Anyone own a Duplex and have a partner with a wide pad?

[Skibbs]

Im seeing the floor width right at 45″ on the Duplex and I own a MW Exped at 26″ and my partner has a regular 20″.  Anyone else have this setup and have any kind of issues with pressure on zippers or the tent itself or any other issues?  I thought about the Triplex but using that as an occasional solo shelter seems ridiculous to me.  Thanks.

[Ben H.]

I don’t have a Duplex, but I like wide pads and regularly exceed the stated floor dimensions with pads without much problem (A cheap Kelty 2-man backpacking tent and a four-man Hogback).  I’m not sure the dimensions on the Kelty; the Hogback is 86″ wide and I put 2×25″ pads and 2×20″ pads… exceeding the stated floor space by 4 inches.  The bathtub floor stretches out a bit and the pads roll up a bit and you would never notice.  Everything just fits nice and snug.  One thing going for me is I have pads with vertical baffles (REI Stratus) so they roll up on the width very easily.

[Matthew / BPL]

Two 20s are pretty tight in there. I can’t imagine being happy with 46″ of pad in there unless they are both tapered (fitting into a smaller rectangle and you sleep foot to head.

[Diane Pinkers]

I have a Duplex, and prefer to sleep on a wide pad.  The nice thing about the Duplex is that if you lower the trekking poles, you get more width, although at the expense of the depth of the bathroom floor. Haven’t noticed any more strain on the zippers, but it has been a while since my partner went hiking with me. I think the Duplex is a good size for solo plus occasional partnered trips. I did briefly think about a Triplex for partnered trips, but we haven’t gone together often enough to justify the expense.

[David Noll]

I have a Duplex and my wife had a 25″ pad. It put a lot of pressure on the zipper so we now have a pair of 20’s. I also set it at 44″ or 45″ high. We love our Duplex, however, if you want to use a 25″ pad I would recommend the Triplex. We stayed with the Duplex and 20″ pads because sometimes we are in very windy areas. (Patagonia)

[Colin M]

Agreed with above, you can lower the height of the tent to get more floor space but it’s not ideal as it does pull in places and you loose a good amount of ventilation. Sleeping North-South helps if you have tapered pads. N-S can be good or bad depending on if “partner” means your “significant other” or means “stinky hiking buddy!”

I ended up going with an Altaplex for solo trips (my all time favorite shelter) and a Triplex for when I have others with me as the Duplex is too tight to be really practical for my needs. Yeah, I realize not everyone wants to pay an extra $600 but as that is like 2 nights in a hotel somewhere, lasts 10+ years and keeps my wife happy while backpacking it feels like a great deal.

[Nick Otis]

We have a Duplex and had one 20″ XLite and one 25″ XLite. We put our poles at 42″ and found it all to fit fine. However, we use an EE Accomplice quilt and use the sleeping pad straps to pull our pads together, so there’s literally no gap between them, making a more efficient use of space. Otherwise, I think it might put too much strain in places.

I switched to a 20″ pad as well for weight reasons, and so 2x 20″ pads is our set up now. A little more room that way, and still set up at 42″ for the poles.

Hope that helps.

[Skibbs]

Thanks for all the replies.  Looks like I need a regular pad unless I go with a Triplex which I’m not sure is a good idea if I plan to use it as an occasional solo shelter

[Colin M]

Triplex solo isn’t great as if there is any wind it blows the bathtub floor around. You have to spread your stuff out to keep it in place. Even with my full size dog it takes a bit of work to get it quiet in windy conditions.

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