ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 3 Tent: 3-Person 3-Season

Bought this tent to replace an old Eureka 2 man i've had since my boy scout days. I've only used this tent once over a 7 day kayak trip down the Salmon River. It rolls up small enough that i was able to fit it in my kayak with the rest of my gear. The first couple days we got rained on pretty good and i never had any issues with water leaking. Doors on each side are nice for when theres multiple people in there so they don't have to roll over anyone. My only big problem with this tent is while it says its a 3 person, like most backpacking tent you can generally subtract a person unless you want a really tight fit. I was only able to fit 2 people in here with some space left for gear.

I returned a Big Agnes $$$$ and got this and have no regrets. It goes up easy, like most of the fancy 400 dollar freestanding tents. The shape is nice, it has good headroom and room at the feet for a 50 lb. dog. The mesh screen is great and like the rain fly has held up well to dog claws, unlike the fancy pants tents. As a three person tent it is comfortable with two adults and a dog, and cozy, but not cramped with two adults three year old and dog. The foot box might be tight for three full length folks.
The CON:
The condensation buildup in this tent is pretty bad. There are two vents, but one of them requires a guy line to keep it open and still there is a lot of buildup. Fortunately it is pretty dry where I use it so the fly dries out with 20 minutes in the sun. For this reason I would be reluctant to use it backpacking in a humid region.
One thing that is great is that if it isn't raining but you want some fly coverage the doors roll up really nicely and there is complete air flow.
I would highly recommend this tent if you are willing to sacrifice the extra pound of weight to save three hundred bucks and aren't too concerned about condensation.

Used it twice. Unfortunately, the second backpacking trip it started to rain and it started to leak where the rain fly and zippers were. On both sides of the tent. Had to put plastic up to sleep.

Otherwise, roomy enough for two and two medium size dogs. Light weight and price is good. Will try sealing the seams and see how it works.

I love this tent. I bought it to replace my Marmot Limelight that I used for 6-7 years and it is just as easy to set up, lighter, and just as roomy. The two doors are great for getting in and out of. The best thing about the tent though is the price. Much cheaper than other brands.

Bought this tent on steepandcheap.com for a pretty killer price, but no deal Howie.

To start off, I'm pretty well versed in tents. I've done a bit of guiding and plenty of camping myself, thus using many different tents. So I put it in quite a bit of research when looking for a lightweight shelter for my wife and I along with our two big dogs.. With all that, I was super stoked to get a new tent (as any happy camper should be), and when the Zephyr arrived I promptly set it up in the living room- much to this dismay of my dogs.

With the poles dialed in and after fastening the guy lines I transplanted the tent from living room floor to backyard.

After staking 'er down, I tossed over the fly and began tightening the attachment points. At this point the proverbial turd hit the proverbial fan, and things became less than ideal.

-The long section of the poles (which afford a ton of room on the interior of the tent) began to bow inwards. This was all before the tent's fly was even nearing taut. All the room from the high interior was lost with this bend. I would also assume that the tent's structural integrity was also compromised at this point.

- With the fly loosened and poles back to their expected stance, I began staking and tightening the guy lines. With this, the front center guy line tie point ripped the seam away from the fly.

With these two failures, I called it. I was super bummed and gave up on the tent. Like the title of this review says: Maybe I got a Lemon? And while Alps' service was willing to send a fly, this is not a tent I'd trust in the places I'm planning to take it. Sorry Alps, but I won't be purchasing any of your goods.

We recently purchased this 3-Person tent to more comfortably accommodate two adults and a 50lb dog. The 2 doors make late night bathroom runs less disruptive to fellow tent-mates and the size is ideal - (so much better than trying to cram into a tiny 2-Person tent).
This past weekend we camped out in Zion and a 20% chance of rain turned into over 12 hours of torrential rain. We were extremely happy to find that our tent held up to the elements - we stayed completely dry inside and the vestibules were great at keeping our extra gear dry outside the tent.
For the price, I am not sure you can really find a better tent - in warm weather with the fly off this tent is extremely comfortable since it has so many mesh sides and when it rains the fly does an amazing job at keeping you dry.