Customer Reviews

ALPS Mountaineering Vertex 2 Tent

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking for a tent for myself and my son to go camping with his Boy Scout troop. I looked at the traditional "A" frame type that the Boy Scout purists recommend. But in the end I decided I wanted a more modern design after reading the pros and cons of the A frame tents.
The Vertex is a very nice tent. It has enough room for two adults. I bought an Intex full size inflatable mattress for it. Its width is perfect for the tent. And the mattress leaves a little extra room at the end of the tent for stuff. Of course the mattress lifts you 8 inches off the ground, so using it does reduce the space between you and the tent ceiling but it works fine. If you have an extra $100, maybe a highend camping pad would be best. If you need lots of room for stuff, I would probably go with a three man size tent. But for what I need, it is enough room. There are mesh pockets in the tent and there are holders in the tent to hang stuff in a provided mesh bag.
The set up is very easy. You lay the tent on the ground. Then you assemble the aluminum tent poles. They pretty much assemble themselves because they are shock corded together. You lay the X assembly of the poles on top of the tent. Then you just place the 4 ends of the poles into the grommet on each corner of the tent. Then you just clip the tent to the poles. You see, when you place the pole ends into the tent grommets on the corners, the poles bow upwards and create the skeleton for the tent. By attaching the tent clips to the poles, the tent raises up. Once assembled, the tent can be lifted and moved around if you dont stake it down.
One person can put this tent together quickly. Its nice not to have to slide tent poles thru sleeves on a tent. The clips are just too easy. I put the rain fly on. You just lay the fly on the tent and clip the buckle on each corner of the fly to each corner of the tent. It takes seconds. I cant give an opinion on how well the fly works but from what I have read, the fly should be quite waterproof.

I did buy a cheap tarp at Lowes to place on the ground under the tent. You dont want to over stress tent floors. Better to cover the ground with the tarp and place the tent on top of the tarp. Also, one more thing. When I bought this tent, I bought it for my son and I. But I also plan for it to make a good backpacking tent for him when he's a teen and camps with his troop but not dad. Its not a very heavy tent.

I bought this tent for an overnight canoe camping trip in the middle of December. There was about 8" of snow on the ground and it was about 30F. It rained and snowed for several hours at night. This tent held up flawlessly, no leaks, no water inside the tent, no water inside the vestibules, and stayed warm enough inside that I did not even turn my tent heater on (I think the minimal venting was a bonus for this trip). This tent was just the right size for me to solo camp. I am 5'10 and 230 lbs. I had room in the tent and vestibules for my gear, and my sleeping pad and bag. Changing was a little bit tough due to the lower ceiling, but that is to be expected for all tents this size. I liked the wide opening vestibule doors which provided easy access to the tent without feeling like I needed to lay down or contort somehow to get in. The zippers on the tent doors tended to want to hang up near the top of the door where the tent fabric was pulled taut. It required 2 hands or a quick 1 handed zip to get it through that spot. Never snagged, just the way the tent fabric was pulled. I have seen this on many other tents, so it was not really any problem, just a mention. The 1 piece pole design is awesome, very easy to pitch and take down. Fly went on in a snap (literally). I liked how the fly has a bit of a peak in the middle, which helped the snow easily slide off without any accumulation on the tent. I am sure this is also a bonus for rain too. Tent was easy to fold back up and get to fit in its sack, even with the addition of MSR Groundhog stakes and a ALPS footprint. Very compact package that is perfect for me for canoe and motorcycle trips. I look forward to many years of use from this fine tent.

I bought this tent hoping for a waterproof tent. I am very pleased. I camped in Sequoia in April under rainy conditions. The tent didn't leak. I camped in the local mountains under snowy conditions and no leaks. It is very easy to set up. The tent is very stable and holds up to heavy winds. The zippers are high quality too. The Amazon price makes this tent a steal.

My wife and I are avid geocachers ([...]) and we were looking at getting a quality tent to do overnighter in during longer cache hunts. I am military and have spent a good deal of time freezing to death in military tents so I wanted to get something that would survive colder areas as well. After doing a ton of research I finally decided to purchase the ALPS Vertex 2AL tent. I haven't put it through a field test yet but after setting it up for the first time I can say that this is a top notch tent. The shock corded single pole system is fantastic and makes setting up the tent a breeze... I do worry that the plastic clips which secure the tent to the pole might break, but they haven't shown any stress though I would have preferred them in aluminum. The tent comes nearly complete, I added a 60" x 90" ALPS floor saver which really is a must since the tent's floor seems a little thin although I was comfortable with my dog walking around in it. It's good sized for a two man, though it would really only fit one man a dog and gear if you were not using the fly vestibules (which are adequately sized)... I had it set up in the house and with the fly in place and the doors and windows zipped up it only took a short couple minutes before it was uncomfortably warm inside the tent which leaves me confident it will fight out the bitter cold. The guy lines attach at logical areas and the fly is about an inch and a half spaced from the tent so it should stay dry inside the tent no matter what weather nature throws at it. The floor rises about 2 and a half inches off the ground, so with proper placement you should stay dry if the tent area were to flood (though gear in your vestibules won't have this protection). Lastly, the whole tent collapses quickly and stores easily. It may be a bit too large to use as a backpacking tent for the average hiker although I am a larger gent with ruck marching experience (6' 230, All my equipment in hand I weighed in over 450 in Ali Al Salem) and don't think it will be much of an issue for me or others in similar situations. I just wished ALPS offered color options on their flys. I will update with this tents cold weather performance this winter. Thanks for reading.

