Altaplex – zpacks now has the ultimate tent

[Gary Pikovsky]

1 pole setup, roomy, rain and wind bomber, bathtub floor and mesh built in. 16.5oz. Dang!

http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/altaplex.shtml

[Tyler Lego]

holy five hundred and sixty-five dollars, batman! add stakes and you are looking at $600. Awesome looknig shelter tho, would love to get one as a gift!

[Kenneth Jacobs]

Looks like a GG The One without the back pole or a tall SMD Lunar Solo just in cuben… What exactly makes this wind bomber?

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I'd rather it was a normal mid design with a sewn in inner. It looks like they've complicated the shape for no apparent advantage.

The 360 protection is nice, but I wouldn't call it "wind bomber". It's blowing around quite a bit just in the set up video with a light breeze.

[Gary Pikovsky]

It is likely bomber when you lower the guylines. This is not a winter tent, so not winter windproof, but almost as good as a mid. (With a whole lot less condensation.) It's blowing inside the video because Joe has the tent wide open. :)

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Mids can be pitched off the ground if desired. I see no difference in condensation potential. This is essentially a slightly asymmetrical mid that requires more stakes because it's slightly hexagonal. The overlapping door is neat although I suspect it decreases structural integrity.

Zpacks know how to make shelters that are light. I would like to see them focus more on making them simple as well. It's like they're trying to be different for no real reason.

For 3oz more, one could buy a cuben DuoMid + solo inner. That combo is simpler to pitch, has more vestibule space, it's likely better in tough weather and it would enable you to go even lighter than the Altaplex outside bug season with just a ground cloth.

I'm not trying to be a downer, I just don't understand the Zpacks fever these days. There's a lot of other manufacturers making comparable but better sewn and better designed gear (i.e Locus Gear, MLD).

[William Chilton]

"For 3oz more, one could buy a cuben DuoMid + solo inner. That combo is simpler to pitch…"
Is that true, Dan? I used to have an SL2 but didn't like the separate inner because I found it complicated the pitching. Can the Duomid and inner be pitched as one or do you have to pitch the tarp first then add the inner?
BTW, I'm not sure that the shape of the Altaplex does increase the number of stakes needed – a maximum of ten compared to a maximmum of twelve for the Duomid, which I think can be pitched with a slightly hexagonal shape (AFAIK, I've never seen either in the flesh). And if you use the inner, does that require extra stakes?

[Scott Jones]

I can't argue with the weight, but I don't know if it could withstand the weather above timberline in the Beartooths or in a wind/rainstorm in the Columbia River Gorge, but I am all for one of the professional testers at Backpacking Light to find out before I plunk that kind of coin down!

[Gary Pikovsky]

Dan – I see your point, however it's not 3oz. I have the cuben Locus Gear mid, as it happens. It's 11oz sealed. It's great and works well to block the wind, especially with an outer snow barrier. The inner mesh I got is about 13oz. That's 24oz with all the bells and whistles cut off, seam sealed – about half a pound heavier. I'll be using the cuben mid until the mosquitoes and rain starts in late spring, then it's back to zpacks.

That said, a zPacks mid would be something interesting for sure. Maybe Joe is thinking about it…

In regards to pitch, the LG cuben mid by itself is a cinch. As soon as you add an inner, however, it triples or quadruples the setup time.

[M B]

I don't see this as anything more than a solo+ sized solplex .

I think its a good size and nice shelter.

I am quite glad zpacks doesn't just make the same thing as everyone else.

[Ryan Smith]

"I don't see this as anything more than a solo+ sized solplex ."

Exactly. Nothing grand here.

Ryan

[Jennifer Mitol]

My cuben duomid is 11 oz and the cuben floored inner is 6.5. Add some stakes and guy lines and the whole package weighs in at just under 20 oz. I keep them hooked together so all I do is stake out four corners, put up the pole, then put in front and back stakes and I'm done. No fiddling with the inner/outer combo at all.

I ended up selling my solplex because even though the (lack of) weight was phenomenal, I found I really missed the flexibility and the roominess and simplicity of the duomid.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

"Can the Duomid and inner be pitched as one?"
Yes. My solo inner clips inside the mid and pitches as one.

"The inner mesh I got is about 13oz."
That's heavy for a solo inner. MLD's inners are 6.5oz (cuben) or 10oz (silnylon). Others make solo inners with silnylon floors at about 8oz which is what I use. My mid + inner is 19oz.

"As soon as you add an inner, however, it triples or quadruples the setup time."
As mentioned above, you should be able to leave the inner clipped in place.

"I'm not sure that the shape of the Altaplex does increase the number of stakes needed – a maximum of ten compared to a maximmum of twelve for the Duomid"
I think the relevant metrics here are minimum # of stakes for a solid pitch and how finicky the angles are to get right. A DuoMid can be pitched with 4 stakes, 6 is solid and 8 is ready for a storm. Some versions of the DuoMid have attachments for a few more, but these wouldn't normally be needed. Conversely, the Altaplex appears to set up with 6 minimum and 10 are needed to fully tension everything into a solid setup.

A rectangle shaped mid is also less finicky in terms of angles, because you can just stake out a rectangle and then shove the pole in. The shelter is essentially pitched and then guy outs can be added as desired. There's very little need for considering angles or pulling a guy line taut and then moving in 12" as you see in the Altaplex video. This might sounds like nitpicking, but when you're on uneven ground it's not going to be 12" anymore. It could be 8 or 16 because it changes the geometry. Also, the Altamid requires inserting the pole early on, so if it's windy it's going to be yanking the tent around. With the DuoMid you could actually put in all 6 stakes for a solid pitch before inserting the pole.

