Alps Mountaineering Extreme 2 person tent

rjs987

Robert
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Not that I really needed a new one but just that I felt that 9 years was long enough for a change. That's how old my Mountainsmith Escape 3 season tent was. I used it last at LOCSTOC just over a week ago and sold it just before this weekend to a somewhat local buyer who was looking for his dad (going on a father son backpacking trip).

I've been liking what I have looked at from Alps Mountaineering and already have their version of a low camp chair. I like the pole designs, like on my Mountainsmith tent, that cross twice over the top and each pole goes to corners along the same side. Stronger in wind that way so better able to handle storms. I've been in a few severe storms with my Mountainsmith and expect no less performance with this new Alps Extreme (as the name seems to imply). This new tent is a model that has been around for a few years but good designs tend to stick around a little while.

This new tent sets up very easy and has 3 aluminum poles. As inferred earlier, the main poles on this tent go to corners along the same long side and the bow crosses over the top so that each pole crosses the other twice, once on the way up and again on the way down. The third pole goes over the center from side to side and pulls the sides of the tent body out creating quite a bit of shoulder room inside. The tabs on the corners of the main tent body and also in the center are color coded to match the tips of the poles making it even easier to set up. The tent clips to the poles so no sleeves to bind and wrestle the poles through. This makes set up quicker.

To go along with this idea of more shoulder room the middle of each side is wider than the ends so there is much more room inside than I had before. There is a gear loft inside and pockets to put loose things. The mesh ends have a zipper at the top of each to allow reaching out and opening or closing the vents in the rain fly. There is a door on each side and with the rain fly making large vestibules on each side. There is enough room to put my boots on one side of the door in the vestibule and a much larger covered area on the other side of the door for lots of gear without bringing it all inside.

This is a 3 season tent but I have read some reviews from those who have used it in a forth season. The ends and top and doors of the main tent body are mesh. The doors also have solid panels for a bit more privacy if desired. The rain fly has vents at each end with props to hold them open or they may be closed also. There is a small clear plastic window just below each of these vents to see outside. These windows distort enough and are small enough I don't see them being a problem with privacy but they are really good for seeing what the weather is doing outside. As with most good tents all doors have double zippers. The fly doors can be unzipped from the bottom or the top. The main body door zippers are just the opposite in that they can be zipped to the bottom or the top.

I am expecting to get many years of good use from this tent. There is a 3 person version available as well as an Outfitter 3 person version. The biggest difference with the Outfitter version is it uses heavier material in the floor and also heavier zippers. What I see on my 2 person version is that the zippers will be just fine for many camping trips. I also bought the floor saver that is made for this tent since the floor is not just a rectangle but is wider in the middle than the ends. The floor saver is the same shape and has loops at all stake points of the main tent body to keep it in place.

See photos HERE on my Flickr pages. The photo of the floor saver looks like it is narrower at the far end but it is not. That's just the camera angle playing tricks. While wider in the middle the tent and floor saver are the same width at each end.

The tent floor is 7'8" long x 3'11" at the ends and 5'2" in the middle. The vestibules are 30" out from the sides of the tent body. Head height is 3'6". Packed size is 7" x 21" including poles. It will compress much more if the poles are packed separately. The center pole is pre-curved. MSRP on this 2 person tent is $249.99. Amazon regularly has it for under $150, but sometimes recently it bumped up to just over $200, and then also recently dropped to about $113 (so I jumped on it at that price, historically the lowest yet).

A few photos in case you can't get to Flickr.

 

Outbackwack

Howard
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Good looking tent. Let us know long term thoughts and I'd be curious about condensation buildup inside. I'm a fan of 2-door tents. And a $113 that tent is a bargain. I paid $150 for my REI ? dome 2+ but it's mostly mesh, so it's colder in the shoulder seasons but never gets any condensation buildup. Enjoy.
 
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rjs987

rjs987

Robert
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Next planned campout is MnSTOC. My old tent never had condensation inside. In fact I was always amazed how dry it was even during the heaviest rain storms. I expect this new tent to give the same results but we shall see. Ventilation is excellent far as I can tell so that goes a long way. All my favorite tents have a full rain fly that is to the ground on all sides as this one has. I don't care for a partial rain fly. Yet since the fly is an inch or two just off the ground there is venting all the time under it. That part is very similar to my old tent.
 
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rjs987

rjs987

Robert
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Update on the new tent. Have used it for 2 STOC events now. Venting is very good in this Alps Extreme 2 tent. No condensation buildup inside at all. At MnSTOC I had put away the tarp I usually use before the last night and it turns out that was a very humid night with dew everywhere outside... but not inside. Very pleased with this tent so far. I find there is more room than it would seem at first look with the wide middle held out by that pole over the center. The vestibules are big for a tent classed as a 2 person. Of course everyone knows a "2 person" tent is really good for 1 person with gear. But this tent could handle 2 average sleepers and all their gear would actually fit easily in either vestibule. I like having a small vestibule on one side of the door and a full sized vestibule on the other side in addition.
 

Ashley

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So it looks like both doors have mesh and solid zip up panels on both? And there is mesh Panel on roof and one end? Do they have solid panels as well?


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I purchased a new Alps 4 years ago prior to going to Moonshine. It was advertised as having factory sealed seems. I was camping at the farm and had a fairly high piece of ground.As luck would have it, it rained hard. The floor seems seeped a little, not bad, but when I got home I went over and resealed them. Since then it has been flawless.
 
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rjs987

rjs987

Robert
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No factory seal job on any tent is perfect every time. I usually spray seal the entire rain fly and floor before using and have never had a problem. I did get the rain fly on this one spray sealed but not yet the floor, but still no problems noted (rained hard at MnSTOC and a little at WiSTOC too). I did buy the footprint for this for extra protection from wear on the floor. Yes, 2 doors, both are full screen with zippered privacy panels on both. Mesh on top is on both sides of the center pole. Mesh is the same at both ends also with a zipper at the top of those panels to be able to reach out from inside to open or close the end vents in the rain fly (a nice touch IMO). The top mesh and end mesh panels do not have solid panels to zip over them. There is a very small plastic window in each end of the rain fly but the view in/out is so distorted and it's small enough I don't think I could embarrass anyone walking by. Just keep walking, nothing to see in there anyway. The tent comes with cord to stake down from loops just over the end vents in case of high winds. I see I'll need those unless it REALLY gets windy. There are also loops at the bottom of each end of rain fly and I made short 10"-12" cords to hold the bottom of the fly out from the inner tent body.
 

Ashley

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Thanks for the review and additional info. Sounds like it could be the one for me to replace my old tent. You should come to BRG or Florida Stoc so I can see it in person:D
 
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rjs987

rjs987

Robert
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I'll be at OkieSTOC next week. Is that close enough?

Had to choose and this one is earlier. Have to be mindful of possible bad weather on the way home during this month. Mostly good but can turn bad in a hurry in my area.
 
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Still liking this tent Bob? Price on Amazon has again come down recently.

Can the the rainfly be used by itself when using the footprint?

42 inch headroom ok? I'm used to at least 48. That is probaly why I am hesitating.
 
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rjs987

rjs987

Robert
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Yes, still liking this one very much. I may not be as tall as you. Head room is enough for me. I've not tried the fly with just the footprint. The footprint/floor saver (as they call it) does have long loops but not the same as the actual inner tent. I am guessing it might work but you would have to come up with a way to hold the poles in place (other than the ends) since the it is the inner tent that has the hooks to hold the poles and the fly just lays over all that.
 
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