ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 1.0 1-Person 3-Season Tent Review

On the advice of someone who owns a fleet of tents for commercial use I purchased this tent from the Alps Company. It was about $80 less than comparable freestanding solos from MSR, Big Agnes, and Mountain Hardwear. Despite the price difference, this tent is of the same quality as far as materials, workmanship, and design go. I was under the impression that Alps just copied others designs and that they saved their money in R&D. But this tent disproves that. The design is extremely practical. They took a simple timeless design with the two crossing poles and made a huge improvement to it just by adding an elbow resulting in more headroom where your head goes rather than in the middle of the tent where it is wasted. The innovative designs of the MSR Hubba or BA Seedhouse are great, but I really think this more basic modification performs equally as well. I know MSR used to provide the 3-sided stakes with some of their tents and that may be the only thing that is clearly superior to this Alps, which just provides your basic aluminum needle stakes.

The Zepyr 1 is roomier than I expected. Though you couldn't fit 2 sleeping bags side by side but I do think you could sleep two friendly people in here on a dry night. The Zephyr narrows slightly at the feet and leaves plenty of room for one person and some belongings. The vestibule is smaller than expected but should be adequate for a single pack. The Zephyr 1 requires the fly to have two included 12 inch guy wires attached to the bottom of the fly on each side in order to pull the fly from the body. With these in tack the fly did not touch the body anywhere, clearing by an average of about 2 inches. The poles have male fitting on the end and slide through eyelets attached to webbing on each corner. Fly attaches to each corner with adjustable side release buckles. A two piece spreader pole fits in above the door. Alps thoughtfully used a smaller diameter pole for this as it is non load bearing.

My first night in the Zephyr it rained lightly (1/2 of an inch in about 3 hours) and I stayed completely dry. This was in central Florida where humidity is high and condensation occurs every morning. I could feel only the slightest amount of moisture in the cotton teeshirt that was acting as my pillow. There was a bit of water pooling in the triangle created by the intersecting main poles and the spreader bar (maybe 10 mL), but nothing to be concerned about.

In sum, this has surpassed my expectations and it is definitely comparable to the products of the big gear companies. A bit heavier than a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL or a MSR Hubba but cost is 70% and 60% less respectively. I am convinced the price differential is not due to quality or R&D, but is instead due to the advertising campaigns of MSR, The North Face, and even Big Agnes these days. When you buy a Hubba you are paying for 2 page spreads in Outside and Backpacker. I will buy Alps again.


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Product Description:
There are some serious benefits to tenting alone. For one, a single-person tent weighs a lot less than a two-person tent. You also don't have to worry about getting steam-rolled at four AM or warding off your homesick tentmate's wandering hands. At under four pounds, the Alps Mountaineering Zephyr 1.0 Tent barely affects the scales, but offers heavy-duty protection against bugs and wet weather. All-mesh walls guarantee ventilation during muggy summer nights, while the urethane-coated, seam-sealed fly blocks precipitation. Two aircraft-grade aluminum poles set up with simple clips and provide strong, lightweight stability.

Product Features

Material: [Fly] urethane-coated polyester; [Floor] urethane-coated polyester;
Freestanding: Yes
Poles: 2
Pole Material: Aircraft aluminum
Doors: 1
Clip / Sleeve: Clip
Floor Space: 44 x 86in (112 x 218cm), 23sq ft (2.13sq m)
Interior Height: 37in (920cm)
Vestibule Space: 5.5sq ft (510sq m)
Packed Size:
Ventilation: Mesh walls
Weight: 3lb 14oz (1758g)
Recommended Use: 3-season backpacking & camping
Manufacturer Warranty:
Country of Origin: China

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