ALPS Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

Easy up and down; well vented and I love the 2 roomy vestibules. Handy pockets and dome basket to hang a light in. Well constructed at the upper limits of non-professional gear.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

This tent is great, and the value for the price is even better. It's heavier than more expensive two-person tents, but its also got a lot more room than most of my buddy's tents. So cut a deal where you carry the tent and they carry the sleeping bags (or water if you're kind of a bad person). The fly works great, and holds up in at least moderate winds (I haven't slept in any tornadoes yet), and with two vestibules, you can keep all your john on your side with plenty of room to spare. It kept the temperature inside almost 10 degrees higher than the OAT on 15 degree nights, so you don't need such warm sleeping bags. The bathtub bottom kept most of the sand from getting in on the beach, and keeps moisture out on the wet ground. It has plenty of mesh for a nice sea breeze at night, but since the ends of the tent are mostly nylon, you can decide if you want the cool wind or not by how you position it. I have other tents with fiberglass poles, and I've got to say, they get really annoying. These aluminum poles are seamless, so they slide around on the clips with ease, instead of getting caught up on everything with external connectors.

Bottom line, friends have spent a lot more on tents of equal or lesser quality. If you're shopping for a tent, grab this one up before its gone. The little extra weight is worth the money you'll save.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

This is a really great tent for the price. Very easy to set up and take down by yourself. Although a little on the heavy side, it is a two person tent with a slightly larger footprint than most (a good thing most of the time!) If you're sharing and splitting up weight for essentials on a backpacking trip this should be just fine (let your partner carry carry the stove and fuel).

The one thing I really like is that it is vented very well even with the rain fly on. I was recently in Yosemite and several of my hiking buddies complained of waking up to a wet sleeping bag from condensation. My bag and the inside of my tent was bone dry. Additionally, the two doors have no-seeum netting and a zip window cover providing extra warmth or ventilation as needed.

Grab this while you can. I'd find it hard to believe you'd find something better for the money.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

I used this tent recently for a week-long bike tour and never had one bit of trouble setting it up, taking it down, packing it, etc. It withstood one night of strong wind gusts, two nights of light to moderate rain, and 7 mornings of heavy dew. It set up and came down both in under 10 minutes, dried in a flash after being packed wet for 10 hours, and I was kicking back in it long before anyone else had their similarly-sized tents up. The various ventilation options are great and I highly recommend this tent to everyone! My only question is the oval windows on each end which detract from privacy. Other than that, this was the best buy ever.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

I got this tent to use on a cycle touring trip in Donegal, Ireland, using a Bob Yak trailer to carry my gear. The tent performed excellently in high winds on exposed sites and in driving Irish Rain, no complaints. It has great aluminium poles, here in the UK to get a similiar spec tent it would have cost 3 X the cost of this bad boy. Even though I got hit with customs duty when it arrived from the US the price here at REI still made it a great buy.

It is a tad heavy, but depending on how you are transporting your gear that might not be an issue!

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

Recently purchased the tent and I was pleasantly surprised. It is easy to set-up and performed well in cold conditions (temperature in the 30s) in the snow. Just make sure to buy and use the footprint (buy separately). A bit on the heavy side, but this is a bargain buy, especially considering all the features that are included with the tent.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

The only reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because I am sure there are "better" tents available, but they are most likely more expensive. The best thing about this tent is the overhangs formed on either side when the rainfly is on. Use one for a dry exit and entry point where you can keep your muddy shoes out of the tent, and out of the rain while you sleep. Use the other side to keep your pack dry and out of the way. The end result is a 2 person tent with storage capacity of a much larger tent. Oh, and I can attest to the fact that this tent is very much waterproof (see picture).

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

i use this tent by alps in the boundary waters for canoeing. its easy to setup and takedown, and having 2 vestibules i can keep most of my gear outside the tent leaving lots of room inside. this sucker is well built, once i was in a bad windstorm overnight on iron lake. wind strong enough to roll our canoes (aluminum) accross the campsite and blow over a couple trees. it kept me dry and was not damaged.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

I love the large vestibules and the two door design is what drove me to buy. During my last trip to Grand Canyon, I brought a tent with a mesh door. During the night, the wind swept the dry sand and dust into the tent and deposited all over me. This tent comes with a door with a zipped door on the mesh making it really versatile.
It is not light for a woman with 110 lbs. Other than that it is worthy every penny.

Comments about Alps Mountaineering Orion 2 Tent - Special Buy:

When I paddle and camp, I use a North Face Roadrunner 3, but this is mostly due to my being 6' 2" and 240 lbs. It's hard for me to comfortably fit myself and my gear into anything less than a 3-person tent. (I use a Big Agnes long bag and a BA air pad.) But when it came time to do some backpacking, weight became an issue and I wanted to save a couple pounds by downsizing. I was able to find the Orion 2 at REI-Outlet and had an additional discount coupon, so I got a great deal on the tent and footprint.

The Orion 2 is much faster and simpler to set up than the RR3, due to the simpler two-pole design and the pole clips in place of the RR3's pole pockets. I also find that the ring and pin arrangement is easier to use. Some reviewers have complained about the "plastic inserts" at the ends of the poles coming loose. I don't know if the design was changed, but there are no plastic inserts at the ends of my poles...the pins are about the same size as the ID of the poles and they just slip right in. I have a bit of a problem getting the rainfly centered, but I just tug it around until it looks pretty close. The fly also has to be guyed out almost two feet on two sides to get the fly taut, but this isn't a big deal unless you're really cramped for space in your campsite. The two vestibules are good-sized and useful. (Frankly, since I use the tent solo, I would have been happy to save a few ounces and have simply one door and one vestibule.) Unlike some other backpacking tents, the Orion 2 has both a fabric and a mesh door, which keeps it much warmer inside when you need it to be. Ventilation is good to very good...no condensation issues in most weather. I did not have any problem with the zippers snagging on the fabric, but I am perhaps more careful than some other campers.

As I said, I'm 6' 2" and this tent is about 2" too short for me to really relax and stretch out. Fortunately, the fly is guyed out so far (see comment above) that I can touch the sides of the tent without concern. One feature that really attracted me is that this tent is much taller than most other tents of its size. In fact, it looks a little odd with its 46" interior peak.

Material and workmanship are very good...no leaks and no errors in the stitching. I DID seal the seams before using it, though. The poles seem very sturdy, but you definitely want to guy it securely, in part because of the high profile (see comment above).

There are not many storage options inside the tent, other than a couple loops.

The only negative comment I have is that the tent came in a "relaxed" storage bag. The bag is twice the size you need. (I could put both the Orion 2 and my RR3 tent inside the single bag...I know, I tried it.) My RR3 came with a compression bag and it is a bit large to use with the Orion 2, so I bought a Therm-A-Rest sack and a few velcro bands to use for this purpose. Works like a champ.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the tent and think I got a heck of a deal.