The Zpacks Free Zip 2P is a two-person ultralight freestanding tent that weighs 31.6 oz and prices $899. It’s a single-wall tent with two mesh rainbow doorways and two vestibules that may be rolled open and secured with magnets as a substitute of toggles. The tent is straightforward to arrange, supplied there isn’t a lot wind (it turns into sail in any other case), and the inside is remarkably spacious in comparison with a trekking pole tent. A vaulted ceiling supplies loads of room to take a seat up within the center, change your garments inside, and stack gear on the ends.
- Capability: 2 individuals
- Doorways/vestibules: 2/2
- Weight: 31.6 oz / 896 g
- Exterior Dimensions:
- Inside Dimensions: 43″ x 44″ x 86″ (h x w x l)
- Exterior Dimensions: 43″ x 48″ x 92″ (h x ridgeline x l)
- Width together with vestibules: 69″
- Vestibule Depth: 13″ all sides
- Bathtub flooring: 5″ deep
- Flooring: 1.0 oz/sqyd Dyneema Composite Cloth
- Cover: 0.55 oz/sqyd Normal Dyneema Composite Cloth
- Poles: Easton Carbon Fiber – max folded size 12″
- Hydrostatic head: 15,000 mm
- Professionals: Ultralight, waterproof, doesn’t stretch when moist
- Cons: Setup requires further babysitting
Freestanding tents are very fascinating as a result of they are often arrange on surfaces the place it isn’t straightforward to insert tent stakes within the floor, just like the seashore, above-treeline on a rock ledge, on snow or ice, or on picket tent platforms designed to guard the bottom from overuse impacts. If there’s any wind, you continue to wish to safe a freestanding tent, however they’re good as a result of you’ll be able to choose them up and transfer them to a greater location. That is attainable as a result of they keep their form and construction even if you choose them up. I say often as a result of the Zpacks Free Zip 2P doesn’t, which is an attention-grabbing wrinkle in conventional freestanding tent design.
Tent Setup
The Zpacks Free Zip 2P is a dome-shaped tent that requires 4 collapsible carbon fiber tent poles to arrange. The poles’ ends slot into tiny plastic rings within the corners of the bottom and close to the middle ridgeline, crisscrossing over one another for energy. The tent’s exterior pores and skin is hooked up to the poles with plastic hooks and “hangs” beneath them. You continue to need to stake out the vestibule doorways, however the tent’s pores and skin is stretched tautly with out the wrinkles that often characterize Zpack’s trekking pole tent setups.
The vestibule doorways have two panels joined by a water-resistant zipper, so you’ll be able to open one or each at a time. The ground is rectangular, not tapered, so it doesn’t matter which facet of the tent factors into the wind since you’ll be able to open one or each of the doorways in good climate. The vestibule is on the slim facet, but it surely’s huge sufficient to cowl a pair of sneakers or a backpack in most circumstances (extra on this beneath). Whereas the vestibule doorways do have peak vents, there’s nothing to maintain them propped open like a kickstand, so they might or could not present any airflow you probably have each doorways closed.
The tent’s inside is a dream come true if you happen to’ve used Dyneema trekking pole tents earlier than. The partitions are stretched drum tight, and there’s loads of room over your head and ft. There are two pockets contained in the tent, positioned beneath the facet doorways within the center, so I wouldn’t put something delicate there. There are just a few locations within the inside the place you’ll be able to cling a pair of glasses out of hurt’s method, although, beneath the ridgeline, on the ends on the ground tensioner, or on the mesh door zipper pulls.
The tent has a tub flooring that’s 5″ deep. It’s sewn to the partitions with mesh so it “floats” and supplies air flow. There’s sufficient of an overhang between the cover and the ground to make sure that rain doesn’t drain into the tent. It’s also possible to regulate the peak of the tub flooring on the tent finish to stop any rain that hits the bottom from bouncing again into the tent, known as splashback.
The tent is made with ultralight Dyneema Composite Cloth (DCF), so it is rather light-weight and intensely waterproof. Its hydrostatic head of 15,000 is 5+ instances increased than that of standard tents made by REI, Large Agnes, MSR, or NEMO. The ground is made with a grade of DCF that’s twice the load of the cover and within reason sturdy, supplied you are taking care to clear campsites of sharp stones and particles. A footprint is pointless except you camp on extremely abrasive rock or sand. Nevertheless, if you happen to puncture the ground, even when it’s a pinhole puncture, it’s straightforward to seal with tape.
However there’s one factor it’s essential to perceive in regards to the structure of the Free Zip 2P and the way it differs from most freestanding tents. For instance, if you happen to choose the tent, the edges will hinge closed alongside the ridgeline, like a clam. That’s as a result of every pair of poles is just used to droop one facet of the cover and doesn’t cross the ridgeline.
As a consequence, there’s some “play” in how far you’ll be able to pull the ends of the tent aside if you set it up. For those who pull the ends too far aside, you get a really flat roof the place rain can pool, snow can pile, the depth of the tub flooring will get shallower, and the vestibules curve inwards, eliminating their usefulness. Sadly, there’s no good indication, besides probably bathtub flooring depth, of whether or not you’ve positioned the lengthwise ends on the appropriate distance from each other. It’s not the top of the world, however it’s essential to take some further care to not shoot your self within the foot by flattening the tub flooring and shrinking the depth of the vestibule doorways. Listed below are two examples of doing that:
Regardless of being freestanding, there are additionally sure surfaces the place you could stake out the Free Zip 2P, particularly picket platforms. The poles that maintain up the cover are beneath a good quantity of pressure and can curve inwards, shortening the size of the tent except restrained. For those who pitch the tent on grass or dust, there’s sufficient floor friction to stop the ends from pulling towards each other. However if you happen to pitch the tent on a smoother floor, like a picket platform, the ends slide towards each other like a clam, except they’re staked down. That’s simpler stated than completed as a result of the tent doesn’t ship with lineloc tensioners or lengthy guylines on the corners. For those who camp within the Northeast, the place picket platforms are prevalent, you’ll wish to add some.
Advice
The Zpacks Free Zip 2P is a sub-2-pound ultralight tent that’s very snug, spacious, straightforward to pack, and intensely waterproof. Whereas there are some funky penalties to its design, there aren’t any alternate options in case your coronary heart is ready on getting a Dyneema tent that’s this light-weight and doesn’t require trekking poles to make use of. For those who loosen up the load constraint by as little as 10 ounces and Dyneema isn’t essential, there are different freestanding tents which might be simpler to make use of and cheaper. See our record of the 10 Finest Freestanding Tents for specifics.
Disclosure: Zpacks donated a tent for overview.
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