That's always the case. You want a tent durable enough to withstand 90% of the weather you encounter, but you don't want to be always be lugging around the extra weight of a 4 season tent that you may only need 10% of the time. A 3 season is a decent compromise, you'll be carrying a heavier tent than a lightweight solo, but then you can also extend its use into 4 seasons by careful placement and setup.


I've been happy with a 3 man Sierra Designs Meteor Light (old version). Not a true 4-season tent, but a very robust 3 season. The new version will just barely meet your <6lb requirement, but I don't know if the strength is compromised with the new pole design, and even then it's still a pretty heavy tent. The full coverage rainfly and igloo shape really sheds wind and rain. But it only has 1 large vestibule, which might not work for your requirement of not getting the inner tent wet. The good thing is there are 2 exits, so you can always enter and exit on the leeward side, and I like the window in the vestibule so you can see outside without actually exposing yourself to the weather.

I remember watching videos of SD testing their tents in a wind tunnel with 100mph winds, so I think it should hold up through most any storm. I think there are internal guy lines to strengthen it if the wind gets that bad, but I've never tried it. If the wind ever got that bad, I'd probably pack up and go somewhere else.