Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Assessment – iRunFar

The Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent ($670) is a gram-counting fastpacker’s dream shelter, particularly if touring with a accomplice. Made from waterproof Dyneema Composite Material (DCF), the totally enclosed two-person tent, with its stuff sack, has an extremely gentle precise weight of 15.9 ounces (450 grams) with out stakes. That is lighter than many tarps that don’t provide bug safety. Whereas costly, this versatile tent excels in almost any multiday scenario. It’s gentle sufficient to be carried for solo ultralight backpacking journeys, and when a part of a shared fastpacking package for 2 folks, it’s lighter than two SOL Escape Bivys.

My principal problem with this tent, from a gear-tester standpoint, is that it’s so good that I might almost discuss myself out of testing the rest apart from this tent when it got here to going out on huge missions over the previous 12 months. I would like one thing gentle. I would like safety in opposition to bugs. I would like one thing I can pitch rapidly if a storm comes up. The justifications had been limitless to succeed in for this shelter over the remainder.

Pitched with two trekking poles, there’s no want to hold a devoted pole set for those who already use poles for fastpacking. Like many trekking-pole-supported tents and tarps, this one could be a bit fiddly to pitch at first, however as soon as I labored out the approach, I might get it arrange in a matter of minutes. The twin-door and two-vestibule design makes it straightforward to get out and in with out waking your tent mate — or not less than with out stepping on them — and the vestibules are giant sufficient to retailer footwear and packs. Zpacks did every thing attainable to shave weight off this tent, from utilizing 1.3-millimeter guylines to not together with inside pockets to carry fine details.

I examined this tent in lots of climates, from the warmth of the Utah desert to the damp forests of New Zealand to the excessive peaks of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. I pitched it on numerous surfaces, together with forest loam, alpine tundra, and glacial moraine, and I made it via sufficient storms that I now belief the setup in all however the worst climate. Whereas this can be a single-wall tent, I’ve by no means had important points with condensation, even after an evening of rain.

There’s loads to like about this shelter, and I believe my relationship with it could develop into a lifelong love affair. There are lots of causes it holds the highest spot in our Finest Ultralight Tents information.

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Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Pitching

The Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent requires a minimal of six stakes to pitch, and two further stakes can present further stability in dangerous climate. 4 nook stakes set the footprint, two stakes maintain out the vestibules and stabilize the 2 poles, and two further guylines and stakes can present further assist on the edges.

Ideally, the tent pitches with 122-centimeter trekking poles, however I’ve used poles as brief as 110 centimeters and located that they work tremendous. In truth, I discover that adjustable poles set to 122 centimeters put an excessive amount of pressure on the tiny zippers for my consolation degree, so I desire pitching the tent with my fixed-length 115-centimeter poles.

It’s straightforward to pitch the tent by laying it out in place, loosely staking the 4 nook guylines out at 45 levels to the corners, inserting the 2 trekking poles, and staking out the vestibules. The nook guylines are a beneficiant 24 inches lengthy (61 centimeters), making it straightforward to go looking for piece of dust to anchor a stake. The guylines are 1.3-millimeter twine, thinner than the conventional two-millimeter twine utilized by many comparable tents. The guylines tighten with a intelligent clip linked to the tent. I discovered that the guyline might overlap with itself within the clip and jam up, nevertheless it was straightforward to get it transferring once more and tighten every thing down easily.

The vestibule doorways connect to the guyline on little hooks, and a further toggle-and-loop closure midway up the doorways minimizes flapping. It may be difficult to get the pitch proper so that each one 4 door flaps are taut, and so they could make noise flapping within the wind in the event that they’re not.

Zpacks has an in depth information for organising the tent that provides trouble-shooting suggestions if the tent goes up crooked, however I discovered the easiest way to work out find out how to set it up correctly was to let it go up wonky and mess with the angles and tightness of the guylines till I labored out what wanted tightening or shifting after staking every thing out. As soon as practiced, it’s a surprisingly straightforward tent to arrange.

Two further guylines on the edges of the tent are good insurance coverage for windy nights and elevate the edges of the tent a little bit bit larger.

Like every trekking-pole-supported tent, correctly anchoring the stakes is vital, particularly in windy circumstances. I discovered this lesson whereas sleeping on a glacial moraine, the place I deemed stake placement “adequate” and spent the nighttime re-staking the tent with piles of rocks on the stakes to maintain them in place. That stated, with the stakes anchored, this tent has withstood some correctly windy circumstances with out displaying any signal of collapse.

Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Weight and Measurement

I received’t lie; the burden of the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent is likely one of the principal options that has me reaching for it repeatedly, particularly for journeys the place I’m attempting to maintain my pack weight as little as attainable however nonetheless want a dependable shelter. The tent, with guylines and its stuff sack however with out poles or stakes, has an precise weight of 15.9 ounces (450 grams). The DCF stuff sack weighs eight grams, and I are inclined to deliver it alongside to retailer the tent throughout the day and act as a ditty bag for free items of package within the tent at evening. Since I already use poles for my fastpacking adventures, I’d argue that I don’t need to depend them as a part of this shelter’s weight. In the event you don’t use poles, you should buy collapsable carbon poles particularly designed for this tent that weigh 2.6 ounces (74 grams) and value $35 every — and also you’ll want two.