All of what I've mentioned here is admittedly fairly minor, especially for fair weather use. My core point is that they've complicated things, yet for no advantage. If Zpacks made a rectangle mid with a sewn in inner it would be just as light and more roomy yet simpler. I'm surprised no one seems to offer that.

[Gary Pikovsky]

Dan, thanks for the comments. I just went to MLD website and looked for the Cuben inners and did not see one for 6.5oz, they're going for 10-11oz. Which one do you have?

[bjc]

The cuben solo is listed at 6.5 or 7 ounces. The duo innernet in listed at 10 oz.

[John DeMorris]

"All of what I've mentioned here is admittedly fairly minor, especially for fair weather use. My core point is that they've complicated things, yet for no advantage. If Zpacks made a rectangle mid with a sewn in inner it would be just as light and more roomy yet simpler. I'm surprised no one seems to offer that."

A mid with a sewn in inner would be certainly interesting. I also agree that a lot of the Zpacks shelters seem to be overly complicated. With that in mind I've been keeping my eye on Yama Mountain Gear's new tent to be released (hopefully) early next year. As I understand it, it will use 2 poles and 5 stakes. I think they plan to call it the "Swiftline". We'll see what the final specifications are when its ready for release.

[David Ure]

Strange conversation. The MLD DuoMid is proven and this new Zpacks shelter isn't …yet.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

[Cameron M]

Can anyone offer their experience with similar tents that only have ventilation from one side? I wonder about the lack of cross ventilation on a warm mosquito-filled night. A bit stuffy perhaps?

[Sam Farrington]

As some suggested, an adequate tent should have far less than ten stakes, more coverage under the awning, and vents to help with condensation when the tent must be buttoned up, assuming this one can be. An ultimate tent would also have more head, foot and shoulder room and a track record, as David aptly noted. It's not a good idea to think you have the ultimate tent to use in severe weather, if it is actually likely to leave you cold … and wet.

I'm pretty sure there is no ultimate tent, because the lightest ones are not cut out for winter or severely stormy weather, for quite a number of reasons, and those that are would be too heavy and a waste of energy to carry around in less challenging circumstances. A tent to use above and below T-line in three seasons, including late Fall and early Spring, has to be a balance of compromises with weight, ventilation, pitching ease, rain coverage, high wind stability, space and comfort, making it impossible to achieve even a perfect 3-season tent. Wish it were otherwise.

[Katherine .]

Oh this poor tent!

Remember it's Gary, not Zpacks, dubbing it "ultimate" and "wind bomber."

Now it's gotta defend itself from the backlash against someone else's enthusiasm and hyperbole.

We're going to give the Altaplex a complex.

[Ian]

"Remember it's Gary, not Zpacks, dubbing it "ultimate" and "wind bomber."

Now it's gotta defend itself from the backlash against someone else's enthusiasm and hyperbole."

Thank you. +1.

Here's how the shelter is being marketed:

"The Altaplex is sized for a taller, larger solo hiker, or has enough space to squeeze in a smaller partner in a pinch."

All I see here is a replacement for the now discontinued Hexamid long. I much prefer this design compared to the long as it only needs one pole instead of three.

But it does appear to be bear proof though…

Edit to add:

One advantage a single wall shelter has over a double wall one is it's a bit easier to wipe down the walls with a bandana or towel when the condensation starts to build up. There's a reason why we all don't drive honda civics. Different strokes for different folks.

I do think this shelter is interesting since I'm 6'3".

[Monte Masterson]

It seems as if there were a way to brace a second (very long) pole on the back side of the Altaplex, and make an inverted V like the Duomid, it might just be solid in strong winds.

Marry the Altaplex Tarp up with an MLD Pyramid innernet and you have something that is about 3 oz lighter than the Duomid, mianly because it's .51 cuben. (Ron won't do .51 anymore)

[jscott]

I think that I see the logic of this tent. Unlike the Hexamid long, which I own, it has a sewn in bathtub floor. I like this. It also has a 'storm door' that gives 360 degree rain/wind protection, as opposed to the 'beak' on the hex which leaves some exposure to rain and more importantly, wind. But this new tent keeps the single pole set up feature, which I like.

So the altaplex tweaks a few design flaws of the Hex long and keeps the best features intact.

As for being fiddly to set up, especially on uneven ground, I've found that having line locs attached to the Hex/etc. really helps with this.

I haven't seen the set up video, just pictures, so I may be missing something–for example, how taut can the entrance door be pitched?

[John S]

I have a 2014 lunar solo, by comparison:
– it weights ~8 oz more
– costs $350 less
– very similar footprint
– two fewer tie-out points on the back
– fits me okay at 6'3"

The altaplex door opening looks really low given the overall height of the tent. I would expect getting in and out to be a bit of a bother.

I wonder about condensation. A single wall tent will get condensation – so I see it as a matter of how much. The lunar solo *has* a peak vent and gets a reasonable amount of condensation dependent on pitch and weather of course. I don't see venting on the altaplex. Maybe the lower-to-the ground-and-overlapped vestibule of the altaplex breathes better than the zippered and slightly raised vestibule-plus-vent of the solo plex — but I would doubt it.

I'm happy to do a more in depth comparison if some one wants to loan me a altaplex. I'm sure I would enjoy the 8oz advantage.

John

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