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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Sierra Designs Alpha Tent > Owner Review by Mike LipaySierra Designs Alpha Tent
Background: I've been camping, hiking, and backpacking since the '60s, mostly with the Boy Scouts though I've put on quite a few miles solo, with my kids, and with my dog Quinn (a 7-year old Siberian Husky). I am, by no means, an ultra-light camper, my pack weighs in at 29-33 lbs (13.2-15 kgs). I prefer an external frame pack because I like to have places to attach "things" - compass (I'm also low-tech), camera (35mm w/105-400 zoom), water purifier, and other things I like to have "on-hand." As stated, I am a low-techie, I prefer a hiking staff to trekking poles, compass to GPS, film to digital, fire to fuel. I do have two concessions to the high-tech arena that I picked up during my time with the ANG - a Blast-Match for starting fires, and a UV water purifier. My backpacking is pretty much limited to weekends, and one full-week per year (usually in the summer), since I haven't fully explored the Monongahela and Allegheny River areas I pretty much stick to the Allegheny Mountains (Pennsylvania and West Virginia), although it has been a dream of mine to do a trek in Alaska.
General Data: Sierra Designs markets this as a 3-person 3-4 season backpacking tent, with a 3-season weight of 3 lb 13 oz (1.73 kg), and a 4-season weight of 7 lb 12 oz (3.52 kg). The addition of the optional footprint will add another 1 lb (454 g) to the total weight.
Field Information:This product has been used extensively, over the past three years, in the Allegheny Mountains in Western Pennsylvania, throughout all four seasons. I've taken it on camporees, overnighters, weekend trips, and summer camp. It has been exposed to direct sunlight, torrential downpours, 18 inches (46 cm) of snow (in one night), and everything else nature could toss at it in this area. My first use of this tent was at a Scouting camporee, the camporee was held at Yellow Creek State Park in Central Pennsylvania - I was lucky enough to get a site facing the lake. We arrived early in the afternoon (about 3 pm), but checking in the Scouts kept me from setting up camp until after sundown. Sierra Designs made this tent with a clip system for easy setup (no sleeves to push the poles through) and it works well. Solo I was able to get it up that first night in less than 10 minutes (including getting it off the pack and out of the sack). Good thing. It was starting to rain; by the time I put the Alpha tent up, stowed my gear, and crawled into the tent, the sky really opened up. The literature said you could leave the fly home for 3-seasons (only really needing it for the winter snow) doing that made me a little nervous. The weather forecast called for light showers, and at Scout Camp I figured if things got really bad I could stay in the campmaster's cabin. I wasn't expecting anything like what came down that night. I have to say that I was impressed by how the tent handled the rain with no fly, I was nice and dry the entire night - no leaks through the seams (well sealed) or along the zippers of the more-than-generous windows and doors. By the next morning I had only a small trace of water in the tent, which could easily be attributed to having the door open when I was putting the tent up and stowing my backpack. Sierra Designs has done a very good job of sealing the seams, after 3 years of abuse the seams show no signs of wear and are still watertight. The next adventure was in the winter (first trip was September), a late-January jamboree (this time I brought the fly). Again, the tent went up smoothly, with a really tight fit on the fly. I was disappointed by the size of the fly (front and back) as it could be a little larger. My son and I had no trouble fitting our packs into the vestibules, but I wouldn't want to try it with three people. The tent itself is cozy for two, would be a tight fit with three, especially if we had to stay inside on a rainy trip like the first one (with everything closed up). I also wasn't crazy about the color of the fly (bright orange and blue) - thought it stood out in the woods like a hunter dressed in orange-blaze, hardly viewer friendly. That night the forecast called for 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) of snow in the city, with 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) in the mountains where we were. Man! Talk about a missed forecast. By the time we got up the next day (about 7 am) we had been hit with 18 inches (46 cm) of the white stuff, and in Western Pa. we never get the light powdery snow. The tent held up well and we didn't realize how much snow there was until we opened the fly to make a visit to the outhouse. A couple of other tents in the area had collapsed, sending their occupants into the cabins, but we were quite happy - and the orange/blue fly made it easy to spot the tent, partially buried in the snow. Since those two trips the Alpha has become my tent of choice whenever going out. Other than the lack of space in the vestibules the only other complaint I have is the vestibule door. The door opens towards the inside, and from the bottom of the fly. This created a problem on the snowy morning when, unwittingly, we opened the door to 18 inches (46 cm) of snow and had it come into the vestibule. I would prefer either the door opening outwards, or two zippers so that they could meet at the top of the door and allow us to unzip it partially down both sides. Ventilation is superb with just the ceiling open, with both ceiling and door the flow through can be a bit much on windy days, even with the fly on in the winter (or heavy storms) there is enough ventilation to prevent moisture buildup inside. It's been really great to be able to leave the fly home during the non-snow seasons and not have to tote the extra weight (close to 4 lbs/1.8 kg). I also enjoy the large windows, especially on starry nights, this allows ample air circulation to keep things from getting to hot in the summer nights.
Conclusion: At $349.95 this tips the scale for a non-professional on a budget, but with a little looking around a better price may be found. Considering this is a true 3-4 season tent I feel that the price is well worth it. By leaving the fly at home during 3-season trips the weight can be cut down to less than 4 lb (1.8 kg), and still have a water-tight tent with a great view and good air circulation. The pros for this tent definitely outweigh the cons; I would not hesitate to recommend the Alpha by Sierra Designs.
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