Tents under $200 · Review
ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 Tent Review (Bought & Tested!)
I bought this tent with my own money and put it through 8 hands-on tests.
- Setup 6.75 min
- Peak 37in
- Inner area 30.2 sq ft
- Vestibule 15.8 sq ft
This page contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure policy here.
Test scorecard · scored against tents under $200
If you’re shopping for a 2-person tent under $200, the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 does the job, but there isn’t a single thing about it that really stands out. It also soaked through after only 30 minutes of heavy rain.
- Lots of mesh
- Big base area
- Lifetime warranty
- Low peak height
- Not great in rain
If you prefer watching to reading, check out my video here instead.
See the 8 tests
In the Box
Out of the box, here’s everything I got:
- Tent body
- Rainfly
- Poles × 3
- Stakes × 12
- Guylines × 6
- Gear loft
- Repair patches
- Carry bag, pole bag and stake bag
Set Up & Pack Away
- Set-up time (1 person) 6.75 min
- Pack away 6.25 mintaking it down is just the set-up in reverse
There’s no color-coding anywhere on this tent, so the set-up isn’t intuitive and you’ll probably get it wrong the first time round.
Once you’ve figured it out though, it really doesn’t take long.
Want the full step-by-step? Watch my Zephyr 2 set-up walkthrough on YouTube.
Spaciousness
- Peak height 37in
- Height near the foot 33in
- Length 87.5in
- Width at the head 57.5in
- Width at the foot 42inthe tent tapers from the head down to the foot
- Inner base area 30.2 sq ft
My double pad fits, but only just. The tapered foot leaves no room for anything wider, so do check your pad against that 42in before you buy.
- Vestibules 2one at each length, each 26in wide
- Vestibule area 7.9 sq ft each, 15.8 sq ft for both
- Total area 46.0 sq ft
- Zippers 2 per vestibule3F, two-way, and no snags at all for me
- Toggles 2they hold the right panel open
Each vestibule only has 1 webbing stake-out though, so just the right panel opens and closes.
Comfort & Features
- Doors 2one under each vestibule
- Door size 36 x 28inon the smaller side for a 2-person tent
- Zippers 2 per doorthe same 3F zippers as the vestibules, with no snagging
- Held open by A toggle per door
- Pocket 19 x 4in, down near the bottom
- Gear loft 1 removable18 x 8in, and it clips up top
- Loops 4there’s still room to hang a lantern with the gear loft in place
The gear loft doesn’t sit as tight against the top as it should, so I wouldn’t put anything heavy up there in case it drops on your head.
Ventilation
- Mesh ~80% of the tent bodygreat for ventilation, and I never had any condensation issues
- Mesh type Micro mesh
- Vents 2a big one at the head, and a smaller one nearer the foot
- Held open by A guyline (big vent), a Velcro kickstand (small vent)
Rain Protection
- Tub floor 7inthe same height at the widths and the lengths
- Seam taping Rainfly and tub floorthe taping stops at the top of the tub floor, and nothing above it is taped
- Rainfly Full coverageit reaches almost all the way down to the ground
- Guy-out points Head and footwith a short guyline provided at the head, but only a stake-out point at the foot
- 30 minutes of heavy rain Rainfly soaked through
- Tub floor No leaks
- Seams No leaks
- Vents No leaks
I stopped the test at 30 minutes because parts of the rainfly were already damp. Opening the vestibule and the door dripped water straight into the tent, because the tent body curves outwards, which is obviously not a great design.
There was a second puddle further in as well. The rainfly had soaked through, dripped through the mesh, and landed inside the tent.
Note If you’re expecting heavy rain, spray a fresh waterproof coat on the rainfly first.
Want to see the water hitting it? Watch my full Zephyr 2 rain test on YouTube.
Quality
- Flooring 75D 185T polyester taffeta3,000mm
- Rainfly 75D 185T polyester1,500mm
- Poles 7,000 series aluminum
- Zippers 3F
- Guylines Shockcord6 of them, in different lengths, each with a tensioner
- Stakes Aluminum shepherd-hook
- Warranty Limited lifetimeit covers all ALPS Mountaineering gear
- Flammability Meets CPAI-84
- Made in China
Portability
- Packed size 20.5 x 7.5 x 6in
- Pole length 17in
- Packaged weight 5.6 lbs89.5oz all in
- Tent body 30.65oz
- Rainfly 29.3oz
- Poles 19.6oz
- Stakes 6.7oz (for 12)
- Carry bag 2.4oz
- Pole and stake bags 0.85oz
- Trail weight 5.0 lbs79.5oz
- Carry handle 1at the top length of the tent
Pros, Cons, Recommendations
Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2?
Lots of mesh
There’s tons of mesh on this tent for ventilation, and I never had any condensation issues in it.
Big base area
The total base area comes in at 46.0 sq ft, which is really quite decent for a 2-person tent.
Lifetime warranty
All ALPS Mountaineering gear comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Decent livable space
Livable space is decent too, because there’s a 3-pole structure, with 2 main tent poles and a spreader bar to increase the space inside.
Low peak height
At 37in, the peak height is on the low side. Most 2-person tents give you at least 40in.
Not great in rain
The waterproof coating doesn’t last long, and water drips right into the tent when you open the door.
Quality is only OK
The zippers aren’t very high quality, and the rest of the materials aren’t outstanding either, made from either poly taffeta or regular polyester.
Lacks storage
The storage options aren’t great, with only 1 pocket and 1 gear loft.
Overall recommendation
Overall, the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 is a functional OK tent, but it doesn’t have a single thing that stands out about it. If you want a tent that’s genuinely good in heavy rain, or you want to sit up straight inside it, I’d look elsewhere.
Bonus – MUST Read!
Still hunting for a tent under $200? I put the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 up against every other tent I tested at this price in my Best Tents Under $200 round-up.
Or, check out the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2:
Every figure above is from my own testing — measured by hand, bought with my own money.
