter a crew member who had taken shelter there during the night. Her VE-25,pitched in an exposed spot to take advantage of the view, had been destroyed by a wind that sprang up about 10 PM. I, asleep in my tent,pitched in a willow thicket in a gully, never even heard the wind.

Those winds, known locally as "sundowners" can spring up from a dead calm in about ten or fifteen minutes.

On Denali, during one storm at 14,000 feet, we had to shovel off our VE-25 about every three hours, in a heavy snowstorm. Even good tents need care.