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Note These scores are from my testing of the Lynx 2, which is the same tent in a bigger size. It’s the model I ranked against the other tents under $100. Every measurement below is from my own 1-person Lynx.

See the 10 tests

1. Set Up & Take Down
2. Peak Height
3. Base Area
4. Vestibule
5. Doors
6. Storage
7. Ventilation
8. Rain Protection
9. Quality
10. Portability
11. Pros, Cons, Recommendation
12. Bonus: Must Read!

Set Up & Take Down

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Two orange poles criss-cross over the body, 12 pole clips snap on, plus one big clip at the top.

• Poles 2both orange, criss-crossing
• Pole clips 1312 plus one large one at the peak
• Freestanding Yesstaking and guying out is optional

• Set-up time 4.5-5 min
• Pack-away time 5.5-6 min

Then the rainfly goes over, with the vestibule zip above the door. The fly has quick buckles, which are genuinely user-friendly, and then it’s stakes and guy ropes.

Packing away takes longer than it should. The stuff sack is a little small for my liking. I fold the body in half twice, the fly in half five or six times, pile everything on the body and roll it up squeezing the air out.

Peak Height

• Peak height 37inat the center only, and the walls slope off
• Pad that fits under it 1.5in thickwith inches of headroom left, and I’m 5’3

Base Area

• Inner length 88inshould suit anyone up to about 6ft on a 1.5in pad
• Inner width 31intakes a 20in pad easily, and a 25in one still fits
• Inner area 18.9 sq ftvery spacious for a 1-person tent

I’ve read reviews from people up to 6’1 or 6’2 using this tent, but I couldn’t find anyone tall enough to test that for myself. And if you’re weighing this against the bigger size, I measured both side by side in my Lynx 1 vs Lynx 2 comparison.

Vestibule

• Vestibule 18.5 sq ft
• Vestibule width 28inlongest point
• Vestibule zipper #8‘B8’ engraved on it, and no snags at all

There are two stake loops at the bottom, so I can open either side. Or un-stake it completely and tie it back with the two toggles.

Doors

• Door 1behind the vestibule
• Door size 36 x 27inlongest length x longest width
• Door mesh Halfthe rest is fabric
• Door toggles 2

Storage

• Pockets 2one at each width, 9 x 6in each
• Removable gear loft 12 x 6inhangs on the SIDE wall, not the ceiling
• Lantern loop 1at the top
• Power port None

Ventilation

• Rainfly vents 2small, at the top
• Vent access Outside only
• Rainfly-to-ground gap A couple of inchesthe fly doesn’t reach the ground

What I really look for is whether the rainfly pulls away from the body on all four sides. And this one can’t. There’s no stake loop at either short width, so the fly sits close to the body there.

• Fly pull-away at the widths 2.5in maxno stake loop to guy them out
• Fly pull-away at the back 12inusing a guyline of my own
• Mesh at the sides and back About half the wall
• Mesh at the front Much lessmostly fabric, which cuts cross-ventilation

The mesh is micro mesh rather than mosquito netting, and it feels soft and silky. I just wish there was more of it.

Note That lack of mesh is exactly why this is a shoulder season tent; it keeps the heat in. I’ve slept in it on hot summer nights and it was hot and stuffy every time.

Rain Protection

I didn’t rain test this 1-person Lynx, because the peek-out windows on my old one had already broken. I bought a brand new Lynx 2 and ran the heavy rain test on that instead: same tent, same seams, one size up.

Watch the rain test before you buy this tent if you’re expecting any real weather. It covers:

• Seam taping (floor seams, door seams, vertical seams)
• Rainfly length
• Tub floors
• The heavy rain test itself
• The results

Quality

• Rainfly 75D polyester1,500mm coating
• Tent body 75D polyester
• Floor 75D poly taffeta2,000mm coating
• Poles 7,000 series aluminum
• Zippers #8not branded

For under $100 that’s a good spec sheet. Most budget tents at this price give you polyethylene flooring, fiberglass poles, coarser mesh and barely any waterproof coating. The stitching is decent and consistent too, though not every seam came factory taped, which is what the rain test is about.

The marketed dimensions are also accurate, which is rarer than it should be. Most tents I measure come out smaller than the brand claims.

Note My Lynx 1 is an old version with plastic peek-out windows at each width. They feel cheap and mine fell apart after a few years. ALPS has since dropped them. My newer Lynx 2 doesn’t have them, so ignore the windows in these photos.

Portability

• Packed size 19.5 x 7 x 5in
• Weight 4.0 lbs

It’s a little heavy to sit alongside proper lightweight backpacking tents (MSR, NEMO, Big Agnes). At this price you’re not getting ultralight fabrics, and this tent isn’t going to shed weight for you. For scale, I weighed my Coleman Sundome 2 (a car camping tent) at 6.4 lbs, barely more than the 6.0 lbs on my 2-person Lynx. This is a car camping tent that happens to pack down small.

Pros, Cons, Recommendation

So what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1?

Very inexpensive

Goes for less than $100, sometimes you can get even better deals on Amazon.

Great value for money

Better than average quality, lifetime warranty.

A very spacious tent

Interior space of 18.9 square feet, vestibule space of 8.5 square feet, total base area of 27.5 square feet.

Easy setup

2 poles, 13 pole clips, and 1 rainfly. It doesn’t get simpler than this.

Requires waterproofing prep work

Seams need to be sealed for heavy rain use. Not all seams came factory sealed.

Rainfly can’t be pulled away at the widths

Bigger models of this Lynx can be pulled away at the width though.

Bonus: Must Read!

Every figure above is from my own testing. Measured by hand, bought with my own money.