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 an alternative of toggles. The tent is straightforward to arrange, offered 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 offers loads of room to sit down 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″ both sides
- Bathtub ground: 5″ deep
- Ground: 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
- Execs: 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 seaside, above-treeline on a rock ledge, on snow or ice, or on wood 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 may choose them up and transfer them to a greater location. That is doable as a result of they keep their form and construction even if you choose them up. I say normally as a result of the Zpacks Free Zip 2P doesn’t, which is an fascinating 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 power. The tent’s exterior pores and skin is connected 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 normally characterize Zpack’s trekking pole tent setups.
The vestibule doorways have two panels joined by a water-resistant zipper, so you may open one or each at a time. The ground is rectangular, not tapered, so it doesn’t matter which aspect of the tent factors into the wind since you may open one or each of the doorways in good climate. The vestibule is on the slim aspect, however it’s huge sufficient to cowl a pair of footwear or a backpack in most circumstances (extra on this under). Whereas the vestibule doorways do have peak vents, there’s nothing to maintain them propped open like a kickstand, so they could or might not present any airflow in case you have each doorways closed.
The tent’s inside is a dream come true for those who’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 under the aspect doorways within the center, so I wouldn’t put something delicate there. There are just a few locations within the inside the place you may grasp a pair of glasses out of hurt’s means, although, under the ridgeline, on the ends on the ground tensioner, or on the mesh door zipper pulls.
The tent has a tub ground that’s 5″ deep. It’s sewn to the partitions with mesh so it “floats” and offers 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. You may also modify the peak of the tub ground on the tent finish to stop any rain that hits the bottom from bouncing again into the tent, referred to as splashback.
The tent is made with ultralight Dyneema Composite Cloth (DCF), so it is extremely light-weight and very waterproof. Its hydrostatic head of 15,000 is 5+ instances increased than that of typical tents made by REI, Huge Agnes, MSR, or NEMO. The ground is made with a grade of DCF that’s twice the load of the cover and in all fairness sturdy, offered you are taking care to clear campsites of sharp stones and particles. A footprint is pointless until you camp on extremely abrasive rock or sand. Nonetheless, for those who 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, for those who 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 aspect of the cover and doesn’t cross the ridgeline.
As a consequence, there’s some “play” in how far you may 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 ground will get shallower, and the vestibules curve inwards, eliminating their usefulness. Sadly, there’s no good indication, besides presumably bathtub ground depth, of whether or not you’ve positioned the lengthwise ends on the right distance from each other. It’s not the tip of the world, however it’s essential to take some further care to not shoot your self within the foot by flattening the tub ground 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 it’s essential to stake out the Free Zip 2P, specifically wood platforms. The poles that maintain up the cover are underneath a good quantity of stress and can curve inwards, shortening the size of the tent until restrained. For those who pitch the tent on grass or grime, there’s sufficient floor friction to stop the ends from pulling towards each other. However for those who pitch the tent on a smoother floor, like a wood platform, the ends slide towards each other like a clam, until 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 wood 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 very waterproof. Whereas there are some funky penalties to its design, there aren’t any alternate options in case your coronary heart is about on getting a Dyneema tent that’s this light-weight and doesn’t require trekking poles to make use of. For those who calm down the load constraint by as little as 10 ounces and Dyneema just isn’t essential, there are different freestanding tents which are simpler to make use of and cheaper. See our record of the 10 Finest Freestanding Tents for specifics.
Disclosure: Zpacks donated a tent for assessment.
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