Pitching *plex tents closer to the ground – Altaplex vs Duplex

I have no experience with the Altaplex, but bought the Duplex when it was first released and have quite a bit of experience with it. I prefer to use poles set at 45" rather than the 48" that Zpacks recommends. I think I get a better pitch on the canopy and the bathtub floor works well at this height with no real stress on the netting. I haven't noticed the Duplex being any more breezy than any other full mesh inner tent I've owned (Hubba, Notch, and a few others).

Also, if you do pitch the Duplex unusually close to the ground to minimize the tarp-to-ground gap and find the bathtub to now be a little loose, I've found that placing something substantial (shoes, pack, full stuff sack etc.) in the corners will tighten it up and keep the floor walls upright.

In summary, I think both shelters can be pitched at a variety of heights. There will be ramifications from doing so with both, but none should be real problems much less show stoppers. I highly recommend the Duplex, but if the unique shape/size of the Altaplex appeals to you more, go for it.

I liked pitching my Duplex lower than the instructions stated in order to keep tension off the netting as well. I ask fee this gives a wider bathtub with two people in the tent.

I did not notice it being any breezier than my Contrail.

I've tried pitching the Duplex low and it's a compromise.

Problem is the inner bathtub sits flat, flat enough for water to run into the tent.
We tried shortening the cord that runs from the fly to the bathtub but it made very little difference.
We then tried wedging our kit up to the edge of the bathtub, it was ok for a few mins but after a few gusts of wind the bathtub collapsed again.

It's a shame because with a bit of a redesign so the doors will fasten doors and a way to pitch it low and still have a bathtub, it could make a good tent great for everything but the worst 4 season use.

As it is i find it more like a tarp than a tent, if it's windy you are going to feel that wind and there is nothing really you can do about it.

The other problem is if you pitch the tent lower and have the stock door cordage you're going to struggle to get the doors closed, so you'll also need to faff with the door system on a low pitch.

Mark, where you pitching the Duplex with the top all of the way on the ground? I've never had the bathtub collapse anywhere close to the point where water could come in. I usually pitched with my poles around 110cm and endured intense thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada where I got pooled water under the tub and we stayed very dry.

One note: I set my Duplex up with ZPacks' Lineloc 3s on loops. This allows easy adjustability of line length. Pitching it low with fixed length guys might be more challenging.

Hi Matthew,

We tried it at a few heights, but due to the terrible conditions we really didn't have much of a choice but to drop it as low as it would go, so yes it ended up pitched to the ground.

I do use lineloc's but the wind was pulling up the pegs, so i pegged the tent out then wedged a rock between the peg and the line out loops, so the effect was the same as pegging straight to the line out loops height wise.

This is a pic from the pitch the night before, at this height we didn't have any problems with the bathtub, but the pitch was on very uneven ground

I never tried pitching mine that low. It's interesting to see.

I've also had the problem with pitching my solo hex low and thereby losing a good bathtub. I'll try stuffing things into the corners but I somehow doubt this will entirely make good. In the Sierra at altitude there's often a lot of runoff from the granite/thin soil, so having a bathtub is important for me.

That is a little deceiving this was the height with the doors closed

Thanks, great insights from everyone. So one question that remains – is it the same story with the Altaplex, or does that model do better in getting a low pitch? Instructions say "you could pitch it lower", but don't really elaborate. As it's a new tent, there's not much info going around about it. I'll ask Joe, but he's hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc at the moment :)

Maybe they were talking about using it to prop up the line to the mid-panel guyout like the trekking pole in the photo directly above.

I concur with Matthew…. probably to attach to the 2 mid-panel guy points in the photo below, in order to create a little more space for shoulders and head.

However, most places it is easy enough to find a couple of sticks to do the same thing, attaching the guylines to the sticks with a clove hitch.