ALPS Mountaineering Zenith 3 AL Tent - 3-Person, 3-Season

Bought this tent several years ago when I wanted to get back into car camping. I’ve taken it to the sierras, to big sur. In big sur it rained each time. Zero leaks and I never seam sealed it. The double walled system of the mesh body and the rain fly keep up dry even from the inevitable condensation of camping by the river. It says three person but really it only comfortably fits two people. But it’s roomy enough that I can fit a cot in it with another person on the floor. It actually proved to be an advantage that way so we didn’t knee each other in the night. Lol. And we could stow things under my cot to free up space in the tent. Really love this tent. Easy to set up once you first realize where everything goes. Only three poles. Two large ones crisscross across the mesh tent. One short one gives structure to the front. Rainfly easily attaches. Two vestibules are super handy for adjusting airflow and for easy entrance and exit. With two people this tent stays very warm. I’ve only camped in spring, summer and fall but never been cold, even on the ground.

I bought this tent for 1 person motorcycle camping. Weight is not an issue on the moto and the bundle size is acceptable. It's very spacious for one person. I need the space for my leathers, helmet, boots and saddlebags as well as my sleeping gear. I've ridden out some heavy rains and winds in it and been completely dry. When the storm is past it opens easily to air things out. It's not completely freestanding which can be an issue in some campgrounds but it's ok most of the time. To obtain all the ventilation the fly pullouts need to be guyed out to stakes (or rocks or whatever).

I have to say I would highly recommend this tent. I took it camping in Moab Utah and it stood up to torrential downpours and 35 to 45 mph gusts of wind. Also just to let you know the Alps Zephyr 3 Tent Floor Saver on Amazon is the same footprint as this tent.

I've had the ALPS Zenith 3 for almost 4 years and it is still going strong. Overall a comfortable, well built tent. However, it is much heavier and packs larger than what it was advertised originally when I bought the tent.

Pros
++ Plenty of room for 2 people. As you are likely aware, backpacking tents are optimistic in their assessment of how many people will fit. Anyone who tries to fit 3 adults in this tent will be sorely disappointed. If you however, are buying this 3 person tent to comfortably fit 2 people, you will be a happy camper. Think of this as a deluxe sized 2 person tent,
++ 2 vestibule and entrances. Each backpacker has their own entrance so you don't have to worry about disturbing your tent mate if you need to get up. More importantly, there are two vestibules for gear. 2 people with packs would get cramped inside the tent. Each vestibule is just barely large enough to cover a backpack, boots, and camp shoes. But that's all you'll need!
++ Feels bomb proof. I haven't gone through any heavy storms, but the the fly and tent seems very well constructed. After several uses, the tent seems hardly to have worn. I expect the tent to survive serious abuse and be able to keep you safe in adverse conditions.
+ Extremely easy to put up and break down. I've almost always put the tent up and broken down alone and find the task simple and not strenuous. You'll appreciate the well thought out design when you're tired from a day of hiking. I love how easy it is to connect the fly to tent body. Totally free standing, you can set up the tent and move it before staking it down.
+ Open mesh design. The top body of the tent is almost entirely mess, making the tent great for ventilation when the fly is open.
+ Pretty good with condensation when the fly is staked down properly.

Cons
++ Heavy. Why four stars? When I purchased the tent from Sierra Trading Post the tent was listed as weighing less than 5 and a half pounds. That would have made the Zenith 3 fairly light when split between 2 people. In reality, I've never been able to get the tent anywhere near to 6 pounds. The listing now lists the packed weight as 6 lbs and 3 oz, which seems accurate and way way heavier than the 5 and change it was listed at when I purchased. The tent would be magnificent at the 5 lbs and change it was advertised at originally. At 6lb and 3oz advertised correctly, it is merely good.
++ Packs Huge. My biggest gripe is that the rainfly is much more heavy duty than necessary. The fly takes up maybe 2/3 of the weight and pack size of the tent. You can barely fit the tent into the stuff sack, it will be bulging out. I would love the tent much more if ALPS decided to use a slightly lighter material for the fly. Because of the weight and size of the fly, the Zenith 3 is too heavy in my opinion to be carried by one person, and sadly gets left home if I don't have a tent mate.

I got this tent over three years ago, nearly four, and it's been with us on more trips than I can count. One of the pros is that a person can stake it down to hold up under serious wind forces, 13 staking points in total. The con is that it provides a lot of trip hazards if one walks near the tent much. The simple solution is to avoid staking the guylines unless it's windy. The ventilation staking points still have to be watched for. Good poles, easy setup, never have a problem with condensation because the whole inner surface is mesh, and the rain fly is well spaced away from the mesh. Having a small vestibule-type area on each side is great for keeping shoes and small items dry while still being outside the sleeping area. As most experienced campers could imagine, this "3-person" tent fits two romantically related people well, but if you have any gear inside it's pretty tight with two. For one person it's luxuriously spacious. Money well spent on a tent that's built well to be user-friendly.