Zpacks - Altaplex

Consider the zpacks Altaplex, once you have headheight and realize how nice it is. You wont regret it. I love having a 'taller' tent , when I'm glamping I can literally set a chair zero in my tent and sit inside the tent if the bugs are bad and read. Also when being inside and sitting up its easier to put clothes on etc. Steeper walls allow for more room towards the ends of the tent for head and toes.

I had issues with zpacks customer service and quality control in 2016 but my altaplex was perfect for my 2023 LASH Canadian border to mammoth. The smaller foot print lends itself to being set up in less ideal or tight areas which was a major relief.

Yes, it is very common to use a 2-person tent solo. You need to look at interior dimensions, for example Zpacks Altplex 1-person tent is 40”x90”, which is identical to their Duplex Lite 2-person tent (40x90 interior). The regular Duplex is 45x90”. Their smallest 1-person tent, the Plex Solo, tapers from 38” to 28” wide by 90” long. Your sleeping pad is either 20” or 25” wide. If you plan on bringing any gear into the tent or plan on doing anything in there besides sleeping (reading, relaxing, waiting on the weather) a 2-person tent is worth it.

Most Zpacks tents like the Duplex, Altaplex, and Plex Solo have a 5" overhang around the perimeter. The Pivot actually has a 7" gap around the sides and back, so more than normal. The door can be left open in light rain to help with airflow.

Zpacks plex solo is super light, condensation is a problem though I would get the Alta plex

I used the Altaplex for a long time, now I’m using the Whisper. In a nutshell, I’m 6’ 4” and the Whisper is perfect for me, but I have to be careful with my pitch when there’s rain. I added a ZPacks floor, and with the floor I expect my Whisper and the new ZPacks tent weigh about the same. I’m really happy with my Whisper, but if the new ZPacks has as much usable length as the Whisper I’d probably go with ZPacks.

I went SOBO and passed thru the Sierra in late September. I used a trekking pole tent the entire way (Altaplex) and it was fine in the Sierra. I did wake up to everything being quite frosty (I think the lows were in the 20s for a few days) and I'm glad I picked up a fleece from the resale shop to add to my kit when I was in Mammoth Lakes.

I's also curious because I love my altaplex. Only thing that's annoying is the trekking pole extension but setup takes 60 secs

Plex Solo Lite, Altaplex Lite, Pivot Solo, GG The One. The One sags some in rain-not insane amount. Needs a ground sheet as much as the others do. Packs down incredibly small. Lots of room inside for your height. No quality control issues with Zpacks. That was overblown and is a tired line.

Looks sweet. I haven’t really been happy with my Altaplex after putting about a dozen nights on it. Maybe I’ll sell it for this if this gets good reviews. Xmid looks appealing but I really don’t need 2 doors vestibules.

My altaplex I received in June was of good quality.

I sprung for one. It's my first 1P tent, and honestly that's the thing I'm not sure about - I miss having the extra room of a 2P. I might swap for one of the 2P Durstons at some point. However, for an UL 1P tent, I can't imagine anything better. The reason I went for it is I wanted to try a 1P tent that didn't put any fly material right next to my face - too claustrophobic. If you sleep with your head at the end with the shorter trekking pole, it does just that. The peak is right above your head which provides about 30 inches of head room, and the mesh wall behind the small pole makes it very feel open. I could hunker down in there comfortably if I had to. Not sure I could say the same for something like the Plex Solo (which I know a lot of you love - not dogging it. Just not my thing.) I've taken it out only once so far, about a month ago in Joshua Tree. It was super dry of course, so it wasn't much of a weather test. That said, ventilation is very good. Looking forward to getting it out again soon. Mine comes in right at the advertised 13.5oz without the sack, 14oz with. I cut down a Tyvek ground sheet to the floor shape - 4.5oz. With 8 of the big Zpacks stakes my shelter all in is at 23oz. My only gripe is that the bathtub floor is very 'floaty'. It lacks corner tensioners (which I guess is true of all Zpacks tents? Anyone have any advice on mitigating this?), and so doesn't retain the nice square shape seen in the manufacturer photos. I'm thinking of slapping on some Zpacks adhesive loops to the corners of the floor and some 1/16" elastic shock cord ties. Nothing too tight - I don't want it crazy taut, but it would be nice if the floor had form. The mesh pocket is very small and easy to knock stuff out of, but it did hold my iPhone 15 and a few other thin items. I'm also adding a couple of Zpacks adhesive magnet toggles at the peaks so I can easily hang my magnetic light(s) and use them as loops if I need to. All in all - it's great!