Monday, June 24, 2019

Best Selling Backpacking Tent on Amazon - ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1 Review





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This is the Best Selling Backpacking Tent on Amazon and here is my review of the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1....

it's not for everyone....







Link : https://www.amazon.com/ALPS-Mountaineering-Lynx-1-Person-Tent/dp/B07NXVYGXW 



Weight : 4 lbs. 4 oz



Price : At the time of filming; $115 for the Blue / Green and $55 for the Clay /Rust. I paid $79 when I purchased this tent



Colors : There are two colors of this tent; blue / green and the clay / rust.



Measurements : 2'8 x 7'6, Center Height: 36",



There is a Lynx 2, 3, 4 person version available.



Design : Freestanding that really isn’t freestanding and I will explain this in a bit.







This tent is an oddity of sorts as Alps Mountaineering describes the Lynx in the following way;



What's especially nice about the Lynx is that the walls are mostly mesh, which helps increase ventilation.



While the walls are of a higher percentage of mesh, this is by far not their most ventilated tent and in fact, for summer use I feel that there are better tent options out there when you are counting on air flow to keep you comfortable.  In my opinion, this is more of a 3+ season tent and what I mean is this; this tent has more in common with a double wall, 4 season tent than a meshy 3 season tent and I see it being the best of fits in the fall, winter and spring use as the polyester material holds in more heat and blocks more wind than the average 3 meshy 3 season tent.



To me, this tent seems confused; it’s part 3+ season and 3 season but it isn’t a matter of neither area. Too much polyester paneling for summer and not enough of it for holding in a lot of heat in the colder months thanks to the mesh which is present.



Since AM has other tents which are a better fit for warm weather/summer use, I would like to see them leave a majority of the mesh behind for this tent and make it a fanstastic 3+ season.







Pros :



Excellent quality for the money.



Tall; allows for sitting up as long as you are under 5’



Waterproof; I’ve had no issues with leaking.



Rain fly covers the entire tent.



I don’t mind the rust color tent.



Simple setup and break down



Cons :



Size : for an average size individual, this was fine but for tall and wide individuals, you may not like what you find with this tent.  I had a buddy of mine hop in this tent who is 6’; he could lay flat but he couldn’t sit up straight.



I dislike the blue green version of this tent; not my tastes at all.



Narrow – might be a problem for larger individuals



Tall- this is a pro and a con because of the height, you have to stake it out as it will blow away in a slight breeze unless it is anchored down.  During mild winds, this tent is so tall that the force of the wind pushing on it began to pull the tent stakes out of the ground.



Velcro pole straps are extremely long and because of that they don’t do a very good job of securing the fly to the pole.



The good news is that the fly hugs the body of the tent closely so that isn’t be much of an issue when it comes to it being locked into place other than it being annoying to attach; that is why I generally don’t worry about attaching them.



Because the fly hugs the body of the tent so tightly, air flow is restricted to main the door.



Limited ventilation and air flow which means condensation is possible



Can be a very hot tent to sleep in and will require a good breeze blowing through the door to feel it.



 ……



Summary :



This is a good quality budget tent that for myself is one that I would only consider using for cooler nights out on the trail and that’s because of the design.  On the hotter windless nights, it has been HOT in this tent and at times, I have been miserable in this tent especially when it warm out and it is raining so the door is zipped shut.  Uncomfortable for sure. If you need a budget tent which offers excellent ventilation, take a look at the Zephyr.



AM continues to be one of those companies who in general makes good quality, budget gear which I have no problem recommending as I haven’t had any failures yet.  The material choices with this tent and some of their others is questionable but maybe mesh is more expensive than the fabric.


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