When rolled up, the tent is about 4.5 inches in diameter and 11 inches lengthy (11.5 by 28 centimeters), or about 2.9 liters. Whereas the DCF doesn’t compress as small as different supplies, I discovered I might match the tent within the again mesh pocket of many fastpacking packs.

When arrange, the tent has a 90- by 40-inch footprint (230 by 102 centimeters), and the tub flooring has 6.75-inch (centimeter) partitions. You may flatten these partitions out to make the tent a bit greater. Whereas the tent’s footprint accommodates comparatively tall folks, the sloped partitions make the tent functionally smaller for those who don’t need your head or ft touching the partitions. I’m 5 ft and 6 inches tall, and I comfortably match within the tent with one other particular person with out touching the partitions, and the height of the tent, which is 48 inches (122 centimeters), permits two folks to sit down up on the similar time. So far as two-person light-weight tents go, I’ve discovered the design of this one to optimize house and luxury.

Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Supplies

Made from waterproof and light-weight DCF, the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent is a stormworthy possibility when it buckets down rain. Even after an evening of rain, the taped seams helped every thing keep dry. The design of the storm doorways and vestibules retains airflow via the tent’s inside, minimizing condensation. Whereas I’ve gotten the occasional drop of water on my head from condensation after a humid evening, for a single-wall tent, it does very well at staying dry on the within.

The tent flooring options 0.75 ounce per sq. yard DCF. Whereas I do my finest to clear a campsite of particles earlier than organising a tent, it’s by no means good, and I’ve set this tent up on rocky terrain and never seen any signal of harm to the ground. In the event you’re frightened about tears, you possibly can restore DCF with the aptly named DCF Restore Tape, which Zpacks sells. The bath flooring retains moisture from coming within the sides and flooding the ground. The partitions function a barely lighter 0.55 ounce per sq. yard DCF that’s translucent however nonetheless supplies sufficient privateness that you just don’t really feel such as you’re on full show to the skin.

Along with being totally waterproof, DCF additionally doesn’t stretch, which implies that it received’t begin to sag as soon as it will get moist. DCF does appear to carry onto water greater than different kinds of materials, so even after shaking it off within the morning after a moist evening, it usually appears like I can’t get a lot of the water off and the tent finally ends up weighing considerably extra till I cease to completely dry it in noon solar.

The doorways are a skinny mesh, and tiny zippers open and shut them. I’ve discovered myself utilizing an abundance of warning when utilizing these zippers, as they’re tiny and really feel fragile. That stated, I’ve used this tent extensively, and the zippers are nonetheless as clean as the primary time I used them.

Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Stormworthiness

The Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent isn’t a four-season tent that I might essentially flip to in winter blizzard circumstances, however for spring, summer season, and fall multi-day journeys, it’s a strong possibility. The DCF has an extremely excessive tear energy, and the material failing is the least of my considerations. Whereas the guylines really feel extremely skinny, it’s laborious to think about the wind blowing laborious sufficient to interrupt them, although I ought to in all probability knock on wooden after writing that. The small plastic hitches used to tighten the guylines and the plastic D-rings holding the tent doorways to the guylines appear to be the most definitely factors of failure.

I’ve sat via some wind and rain storms on this tent in pretty uncovered areas, and so long as I be sure that the stakes aren’t popping out of the bottom — rocks on high of them assist preserve them in place — I’ve by no means frightened concerning the tent collapsing in the best way that some dedicated-pole free-standing tents with curved poles have.

The tent isn’t quiet within the wind, even when pitched as tautly as I can handle. The toggle-and-hook system that holds the 2 doorways collectively to type the vestibule isn’t as safe as a zipper can be and inherently permits a little bit of wind and makes some noise when the wind catches the material. That stated, the extra open design permits the setup to breathe and minimizes condensation. Plus, it’s lighter than a zipper and extra sturdy, particularly in sandy desert circumstances.

Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Total Impressions

As a self-identifying gram-counting fastpacker who needs to have gear that can work in as many conditions as attainable, the flexibility of the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent drew me in. Whether or not I’m fastpacking solo or with a accomplice, the two-person tent is gentle sufficient to hold on my own if I haven’t been capable of discuss anybody into one in every of my dumb concepts and simply makes a case for itself over a dual-bivy setup once I’ve satisfied somebody to return romping within the mountains with me. With two folks, it’s moderately comfy with two doorways and vestibules; alone, it’s a fort of high-tech, light-weight, waterproof material. For hotter nights, it’s straightforward to sleep with a number of of the doorways open for airflow, and all of it buttons up tight for chilly or windy nights.

Is that this tent definitely worth the price ticket? I’d argue that for somebody who needs to maneuver gentle and quick over all kinds of terrain and have a single tent that can work for almost any fastpacking scenario, it’s a worthy funding. Made from sturdy — and repairable — supplies, this tent looks as if it is going to final a very long time and supply as many nights of safety and journey as you possibly can throw at it.

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