The Zpacks Offset Duo Tent is a two-person, ultralight backpacking tent made with Dyneema DCF. Weighing in at 19.7 oz, it’s a single-wall trekking pole tent with translucent sides that may restrict your inside privateness if such issues matter to you (as they typically do with {couples} backpacking.) This tent’s design is predicated on the long-lasting Zpacks Duplex Tent however gives extra inside quantity and top as a result of its peak ridgeline is offset to at least one aspect. The addition of panel guy-out factors helps pull the partitions out additional so you’ll be able to transfer round inside with out touching the partitions, which is so vital in a single-wall tent which by its nature is extra liable to inside condensation than a double-wall tent.
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Specs at a Look
- Sort: Single Wall Tent
- Weight: 19.7 oz
- Structural: Trekking Pole Tent (2 poles required)
- Materials: Dyneema DCF
- Seam-taped: Sure
- Poles: 1 included, though simply changed with a stick
- Inside pockets: 2 small ones beneath the doorways
- Minimal variety of stakes to pitch (not included): 8
- Required Trekking Pole Size: 48″ (122 cm)
- Peak top: 48″ (122 cm)
- Ground width: 50″ (127 cm) tapers to 44″ (112 cm) from mid-torso to foot.
- Ground size: 94″ (239 cm)
- Ground Space: 31.4 sq. ft (2.9 sq. meters)
- Zipper entry top: 40″ (102 cm)
- Packed Dimensions: 6″ diameter by 12″ tall (15 cm x 30 cm), 340 cubic inches (5.6L)
- For full specs, go to Zpacks
The Zpacks Offset Duo is designed to offer occupants extra inside room to maneuver round with out touching the inside partitions, which in a single-wall tent, are liable to inside condensation switch. This creates an inside house that has extra top above the pinnacle and ft than the isosceles triangle form of the Zpacks Duplex, the place the inside top of the tent’s sides is identical regardless of which aspect you place your head on so as to sleep.
Like all tents, this new design has some tradeoffs, however on the entire is a internet constructive by way of livability, significantly when the tent is shared by two folks. It must be famous that the offset design isn’t significantly new and different tent producers additionally provide it in additional typical materials together with the Six Moon Designs Haven Ultralight Tent (double wall, 34 oz), the Owyhee Backpacking Tarp with perimeter netting and flooring (single wall, 24.6 oz), and the SlingFin 2Lite (double wall, 42 oz) amongst others.
The Offset Duo is a trekking pole tent that requires two trekking poles to arrange with a size of 48″ (122 cm), along with a collapsible carbon fiber pole (included) to raise the entrance of the tent and improve its quantity above the ft. Weighing 1 oz, the carbon fiber pole is remarkably straightforward to misplace, however is well replaceable with a stick or collapsed trekking pole. It’s capped at each ends with plastic to forestall the carbon fiber from splintering and comes with a useful two-ended elastic quiver to forestall it from opening in your pack. I simply roll it up contained in the tent when packing up in order to not lose or injury it.
When establishing, it’s greatest to stake out the corners of the tent loosely, insert the trekking poles into the dual peaks, push your trekking pole suggestions via guides on the perimeters of the ground to get the precise flooring depth, after which tighten the corners and vestibule guylines utilizing the included line-loc tensioners. It’s fairly easy should you pre-measure your pole size to the requisite size. After that, stake out the entrance pole and the rear panel guylines to extend the inside house.
As soon as the fundamental construction is up, it’s time to guy-out the entrance and rear panels. The entrance panel is stretched utilizing the included carbon fiber pole which inserts into Dyneema “cups” at each ends, one hooked up to the highest panel with a static twine and staked out and the opposite at its base hooked up with elastic however free. For the reason that backside cup tends to slide, I simply stake out the highest Dyneema cup and prop the underside of the pole on some bark or a rock to forestall it from sinking in smooth floor. That appears to work simply as nicely. The rear panel, in flip, is pulled out with a easy static guyline.
However anytime you unzip the vestibule or roll again one of many vestibule doorways, you’ll in all probability need to get out and readjust the guyline tensioning: Dyneema doesn’t have any stretch to it so if you loosen up a part of the tent, the opposite elements loosen up too, considerably annoyingly, significantly on Zpacks tents.
There are a few issues concerning the design of the Offset Duo which are value noting.
The vestibule doorways on the head finish of the tent should stay closed to assist the perimeters of the tent, in contrast to the Zpacks Duplex, the place each vestibule doorways will be rolled again to extend air flow and supply 180-degree views. The draw back of this design is decreased aspect air flow in Offset Duo, which is definitely fairly vital should you use the tent with two folks for the reason that elevated physique warmth and exhalations they generate will trigger extra inside condensation to type on the ceiling.
Zpacks selected to not add peak guylines on the Offset Duo, which might have permitted you to roll again each vestibule doorways and improve the steadiness of the pitch in greater winds. As well as, whereas there’s a magnetic toggle to roll and maintain the foot finish of the vestibule again, there isn’t a corresponding toggle on the pinnacle finish of the vestibule.
The perimeters of the Offset Duo, together with the vestibules are reduce excessive, to extend airflow via the tent and mitigate inside condensation. This can be a widespread design hack in single-wall tent design, however it may be problematic in cooler climate as a result of it makes the tent a lot colder to sleep in and fewer climate resistant. In different phrases, the Offset Duo wouldn’t be an incredible choose for shoulder season climate (spring/autumn) in open tent websites uncovered to greater wind speeds and might be greatest utilized in forested terrain or in locations with pure windbreaks.
Inside storage contained in the Offset Duo is minimal. Whereas there are two pockets in the course of the tent beneath the door zippers, they’re actually solely large enough for a Smartphone. In case you have one thing delicate like glasses, I’d advise in opposition to storing them there. I hold mine from the mesh door zipper pulls as an alternative.
For those who’re acquainted with Zpack’s different tents, you’ll see that they’ve changed the rainbow mesh doorways with ones which have an L-shape as an alternative. These are arguably higher for the reason that pole shouldn’t be in the course of the door, they don’t fall to the bottom when opened, they usually let in fewer bugs for the reason that opening is smaller. The zippers even have twin sliders, each in and out, and are corded with high-visibility pulls, making them straightforward to make use of.
With regards to inside condensation, the jury continues to be out for my part. I’ve skilled large condensation utilizing the Offset Duo each solo and with a accomplice. Whereas there may be elevated inside quantity, I’ve nonetheless gotten moist transferring round contained in the tent when my garments brush up in opposition to the ceiling. I desire to have a tent that’s guyed out on the peaks with vestibule doorways that may be rolled again totally for max airflow and views. That mentioned, I’ve examined the Offset Duo solely within the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the place all single-wall tents and shelters expertise inside condensation to a point. Your mileage could differ, significantly in a hotter local weather or one which’s much less humid.
Advice
The Zpacks Offset Duo is an ultralight single wall trekking pole tent made with Dyneema that weighs 19.7 oz (559g). It’s light-weight sufficient for use as a spacious single-person tent or for {couples} and is a particular enchancment by way of livability over Zpack’s different tents and shelters, together with the up to date Zpack’s Duplex Zip with a really modest improve in setup complexity. For those who’re seeking to purchase a tent from Zpacks, particularly for {couples} use, the Offset Duo is certainly the choose of the litter should you can afford its hefty price ticket of $769.
Comparable Dyneema DCF Tents
Key: SW=Single Wall, DW=Double Wall
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