The tent is the best that I've ever owned. I bought this back in april 2010 for $109.09. I have been able to use it on multiple backpacking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I love it. Its very durable and compact. The Aluminum poles are very strong. A lot better that than the fiberglass rods of other tents. The fabric is very strong yet light. The zippers are large and don't get jambed or hung up. I use a small tarp under mine to protects it from tears and cuts. A tarp or foot print is highly recomended. Setting up is very quick and easy. All the rods are connected as one piece and you just need to position the rod ends at the tent corners. Then all you have to do is raise and clip the tent to the support rods. The rainfly is easy to put on and is great at keeping out water. It clips to the tents 4 corners and the vestibules flaps are staked down. The vestiblues are perfect for keeping your damp smelly boots or other gear outside to free up space inside the tent. This is a small two person tent. Ive used it with just myself and my 90L backpack, another person could fit with gear but It would be very tight. For something a little larger I would go with the Alps Mountaineering Vertex 4 tent.

I purchased this tent after doing a ton of research... I knew what I was getting and it was what I expected. I used this tent on a little 2 night camping trip in January, it was cold (in the high 20's) at night. This tent had the largest square footage that I saw for the great price. I like the rectangle shape, it dose not have a lot of wasted space like a geodesic design does. This tent also has pretty spacious vestibules although they could be larger. I camped on some wet ground and there was no moisture wicking through the floor. I had 2 people and 2 medium sized dogs in the tent, it was cramped but very warm and okay for the short amount of time we were out. The tent is pretty light and can be used for a backpacking trip (which i will do with this tent during the summer). The set-up is pretty easy all the poles are attached. With a 2' or so section across the top then the 2 down poles on each side are mated using a triangle (like a upside-down Y). The poles snap in nice and tight and are aluminum (which helps with the tent's light weight). I hope this review helps, I will try to write up another review on the backpacking experience if I see some interest. Thank you.

What a cool tent. I got it today, and the first thing i noticed was how compact it was. Definitely a great asset for any backpack camper. But the design is what has impressed me so far. The bridge design of the aluminum poles is new to me, and it works well, and saves the hassle of having two different poles, they are connected as one. I set it up in a space not much larger than the tent itself and it can be easily set up in 5 minutes first try. The overheard space is great with this pole design. Haven't field tested it yet but the material seems sturdy enough for wind and snow, yet breathable. I am not a tent aficionado but this does the trick for me, and the price i payed shows in the quality and design.

I got this tent to go bicycle camping, and it was perfect. The campground was 24 miles from home, and the weather was supposed to be perfect, so I left the fly at home. By doing this, the tent (without the fly) actually fit in the same bag with the poles (about 3.5" x 22") and was very lightweight. Along with a small sleeping bag, Alps lightweight sleeping pad, and the rest of my gear, everything fit on the bike just fine. I'm hoping to go camping again in mid-October (which is why I got this particular Alps tent instead of one of the other models). The Vertex looked as if it would be slightly warmer since it had less mesh than the others. This worried me a little for summer camping, but it was just fine. I couldn't find a footprint for this model, but I got the footprint for the Neptune 2 (also by Alps), since it was the same size, and it fit perfectly (purchased through REI for about $12). I used MSR Groundhog stakes. I am 6'1" and 215 pounds, and the length of this tent was just right. It would definitely be a little crowded with two people, but it was just right for me and my gear.

This tent(Vertex 2)has 5 poles that are shock corded together. It is a little longer than most 5'x7' tents. There is a window in each door which can be zipped closed. There are vents in each short end and in the top that can not be closed. The rain fly buckles to the tent and has 2 large vestibules which can be zipped open from the top or bottom. There is a tiny window (clear vinyl) in each vestibule which does not allow complete privacy when the adjacent tent door window is open. This is the only thing I don't like about the tent. I would cover these or paint them if I ever used the tent. There are also clear vinyl windows in each short end of the rain fly that correspond to the vents in the short ends of the tent. These can't be be closed either. There are no vents in the rainfly and it has to be guyed out so that air flows from underneath. The manufacturer says they have never had complaints about condensation.
I bought this tent for my scout son who already has a mostly mesh tent for muggy weather. I got this one because it has much less mesh and I thought it would be warmer for cold-weather camping.
The first time he used it the weather was cold and wet. There were no leaks, no condensation and he stayed dry and warm. He had room inside for sleeping bags and gear for 2.
The tent comes with a gear loft, stakes, long and short guy lines, repair swatches, ample storage bag, pole bag. It does not come with a ground cover. The zippers are larger than most and the fabric seems durable.
Other than the privacy issues (maybe not a big deal for guys) I can't think of anyway to improve this tent. 4.5 stars.

The tent, though untested as yet in conditions other than my backyard, seems just right. Having windows on both sides is a boon for ventilation; the pole-and-clip setup is easy even for a novice. I felt that I received a good value for the price.