View Full Version : Alps Mountaineering, decent cheap gear?
mister krabs
08-28-2008, 10:43
If I picked cheap and good out of the good/cheap/light decision delta, would Alps stuff meet my criteria?
My son has just joined cub scouts and I need to gear up with family camping stuff. Making it AT related, our first campout is in GSMNP.
Can anyone comment on the quality of their products? Some of their products, especially the tents, look pretty competitive if not UL. The Taurus and zephyr tents look pretty good with a full coverage fly and 2 vestibules and doors. Scouts get 45% off retail when going to them direct and the price can't be beat. It puts almost all their gear, except the most expensive in the sub-100$ category. I saw someone say on the internets (where everything is true) that the tents are made at the same place as REI tents. From the pretty rose colored pictures on the internet, they seem to compare favorable to Kelty or Eureka! -- quality, non-specialized camping gear at good (even better) prices. Is this a fair assessment?
Any comments ?
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringZephyr.htm
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringTaurus.htm
How about the Navajo for my no hiking wife? Looks a little heavy, heavier than the campmor bags.
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringNavajo.htm
How old is your son? All your camping with cub scouts will be car camping. Most people bring big huge tents, and more kitchen gear than I have in my home. IMO thise tents you are looking at are not good backpacking tents cause they are too heavy, not good car camping tents, because they are too small, and too expennsive. For car camping get a cheap walmart tent, and throw a blue tarp over it for added protection. For backpacking go UL. ray-way tarps are my first choice. More room, cheaper, much lighter.
mister krabs
08-28-2008, 11:39
My son is in first grade. We had a "practice" campout last weekend on the sponsoring church's grounds. It was 10 huge by huge tents, a 30 Year old single wall nylon pup tent (!) and me and my son in my 1995 SD meteor lite with a nylon tarp lean-to as a hangout area. It rained the whole time and we were dry the whole time, unlike most of the rest.
I don't want a humongous fiberglass pole 6,8,10 man tent, fiberglass poles and the huge size means that they're a hassle to deal with and don't have full flys, so are much more likely to be wet.
I want a 3 season double wall 3 or 4 man aluminum frame freestanding tent with two doors, at least one good sized vestibule, a fly that goes to the ground and a coated bathtub floor that's not made of blue tarp plastic. Kelty Teton, Gunnison, REI half dome come to mind. It should do triple duty of car camping, canoe camping, and group hiking trips where the tent is split up among 3 people. Priorities in order are Full fly, aluminum frame, price, 2 doors, 2 vestibules, price and finally weight.
Althought they're motorcycle campers and not backpackers, my Dad and his wife swear by ALPS tents and thier Tri-Awning (http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringTriAwning.htm). I've met them on a couple trips to crash the night with them and have to agree that the awning appears to be good quality. They use a Meramac 4 (http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringMeramac.htm) to sleep in and love it. I'm still trying to get them to convert to hammocks, but until then, they're happy in ALPS goodies.
wcgornto
08-28-2008, 12:02
I used a new Alps Mountaineering pack last year when summiting Mount Whitney via the mountaineers route. I threw it away after the hike because the fabric was ripped in a couple of places.
mister krabs
08-28-2008, 13:23
I used a new Alps Mountaineering pack last year when summiting Mount Whitney via the mountaineers route. I threw it away after the hike because the fabric was ripped in a couple of places.
Yeah, I don't think I'd risk buying one of their packs, suspension failures can be a catastrophic event for a trip. If I were to go that way, I'm leaning toward their Taurus 4 outfitter. It's got upgraded zippers and floors, heavier, but also heavier duty. My son is excellent with keeping his shoes outside and being careful with zippers, but not everyone's kid is. 50$ more gets me a kelty gunnison 4 from campmor. It also fits all my criteria, the manufacturer and retailer are more of a known factor. Maybe I should just go that way.
Then again, maybe I'll bag the whole idea and just keep using the meteor lite and use my tarp and bughut along with it if I need the extra space. Now that I've tried it, I'd rather tarp than be in the stuffy tent anyway. Not to say that I can completely dispel thoughts of copperheads wanting to get some body heat..... :eek:
Hey, at least I can avoid work by waffling over gear choices! :D
Furlough
08-28-2008, 14:30
If I picked cheap and good out of the good/cheap/light decision delta, would Alps stuff meet my criteria?
My son has just joined cub scouts and I need to gear up with family camping stuff. Making it AT related, our first campout is in GSMNP.
Can anyone comment on the quality of their products? Some of their products, especially the tents, look pretty competitive if not UL. The Taurus and zephyr tents look pretty good with a full coverage fly and 2 vestibules and doors. Scouts get 45% off retail when going to them direct and the price can't be beat. It puts almost all their gear, except the most expensive in the sub-100$ category. I saw someone say on the internets (where everything is true) that the tents are made at the same place as REI tents. From the pretty rose colored pictures on the internet, they seem to compare favorable to Kelty or Eureka! -- quality, non-specialized camping gear at good (even better) prices. Is this a fair assessment?
Any comments ?
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringZephyr.htm
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringTaurus.htm
How about the Navajo for my no hiking wife? Looks a little heavy, heavier than the campmor bags.
