I would also say something like a hammock until I seen where your from. MAINE! I bet the wind blows in bitter cold and you get a good deal of snowfall That pretty much makes hammock a no go unless you have a good bit of time, material, and money to spend on rigging it up to your liking. That beings said, most 4 season tents will work, but on the downside. HEAVY, an usually larger to pack than any sort of other shelter. Some can be had for under $250. but at that price and a minimalist weight, you start to really get the tent closed into you. I have a Eureak Alpenlite XT2 or something like that. Decent, it was a gift, but still, its large to pack, but doable, but so be it a 2 person tent. I consider it a couple or single tent. I used it a few times solo, the first time was the elk hunt 2 years back. It with my Exped 9dx pad, Wiggys superlight system, and pack and it was tight,. Waking up to -10F temps was not very nice either more so with the ice crystals formed all over the inside snowing on me when attempting to try and get dressed up again.
This year, I actually leave tomorrow morning, YEAH ME, I am taking the Kifaru 8man tipi, trucking in, so I have many luxuries I am not use to, canned food, snacks, chips, whiskey and the like. But Im still using my backpacking gear since I want to put some use into it before being off the path and finding something out about it. Ill take photos and post my adventure in about 9 days when I get back. However here is the cramped little quarters of the alpenlite.
I highly recommend borrowing or renting the shelter you plan on picking and trying it out first. Still thinking about offloading this guy, but its still sitting in the garage in a large rubbermaid bin.
