New ZPacks 1P Tent Model

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the pics.  How many tie out points?  10?  By the way, how do you like that AXL pad?

AXLs maiden trip, I’ll let you know how it does. Definitely cushy enough at home.  10 tie outs. I think you could use a couple less but at 8 grams I just brought the extra stakes.

Keep us updated.  Both on the shelter and the AXL.  Curious to see the 10-stake version.  From what I heard, the final version will come in well under 15 oz, maybe closer to 14 oz?  And cheaper than the Solplex, too.  Or at least one can hope.  ;)

Seems to have gone live.

http://zpacks.com/shelter/plexamid.shtml

Nice!

Disappointed that it is only 100″ in length. Was hoping to finally get a 6’3″ tall person-friendly shelter from ZPacks.

The Hexamid Plus at 108″ cuts it close enough already. Hard to avoid condensation on footbox/head.

For what it’s worth, I’m 6’3” and I fit just fine in the Plexamid.

Plexamid replaces the Altaplex, which was designed for tall hikers in length and height.

The Plexamid is:

• 3.1 ounces lighter in the base fabric
• 10 inches shorter in height, but
• Has a squared off peak for equivalent(?) headroom
• Shorter overall height should shed wind better
• Uses a shorter (-10 inches), lighter (-0.8 ounces) pole, if you aren’t using trekking poles
• Floor tapers at the ends: 28-38-28 versus 36-36-36
• Narrower exterior width
• Same inside length (90 inches) and outside length (100 inches)
• $36 cheaper

See the Zpacks web site for a few testimonials. Hope to see more real-world experiences / reviews soon..

— Rex

Kinda bummed to see it replace the Altaplex, but not too surprised. I think the extra height of the Altaplex was very nice to have. The trade off of a longer pole was well worth it to me. Dang – now I’ll have to find another goldilocks shelter once my Alta wears out. :)

Doors still aren’t flush with the bottom of the fly – I really wish they would change this. These tents are very easy to ventilate, much harder to prevent drafts if desired. The Altaplex had an advantage here too as you could pitch most of the edges to the ground and still have lots of space inside, laterally and vertically ;)

“60mph winds are no problem.”

That’s a lot of wind. I would like to see how this tent handled a true, measured wind of that velocity.

Ryan

Huge unsupported fabric span.
Hum …

Cheers

Here are a few more pics. Hard to take a picture of yourself in a tent but as you can see I’m laying down and still have room to spare at my feet at 6’3”.

I’ve now had it in a couple heavy thunderstorms with rain and small hail with decent winds. I like how low the back can be stake down, typical DCF noise in a storm but it shed wind well with the flatter top.

https://imgur.com/gallery/CA2NVE4

^ Yea, but you’re not on a pad, and you don’t have your quilt over you in the pics where you’re saying you have extra space. I’m 5′ 10″ and I occasionally rub the end of my Altaplex (with an Exped Synmat and a Katabatic Palisade). It’s occasional enough that I don’t mind at all and can mitigate easily, but I agree that 100″ is on the short side for taller hikers. Not trying to be a naysayer, but I’m skeptical.

Not sure about taller hikers, but I think this will be my new shelter once I sell my old Hexamid Solo.  This is the shelter that I always wanted–single pole design, lightweight, cuben floor.  When I bought my Hexamid in 2013, there wasn’t any option with a cuben floor. Mittencamper recently posted a video on youtube addressing the issue for taller hikers–it’s worth checking out.

For me at around 5’7″, this is nearly a perfect shelter.

I used the BA AXL on this trip and you can see my quilt in some of those pictures, it’s a custom EE but their typical long length. I have also used a qcore SLX in it as well as an old Lawson Gear 1/8” (1/4”?) pad.

Happy to try to take better pictures if folks want them. I’m not trying to be a fanboy here, truly feels like there is more room than a Solplex. Obviously YMMV

Steve,

How do you like the AXL?  I owned it for about a week and then returned it–too many pads…need to try out my Hyperlite Exped pad first.  Not sure if I was sold on the quilt design or not.

I’m just callin’ it like I see it, hope I didn’t offend.

I agree there’s more room than a Solplex for sure, but a little less than the Altaplex. And I do feel that little extra room was valuable. Also FWIW, I don’t think the Plexamid is meaningfully more wind resistant than the Altaplex – you’re only shaving off a very small percentage of its surface area by truncating the cone at the top of the shelter. Unless there are additional tieouts vs the Altaplex, but holy cow that would be a lot of stakes!

@David – I like it. It’s pretty narrow for me but I got a good night sleep. Pads are so much a personal preference and I still like the Q core I cut down better.

@Erik – no offense taken!  I’m a big guy. Nearly 6’4” and around 245-255 lbs. for me it works but it’s definitky not for everyone!  I wouldn’t put a DCF tarp/tent in an area where it was going to get hit by big wind. I definitky hiked an extra mile once I was ready to camp looking for a big blowdown to help block the wind. It’s not bomber by any means, more like a lacy handkerchief that you need to be very careful with :)

– Steve

@chicagomoose – How’s the headroom? Much rubbing against the potentially wet-from-condensation tent fabric as you sit up or lie down?

Seems many tents are long enough but not tall enough for tall people, especially with thicker sleeping pads.

— Rex

Rex – sorry, I missed this question. The headroom sitting on my pad (3”) was no issue. My head didn’t come close to hitting the top. And the width being wider than the Solplex gives a little more room to swing around and put in a jacket which is nice.

– Steve