Altaplex Lite

I just spent a night that was 15°, sleeting, and windy. Did it in a zpacks Altaplex. The weight savings over my Durston X-mid was not worth it. If I had to have one tent it would be the x-mid.

Single wall was not ideal due to the frozen condensation. The lack of space in the vestibule was seriously missed. I can’t prove this but I swear the sleet was louder hitting the zpacks 🤣 Sont get me wrong, I love my Altaplex but I think the x-mid is more versatile and a better design

I have an Alta Plex and a hammock. It all a personal preference and terrain based.

I have a ZPacks Altaplex, which is a larger single-person tent that weighs 13 ounces. The only downside I’ve experienced is having to be cognizant of pressing against the walls in the rain. On a slight slope one night, I slid down against a wall and pressed outward enough that the perimeter venting was beyond the roofline and got some water in the tent. But 13 ounces of Dyneema is amazing to me having growing up when 5 lbs was an excellent weight for a tent.

A dyneema tent is going to weigh the same as most bivies. A few bivies will weigh less but they don’t come close in comfort or moisture management to a sub-pound trekking-pole tent such as a ZPacks Altaplex or Durston X-Mid Pro.

Of my Zpacks, Durston, and Lanshan tents, the Durston is slightly easier to pitch on flat, spacious sites; Zpacks and Lanshan are easier in other conditions. For a detailed guide, Darwin has an excellent video on pitching this tent type.

The Lanshan 1 and Zpacks Plex are similar, so I'll use the Zpacks as an example. The key to pitching it is that after you stake out the two rear points, you have to make sure the rear panel is taut when you insert the trekking pole. As for why the X-Mid can be annoying on imperfect campsites, the most important reason is its footprint. Dan Durston or other owners often claim that the X-Mid's footprint isn't actually bigger than other tents. This is true, if you only look at the floor plan diagrams, their footprints are about the same size. However, for a perfect pitch, the X-Mid Pro 1 needs a 63'' x 98'' flat area to pull the four corners taut. But the Zpacks Plex Solo really only needs a 36'' x 100'' flat area. The reason is that besides the four corners, the front and rear guylines aren't very demanding about the terrain; you could even tie them to a tree if you wanted. This difference comes from the tent's geometric design, which is why you often see people feeling that the X-Mid has a large footprint. Of course, this doesn't mean the X-Mid can't be pitched on smaller, non-flat sites. Just watch the tutorial Dan put out and practice a bit in a park. I've camped in many tight spots with my X-Mid Pro 2+ and managed just fine. But in bad conditions, I'd definitely prefer something like the Zpacks because when pitching the X-Mid on a narrow, uneven site, there's another factor to consider: the direction your head will be pointing when you sleep. This adds an extra hassle.

Keep in mind that the Lanshan 2Pro is a single wall tent. Which means any condensation you get on the inside of the tent at night will get you wet if you brush up against it with your body, or with the foot of your sleeping bag. I've slept in Zpacks single wall tents before. Condensation isn't the end of the world but it does require either more careful thought and planning about where you camp, or actively managing the condensation by wiping down the inside of the tent with a small towel. YouTube video about condensation in tents https://youtu.be/zCQuY_lAL1Y?si=us2Vds6Kf8vRTArw