ALPS Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

The tent is heavy, but to be expected with a 3 person. Not the greatest quality materials, tent walls are thin. No footprint available, I had to make one. Not a lot of gear space, small vestibules. Angled walls make 3 people feel very cramped.

These are just cons. I am VERY satisfied with the tent/price. The seams are good and I have stayed dry on rainy days. I feel its always better to hear about what people don't like about the product.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

The second time I took this tent out, the "60% chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight" turned into nine hours of relentless rain and wind. This tent was sturdy through it all and kept all three of us drier than any person could reasonably expect a tent would have kept us. I'm really glad I had this tent over me that night!
Also, the tent is VERY breathable if you set up the rain-fly correctly; even in the humidity of the southern Georgia coast, we stay comfortable throughout the night. I've never had a problem with condensation. And the mesh is small enough to keep out all but the tiniest of no-see-ums.
My only complaint is that it is somewhat heavy and big, especially if you plan on carrying it very far. And go ahead and figure in the cost of a footprint: the floor on this tent is pretty thin.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I used this tent on a climbing trip to Yosemite. We set it up for the first time in the dark. It is a little confusing on how to set up based on the instructions. You will figure it out though.

The tent material is very thin in comparison to other more expensive options I have used. The mesh/screen placement is great for star gazing. The rain fly is amazingly easy to set up. It has plastic buckles that snap to the tent corners. The rainfly is large with reasonable sized vestibules.

The condensation seems to collect in the vestibules which is an outer wall versus on an internal wall to shower you upon first touch in the morning. The three pole design is sturdy. Inside is bare bones. No gear pouches.

If you are sleeping with someone head to head, pick the side without the door at your face. The weight of the zipper door makes that side slightly narrower versus the side with the zipper door at your feet. Ample head room for tent activities. :) Perfect for two adults. Great tent for the price...

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This is a good tent. I'd buy it again.

I purchased it because our other tent is a 25+ pound 6-person car camping only tent and I wanted to do some backpacking. I was unfamiliar with the ALPS Mountaineering brand and thought that the price might be too good to be true (i.e.- that the tent might be junk). It's not.

This tent is very straight-forward to set up. Assemble three poles, clip on the tent, throw in some stakes, and add the rainfly. Bam! It goes up really quick. I had some rain (intermittent showers) and stayed dry. No problems with the wind. Lots of venting; no condensation inside the tent. Nice feature: two doors- each with its own vestibule! Each camper can store their stuff right outside their door.

The only "con" is that it's heavy to use as a solo tent; but not a problem for 2 or 3 people- one of you takes the poles and rainfly and the other takes the tent.

Also: The tent "footprint" (also available on rei-outlet) works well, is sturdy and light. I'd recommend that, too.

Don't let the brand name put you off- it's a solid tent. Have fun camping!

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I got this tent here in the last Christmas sale. I have used for two weekend hikes and one weeklong hike so far. I like it quite much. The two weekends were in the cool locations (45F to 60F), and weeklong was in hot TN. We used this tent for two people only. In the cool/cold places, they were very good. But in TN, we set up without fly then we could sleep in the 85 F nights. A little heavy (our package weight was 8 lb, 2 oz) for two people tent (designed for real 3 people, 80" x 96") but so much room you can turn around while with all your gears in. So we divided it into two sacks when hiking. The height inside the tent is also amazing with 48" ceiling (another 2" between tent and fly).
Two doors are symmetrically located on the sides of the tent. So you don't need to find out which side is the head when set up, because they are the same. This is very good if the location is little sloped. I would also pick "BD Vista 3" which is lighter (1 lb less) with similar size but you need to pay twice of this tent in the original MSRP.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This tent is very easy to setup. Takes only a few minutes. It doesn't keep heat in as well as our other tent at 30 degrees, but will make a great warm weather tent. Ventilation is great.

The tent is perfect for 2 people, but might be on the small side for 3.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

Used this tent on a boy scout adventure camping trip. Worked very well, kept us very dry, was easy to set up and take down, and packed right up easily.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

Perfect for someone who needs a sturdy tent but doesn't plan to carry too far. It's a little heavy on the long hike, but works great for the overseas backpack adventure that involves bus rides, motorcycles or cattle carts. That's the last place you want a breakdown and for its durability and materials and price, it's plenty light.

It's also surprisingly big, clearance enough to stand hunched over. Crawling not needed. And it'll definitely sleep three.

Also good in the rain. Perhaps a little warm, but without the fly it's good and breezy.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

This tent is extremely comfortable for two people and their gear. Three fit, but gear must be outside. The material is very light weight but held up very well to extreme wind and rain. My only complaint is that they fly zippers stick a bit, but most tents do this.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Extreme 3 Tent - Special Buy:

I had originally wanted a "just in case of emergency tent" because living in Southern California you never know when you might need a tent. After doing a great deal of research on tents I purchased this one, based upon the previous reviews listed here on REI Outlet. I have been very pleased with the product. After picking up the tent and the footprint (also purchased from REI Outlet) I set it up in my front yard by myself in about 15 min.'s. As soon as I was done my roomates dog gave it a squirt so I knew I had a winner if she wanted it. After cleaning the outside (squirt did not penetrate the fly as it is very well coated and waterproof), I took it down and repacked it in about 7 min.'s.
I was very impressed with the materials and with the amount of room it has inside, also the vestibules are very large and can hold quite a bit of gear with room enough to cook in as well if need be. The tent has an included gear loft, 4 loops and two pockets located next to the doors. The poles are sturdy and easy to manipulate and they are color coded to the tent base loops which makes set up very easy. The included stuff sacks are ok but will probably be the first things to wear out. The stakes are standard aluminum wire looped and I will most likely replace them with the MSR Grounhogs when I can afford it.
I used the tent first in Josua Tree National Park in August (90% @ 8:00pm) with out the fly and was impressed by the amount of ventilation it has for a four sided fabic tent. Although the doors have a fabric door and a net door the small end windows do not have a fabric privacy flap, nor does the roof vent, so if privacy is an issue you might want to go elsewhere.
I have also used this tent @ Lopez Lake (again hot & dry) and at Oceana near Pismo Beach. This trip tested the rainfly and ventilation. The fog and drizzel did not cease from the time of arrival to the time of departure. The rainfly kept out all the moisture and the vents kept the condensation level to none. My buddy set up his tent that he swears by, and by morning was drenched from above and below by floor leakage and condensation. I was completely dry and comfortable, not a squidge of moisture inside. The fly sheds moisture well and the design of the fly doors keeps you from getting wet on the way out of the tent. The fly does have windows in it at the small ends so that you can check conditions before getting out of the tent.
My only suggestions for improvements would be that I would prefer to have privacy flaps on the small end windows and a clear isenglass panel over the roof vent in the rainfly so I could see the stars at night through the fly.
Overall after a long search, this was the best 3 person, 3 season tent that I could find for the money and I could not be more pleased with my purchase. Bravo to Alps Mountaineering and REI!