Zpacks - Duplex Zip Tent

I hiked the AT with a Z-Packs Duplex, and it was downright palatial. Can’t imagine doing it in a single person tent, no thanks. Have fun out there!

I have the zpacks & if you can justify the money I would go for it. I got it for my wife & I but I take it on solo trips now too, I love it so much. The trekking pole tents also feel much more stable than freestanding. Just watch a couple videos it's not hard to set up.

Hi, hiked jmt with a double rainbow. Mine was made in USA before tarptent started manufacturing overseas, so not sure about quality now :( Replaced it with a Zpacks duplex. Loved many things about the tarptent, but also had many issues... 1) Biggest issue I had with the tarptent was that the weatherproofing/seam sealing started to fail. This can't happen with the duplex because the fabric is naturally waterproof 2) Set up is similar but SO MUCH easier & quicker for duplex because it uses trekking poles vs tarptents dedicated tent pole that you have to carry, assemble & shove into a sleeve. I am much less frustrated setting up the duplex vs the tarptent!!! ----- Both tents rely on staking! That being said, if you are new to these kinds of tents they can present condensation issues vs double walled freestanding tents (waking up because water is dripping on your face). Allegedly can be mitigated by campsite selection & leaving doors open etc. Never looked into it much because I don't care Staking is definitely a learning curve and not always possible, might end up having to use rocks to try to secure the tent! Sometimes I didn't have the energy to try to use rocks for every stake, so I just used it like a bivy. These are very loud in the wind if you can't stake well because they depend on staking. My husband hates these kinds of tents, constantly complains about condensation & and will not participate in any complex staking games with me 😂

I have a Zpack duplex and a Nemo hornet 2p tent both are great but the Zpack is expensive but I think only 14 ounces

Save yourself the headache and get a Zpacks duplex. It didn't become the most popular ultralightweight tent by accident. And yes, it should pack down small enough to fit nicely in 36L.

Depends on how much you want to spend, but it's totally doable. I just did a five-mouth tour across the US during which I carried this tent: [Zpacks Duplex Zip](https://zpacks.com/products/duplex-zip-tent). The price tag looks intimidating but it paid for itself in just a few nights by keeping me out of hotels.

\>is a there a reason why a solo bikepacker would want a bigger tent I'm not thinking about? One of them, and this--which, I'm not flexing, here, just trying to establish my credibility--is stuff management. I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2023 and like I mentioned, rode an ebike across the US in 2024. A two-person tent for a solo traveler makes stuff management SO much easier. When you have a one-person tent, its interior space is gonna be pretty close to the footprint of your sleeping pad, meaning A) it's impossible to lay out the stuff you need at night in an organized way such that you know where it is at all times, and 2) loose objects like an AirPod or whatever are gonna get misplaced and tend to end up under your sleeping pad, which means you have to sit up and dig around under there to find it. This is a constant hassle, a huge pain in the ass. It's a spicy price, sure, but the avoided cost payback is quick. I put easily a hundred nights on that tent during the five months I was on the road last year. It kept me out of hotels over and over and over and over. Ten days of hotel paid for the tent for the entire trip. And since I took extremely good care of it, it's still virtually new and I'm gonna put a lot more nights on it. Another reason to get a tent like that--and this is a side point to the size you want--is that it's made of dyneema. I'm guessing the lower-priced tents you're looking at are all silnylon. [Silnylon is a SHITTY fabric compared to dyneema](https://valleyandpeak.co.uk/blogs/news/dyneema-vs-silnylon-the-essential-guide-to-choosing-the-right-material). (Picked that article kind of at random, but it covers the bases.) $300 vs. $800 might look like a good trade up front, but you're gonna wear out two or more silnylon tents during the lifespan of an $800 tent. So the cost savings aren't that great. Anyway, I'm obviously a dyneema fanboy. My bottom line is to keep your own counsel. But I like that you're attempting to become informed--many people don't bother doing that. They just to to REI or Amazon or wherever and pick something out without considering long-term payback and what their actual needs are. \---- Edit: one more thing to take into consideration about dyneema. You asked about tent weight. When it rains, dyneema works by shedding water. Silnylon works by absorbing it. So your "ultralight" silynylon tent ends up being a hell of a lot heavier when it's wet outside.

Another vote for a mid, forget the USA thru hiking tents for bad weather. MLD do mids in various sizes in various materials. Locus gear if you want something a bit more fancy. Tarptent Scarp is good in bad weather as well I don't get as much condensation on the inside of my DCF tents, but as long as the tent is big enough that your not brushing the sides, i've never had a problem, not even in the UK I've got: Locus gear - Khufu DCF-B Colin Ibbotson - Tramplite (DCF) TarpTent - Scarp 2 (Silnylon) Zpacks - Duplex (DCF) Sold TarpTent - Strat 2 Happilly take any of the tents out in re4ally bad weather except the Duplex Mids are fantastic in bad weather and easy to put up, only ball ache is if you decide to also use a inner You can use 2 hiking poles and something called a "Dual Pole Tip Extender" DPTE, rock solid, plus you can hang your inner BUT it is more of a faff

It depends is the answer to your question, which I know is no help so I will offer advice on the three tents I have used, Firstly they are all trekking pole tents, so if you’re not a fan or don’t fancy single skin tents skip this post. They all have the advantage of being light but can without some care suffer condensation and without the second skin this is easier to come in contact with. On to the tents: Six Moon Lunar Solo, cheaper, great tent, very stealth, green and compact. Ultimately too small for my six foot frame and kit, Zpacks duplex, 100% waterproof, great tent, never failed, loads of room, stupid light. Cons PRICE, large foot print and not stealth colours (always a bit concerned about being moved on, although in three years I never have). MLD Duomid, space, colour (I have green) adaptability for pitching,size. Bomb proof, modular Cons for me I can’t really think of any, Hope this helps, my thoughts are my own.

A Zpacks Duplex with the extra 12 oz of Flex-Poles will also work, but be sure to use your trekking poles as well to support the two tent peaks, so you still need to securely use the peak guylines.

669 g is about the same weight as my Zpacks Duplex and my Durston X-Mid Pro 2, so this tent is NOT 100g heavier.

I have a Zpacks Duplex with the optional semi-free-standing flex poles option. I chose it because I could leave the flex poles at home when lower weight was needed and use the flex poles when weather and other conditions dictated that. Always use with trekking poles either way. Trivial to pitch with or without flexpoles. Bomber with flexpoles and trekking poles with 3 poles going to each tent peak. As for condensation -- ALL tents will have condensation whether single-wall or double-wall. If one knows how to wipe it away and/or to create a breeze through the tent to help minimize it, then it should be less of a concern. Apparently, you have a tent that you have used alot already, so which one do you already have?

So a Duplex with flexpoles+stakes+stuff_sack will be about 1.1 kg with the flexpoles being about 0.33 kg of that. But the Duplex is a 2-person 2-door tent much like your existing tent. You probably want to downsize to a 1-P tent to save some weight.

A possibility is to get a Zpacks Duplex 2P with the flexpole option, so that the tent is semi-freestanding, but if your friend bails, then send the flexpoles away with them leaving you with less weight. Note that you will need trekking poles to securely pitch the Duplex even with the flexpole option. I think the Zpacks Duplex with flexpoles is one of easiest tents to pitch after a little practice. Here's a video clip I made about 4 years ago: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmSV6vJzng](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmSV6vJzng)

Oh sorry, I meant the duplex variant (as in, a 2P) my partner and I were using in 2024, not the ZPacks product; too much weight for one person by themselves. Thanks, I'll give the Solomid XL a look. That one's huge!