zPacks altaplex vs duomid

[Steve Schmid]

have anyone mulled over these tents as a spacious one tent to rule them all for three season use?

I own the duomid with both a solo innernet and super light bivy. I haven’t tried the super lightyet, but the innernet is cramped for me at 6′ 175 lbs. This summer Im going to try cowboy camping in the superlight to see if I like that but I suspect it will be too open for my liking. I also purchased the locus gear a frame kit and will try pitching the duomid that way.

The altaplex looks interesting to be as it appears to have more usable space in what would be the sleeping quarters of the shelter. There is no doubt in my mind the duomid has more space with what is on the front side of the pole but I want more space where I will actually lay and sleep.

Has as anyone experimented with these two shelters in particular? I gave the duplex a shot but didn’t like the two pole pitch and larger footprint.

 

 

 

[Sunny Waller]

I tried the Doumid and the Supermid and did not like the pole in the middle of the floor..  One of my favorite tents is the Lunar Solo so I purchased an Altaplex.  I really liked it – there is plenty of room – very easy to pitch. I traded it in for a Duplex and sometimes wish I had stuck with the Altaplex.  The Duplex has better ventilation is the summer but the Altaplex is easier and only uses one pole and probably works better in the cold.

[Jennifer Mitol]

Interesting that you bring up these two shelters – I love the duomid and its modularity…but where I hike I almost always need some kind of bug/stinging-thing protection and it seems like there is a lot of wasted space in that duomid.

The altaplex looks like a duomid with a sewn-in inner/floor.  I’m actually trying to make one myself – using the actual pyramid shape/design of the duomid with the sewn-in inner ala altaplex.

 

[Ralph Burgess]

Have you considered the Hexamid Twin?

I’m 6’2″ and 170lb, so a similar size to you.   The Hexamid Twin has been my primary shelter (used as a one-person sheleter) for several years.    It uses a short second pole at the rear that greatly increases the usable area compared to the other single-pole Hexamid designs.    But this does not mean that you need two poles – in fact, I generally only hike with one pole – you can use the Zpacks 32″ carbon tent pole for the rear, it weighs 1oz.

I have used several of the single-pole Hexamid designs, and the Twin with the short extra pole at the rear is not any more difficult to pitch.    In fact, it’s sometimes easier when space is tight, as you can tie the rear directly to a branch a few feet off the ground.   I can sit up cross-legged in the center with sufficient headroom, so I find the extra floor area far more useful than the increased headroom of the Altaplex.   Also, you can use a standard pole to pitch it – the Altaplex requires an extender unless you have the long Komperdell poles.

Finally, I think in general the original Hexamids with removable bucket groundsheet are a far superior design to the new tents with sewn-in floor, for several reasons:
(1) If you are pitching in wind and rain, you can take as long as you want to get a good pitch, with your groundsheet staying dry inside your pack until you’re ready.
(2) You can use the same groundsheet for cowboy camping.
(3) Most important, Cuben Fiber is really not a suitable material for a groundsheet, and the expected life of your groundsheet is probably 10% of the life of the tent!  Cuben has incredible tensile strength, but poor abrasion resistance.   In my experience, in normal use, a Cuben groundsheet will remain fully waterproof for only a few months, whereas the fly will last for many years.   (And, believe me, by “normal use” I do include taking great care to remove any sharp gravel or sticks that might damage my Cuben groundsheet before laying it down.)

I think the original Hexamids with underfloor bugnetting and removable groundsheet have a far superior design, and that Joe was basically pressured into the sewn-in floors by people who think that the underfloor bugnetting in the originally design just “seems wrong”.   In practice, as a user for many years, it works fine, and any engineering alternative to try to save the minimal “wasted” weight of the underfloor netting ends up either weighing more, or having other far greater drawbacks.

 

[Michael Sirofchuck]

I always use a Polycro groundsheet underneath my CF floor to avoid the abrasion damage.

[Ralph Burgess]

Yup, I think if you go for the sewn-in groundsheet you really have to do that.   But really, imo its a workaround for a material that’s fundamentally unsuited for use as a groundsheet.

With a removable groundsheet you have more options.    In the desert, an old CF groundsheet is fine, since although it’s not totally waterproof, it’s fine for keeping you off the dust and dirt and protecting against ground moisture – and it’s super-light and dries in minutes if it does get damp.  For wet conditions, I think I’m going to ask Bearpaw to make me a lookalike in Silnylon for use with my Hexamid Twin.

 

[Cameron M]

Like always the answer is “depends”. I like the flexibility of a separate floor, and while I never thought about it, Ralph’s comment about a fixed CF floor wearing out is a good one. In my case I just bought a used CF Deschutes, which is not terribly different from the Altaplex, and I have ordered a Hexapod Twin bathtub / poncho that appears from my diagrams to fit just fine. My need for bug control is low and can be addressed by a separate net, and the Deschutes is large enough particularly combined with the bathtub to work fine with two people in a pinch if the weather turns ugly. I do believe that a poncho is sometimes is very desirable item to have, so for around 13 oz I am pleased with the setup and flexibility. Diagram of Twin floor with Deschutes attached.

 

[Andy Berner]

I picked up a MLD duomid XL earlier this year.  The XL mid is set up like a altaplex.  1 pole with the space to the one side.  I’ve had a supermid, duo and solo mid.  The XL is my new favorite. I just scoped up the altaplex here on gear swap and can do a side by side comparison when it comes in.

 

[monkey]

@ralphbge wrote:

In the desert, an old CF groundsheet is fine, since although it’s not totally waterproof, it’s fine for keeping you off the dust and dirt and protecting against ground moisture – and it’s super-light and dries in minutes if it does get damp.

The last part may not be true unfortunately – see discussion here, it appears old cuben fibre holds on to water pretty tight…

[Richie S]

I just picked up a a cuben duomid and duo inner and added the DTPE extender. All in for that setup the weight I have including stakes is 2lb 2oz. Not the lightest in the world, but pretty good space to weight ratio and a shelter that will stand up to pretty much anything.

There is also the flexibility to scale it back considerably from there down with the single inner, ultralight bivy, groundsheet, single pole setup and so on.

Its the flexibility that appeals as much as anything.

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