C hoosing a shelter for a thru-hike is tougher than deciding on any other piece of gear: it’s virtually picking a home for half a year. Zpacks tents have risen to the top of thru hiker popularity, and the Altaplex is one of their unique offerings. Designed for hikers up to 6’6″, it’s one of the most spacious one-person tents on the market. And by keeping the weight under a pound, it’s a competitive option for any weight-conscious backpacker.

My first night with my Altaplex, seen here on the Alabama Roadwalk portion of the ECT.

MSRP: $675 Weight: 15.4 ounces Materials: DCF Stakes Required: 6-10 Bathtub Floor Dimensions: 3 x 7.5 feet Poles Required: 1

I picked this tent up in the midst of my Eastern Continental Trail thru-hike. I switched to it when I entered Southern Alabama in early February and tested it through mid-March up through Erwin, TN (MM 345). A fair number of the nights were spent below freezing, a few were in the rain, and plenty more were around 40 degrees. This was all in the southeast, where conditions are notoriously a bit damp. I used a polycro groundsheet every time I set it up. And finally, I am right at six feet tall.

Central toggle holding the storm doors together.

The bathtub floor is attached by a sheet of mesh to the body of the tent and held in place by an adjustable stretch cord.

Both storm doors open, rainbow door fully open.

The Altaplex is a three-season tent built for taller hikers. It’s made to be used with a tall trekking pole, which makes for ample headroom. The DCF material that composes the tent is totally waterproof and extremely lightweight. It can be set up with six stakes, but using the full 10 allows for much more interior space. The trekking pole needs to be able to be set somewhere between 142-152 cm (the included instructions suggest 147). The set of poles I use only has a range up to 135 cm, but that’s only the useable range. I extended them past the “do not use” range and measured them to be 148 cm. This is a significant note of usage for the tent: the user doesn’t have to own extra-large poles. Most commercial poles that go to 135 cm can be extended a fair amount beyond that range.

Even though these Lekki poles are only made to be USED at 135 cm, they can be extended a fair bit beyond that for situations like this.

Obviously, the highlight feature of this tent is its roominess. And to cut right to the chase, it delivers. This is easily the most spacious one-person tent I’ve ever been in. I hiked the AT and the PCT in Gossamer Gear’s The One, and I’ve also tested the DCF version. While the horizontal space in that tent is nice, it was only just long enough for me to spread out, and often I’d end up with a wet foot box on nights with a lot of condensation. Not so with the Altaplex. The bathtub floor is 7.5 feet long, which means that when my 6 feet long sleeping pad is centered, I have 8-9 inches of space on either end. I typically try to sleep with my head pretty close to the tent wall, so I usually have more like an extra foot of space below my feet.

Splayed out here on my Long/Wide Insulated Nemo Tensor.

Even width-wise, I find there is more than enough space to spread out my gear a bit. The slant of the non-door wall of the tent means that the center of the tent is pretty close to the door, at least when it comes to sitting up in the tent. This leaves ample floor space on the non-door side to spread out gear, even when using a long/wide sleeping pad. I’ve slept with my pack inside my tent every night I’ve used it, but there is also plenty of vestibule space to store it as well.

Finally, one of the big advantages of a high ceiling means that it’s possible (at least for me) to stand on my knees in the tent. The benefit of this? The midnight pee. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I don’t often make it through the night without needing to pee. It’s a huge pain to fully get out of my quilt, put on shoes, and take a step or two outside my tent, especially when it’s cold. But, since I can take a knee from within this tent, I’m able to pee out the door without even having to fully extricate from my quilt. Of this, I’m quite a fan.

Both storm doors hook into a central point to hold them in place.

The three tie-outs on the backside of the tent, which help provide much of the interior space.

Zpacks is the king of thru-hiker tents for a reason. They’ve been making reliable products for years at weights that are seriously staggering. The Altaplex is a very solid option in the lineup, for hikers of any size. Taller folks can rejoice in having an ultra-lightweight option, and smaller folks can do the same in enjoying a spacious tent without the palace feel of a two-person tent. It’s expensive, it’s got some bulk to it that might frustrate hikers trying to squeeze everything into a 25-liter pack, but man is this an awesome tent.

Shop the Zpacks Altaplex Tent

Gossamer Gear The DCF One

Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 Ultralight Pyramid Tent

*This Zpacks Altaplex was donated for purpose of review

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I'm Carl "Professor" Stanfield, and I love backpacking. I studied Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education at Brevard College in North Carolina, then spent about 3 years living and working at a camp in Leavenworth, Washington. After my time there ended, I decided to attempt a thru hike, and in April 2018, I set out on my adventure on the Appalachian Trail, finishing at the end of August 2018. I fell in love with the wondrous life of thru hiking and decided to make it a priority. I had another successful adventure on the PCT in 2019 and am now dreaming of a Calendar Year Triple Crown (and then some) in 2022. I currently manage a local outdoors store in Birmingham, Alabama.

When I was looking for a tent a big concern was price. I ended up going with the Tarptent Protrail Li. Mainly because it is substantially cheaper than Zpack tents. The Li weights in at 17.7 ounces with stakes and bag. Inside there is a lot of floor space and a nice sized vestibule. But, the draw back is you do need to crouch down to get inside. No easy get in get out. For me it did not end up being a tough choice, the price difference saw to that. Glad this setup has worked out for you.

Agonized over buying a new tent (after using the FlyCreekUL2 on the AT). Acquired the Altaplex & love it. Easy to carry, easy to set up. At 6’5” this thing is the “bees knees”. That price ain’t so bad when you think of the 100’s of nights spent under it. Thanks for the review… Agree 100% Happy Trails, DLL

Love my Altaplex since Darwin recommended it. Bought mine almost two years ago when Zpacks re-released it. And I love it. Easy setup. Easy take down. Never wet. Packs up just right to cover the top of my bag. Good review.

Great review. Being a short guy I’m happy with the Plex Solo for times I want bug netting. BTW, 147 centimeters (cm) = 58 inches.

Pissing out the tent is full on disgusting, other people are going to camp where you’ve pee’d.

Pease pee in a bottle or ziploc and dispose of it like a civilised person.

Id expect this type of post on April 1st. You cant be serious are you?