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringNavajo.htm
I have the Alps Moutaineering Taurus 1. A bit heavier than similar models, and it would make for easier access if the door was on the side instead of up front. Quality is quite good. I've had this tent for about 4 years now, set up is a breeze, it is plenty sturdy in wind and snow and I have never had any problems with it leaking. It also stuffs down pretty small so is not a pack space waster. I got mine when my son was in Boy Scouts and got a discount for it by providing Alps a trail review and pictures of it on the trail.
Furlough
Toolshed
08-28-2008, 21:25
I tested a few of ther tents in their gear tester program. I was much more impressed with their tents than with their packs.
I an a cub leader and have been pushing my troop to get their gear especially at teh scout discount. PM Me if you want more info.
If you are a troopleader (or you can have your troopleader get involved), you can get discounts of up to 45% or more to outfit your pack or some of your pack.
The cub parents that got this gear really really like it for the cost.
The other route you can go is Eureka Tent Factory outlet (http://www.eurekacampingctr.com/eureka/about.asp?s_id=0&) - They have some incredible bargains.
Also there is www.outdooroutlet.com. this is an outlet for Kelty gear.
So (Edit) the rest of your question. I tested a Mystique 1.5 and the Taurus 2 a few years back. They are not as wll made as Kelty, not as well made as Eureka. They are heavier hardware and you can feel the hand of the tent material is a little stiffer. There are fewer stitches per inch, standard bathtub floors, but seam-sealed and water proof. But Again, at almost 50% off, these are a great bargain and they are what I push my cub parents towards if they don't want to outlay the $$$ for Eureka Class A Seconds.
Cheers
Rick
click-clack
08-28-2008, 22:30
I have thier zephyr. love it. nice light weight tent that your son can grow into
I have the Zephyr 1.0 and love it. Extra little touches like using polyester for the rainfly instead of nylon are what sold me. I have had no problems with the quality and I am pretty rough on my gear.
Here's my Zephyr on my most recent hike:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/6/8/6/8/013_13a_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=26666&c=member&orderby=title&direction=ASC&imageuser=16868&cutoffdate=-1)
Our boy scout troop has 4 of the Taurus 4 Aluminum pole models and 4 of the Kelty Teton 4 models. We have had them for about 3 years. Both have had no real problems, although the Kelty zippers have been in the shop on two of the tents for fixing. Not a big deal, but their zips are finickier, at least with sometimes not smart scouts, lol.
The Taurus is a very nice tent, not the lightest, but well made and had performed flawlessly. It does its' job, keeping people dry, time after time. The Teton 4 is lighter, and vents much better, and is our go to tent when lightweight and heat are really important. But we are satisified with both models.
mk, if you're in atlanta, i'd recommend you either head up to the coleman outlet in commerce or try to find one closer to you. i found myself having to stock up on boy scout camping equipment last year and that outlet store made my life so much easier. i found a great tent there for $50, fits about 6, has 2 side sleeping pod rooms and only 2 poles. if you want to use the rain fly, there are 2 more tiny poles to hold it out over the entrance and window. it passed the rain test this past spring at god and me. also got a great inflatable mattress, 2 burner stove/grill combo, and a couple of other things. i left with everything i needed (from scratch) for under $200.
littlelaurel59
08-31-2008, 23:13
My son is in first grade. We had a "practice" campout last weekend on the sponsoring church's grounds. It was 10 huge by huge tents, a 30 Year old single wall nylon pup tent (!) and me and my son in my 1995 SD meteor lite with a nylon tarp lean-to as a hangout area. It rained the whole time and we were dry the whole time, unlike most of the rest.
I don't want a humongous fiberglass pole 6,8,10 man tent, fiberglass poles and the huge size means that they're a hassle to deal with and don't have full flys, so are much more likely to be wet.
I want a 3 season double wall 3 or 4 man aluminum frame freestanding tent with two doors, at least one good sized vestibule, a fly that goes to the ground and a coated bathtub floor that's not made of blue tarp plastic. Kelty Teton, Gunnison, REI half dome come to mind. It should do triple duty of car camping, canoe camping, and group hiking trips where the tent is split up among 3 people. Priorities in order are Full fly, aluminum frame, price, 2 doors, 2 vestibules, price and finally weight.
Congrats, Mr. Krabs, and welcome to scouting. I was in your shoes 9 years ago as my son became a tiger. Now he is a Life scout. We have done a lot together over the years because of scouting, including a week on the AT in '07 and a trek at Philmont this past summer.
When he started cubs, I bought a 4 person backpacking tent (sorry, don't remember the brand) that weighed about 8 pounds. Floor dimensions 8' x 8'. It had a single door, but good fly coverage. There was enough head room for my son to stand up. It was big enough for car camping but could be used for a small backpacking trip. The extra bit of room was worth it at that age- room to spread out and have fun if you get stuck indoors by the weather.
All that said, I wouldn't spend a large amount of $$$ at this point. Save that for later when he hits Boy Scouts and does some "real" camping (that is, backpacking). I have not used the specific brands you mentioned, but they look much more than adequate, especially if you can get them at a good price. You can always recoup some of the cost of quality gear by selling it used on E-bay or Whiteblaze when you outgrow it. Cheap stuff just wears out.
Good luck.