AliExpress 3ful Tent from China

[Casual]

I have a bunch of different tents and shelters, but I recently found myself with a gap in my lineup: I no longer had a small, single-person tent. I started doing some research, and stumbled upon a Reddit thread discussing Chinese 3Ful tents from AliExpress. At under $100, I decided to give this one a try: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/650-grams-silicon-coating-2015-New-arrival-of-3F-Pedestrian-2-ultra-light-3-seasons-1/32547985186.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.54.myatiK



After a couple weeks, this was delivered:


The entire package is 890g, or about 1.96lbs. That includes 611g in the tent body, 141g for the stakes / foot pole, and 140g for an optional footprint. You could conceivably hit the trail at about 750g, or 1.65lbs. I'll probably lighten the footprint or swap it for polycro, then swap out the crap stakes. I expect to be just under 2lbs for the entire package.

The stakes might work somewhere, but they're too flimsy for the clay soil here. I'll dump them.


There are no instructions, and I was in a hurry, so my setup is pretty poor. After I swap the stakes, I bet I can get a nice, taut pitch without much trouble. Zippers claim to be YKK, and work well. It has large vents at the head and foot.





This tent is not for tall people. I'm comfortable in it at 5'7", but I wouldn't push it beyond about 5'10".
Material claims to be 15D silnylon, and I think that's probably correct. I rubber-banded a piece of the fabric around the end of a 41" long piece of 3/4" PVC pipe that I had kicking around, which I then filled with water. No leaks through the fabric after a couple hours, so it appears to be genuinely waterproof. Lots of rain is forecast for this weekend, so I'll probably set it up and see how it does.

All the seams look to be taped:



Overall, I'd pretty happy with it so far. The real test will be in the woods.

(I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, and I paid full price for the tent. Not a shill, just a guy who likes to find a bargain. )

[SWODaddy]

Ok, you've intrigued me. I bought this 760g single person trekking pole tent to try out:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Black...999.261.hThIdw

I'll report back when I've had a chance to test it out.

[scope422]

I'm curious what you think of this tent? Have you had a chance to test it out?

[Christoph]

I too like a great bargain. I used mine (and will again) time and time again, and on my thru attempt. It's a $40 ebay special and so far it's the best one I've owned. Great find, yours is about a 1.5 lbs lighter than mine, might have to try that one when mine starts heading downhill.

[buzz48843]

I will be interested in the results as well. I have bought some items from AliExpress. Some of the items were great and others were not worth the money.

[Franco]

BTW, AliExpress is a company owned by the Alibaba group.
They don't make or sell products themselves they are the Chinese equivalent to E Bay .

[Casual]

It's currently hotter (and more humid) than 2 rats screwing in a wool sock, so I haven't had a lot of interest in trying out this tent just yet. I did take it out and spray all the seams with my garden hose nozzle - no leaks at all.
I'm taking it on a backpacking trip on Labor Day weekend, so I'll update this thread after that.

BTW, AliExpress is a company owned by the Alibaba group.
They don't make or sell products themselves they are the Chinese equivalent to E Bay .

...thanks for clearing that up, I guess?

[Tacblades]

I bought this one from ebay naturehike cloud 2p from china, did a review vid or two, its a really great tent for about $70
https://youtu.be/17XT1P3Ipd8

[dog812]

They used to have just the inner tent for sale by the same 3ul company. I bought it and used it with my Jimmy tarp. It was good quality and good materials. Wound up selling it in the end fur what I paid. I should have kept it

[dog812]

I am also interested to see what you think of the tent.. I an in need of a solo.
Is it full net in the inside or just the door?

[Franco]

...thanks for clearing that up, I guess?

Probably not that clear ...
I see comment that imply AliExpress is a brand or that all tents sold there are more or less the same but it is exactly like buying different brands on E Bay .

[SWODaddy]

Ok, you've intrigued me. I bought this 760g single person trekking pole tent to try out:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Black...999.261.hThIdw

I'll report back when I've had a chance to test it out.

Saw this thread and thought I would give an update since I've received the tent. My experience is mixed.

Good: Quality seems decent. It can get a bit stuffy all buttoned up. This will be a good tent for solo trips in the fall/spring.
Bad: The tent did not come in at the advertised weight. Weight was just over 900g....suspiciously matching the weight of the version they sell for ~$25 less.

I contact the seller - as was mentioned before, AliExpress is essentially Chinese Ebay, and the customer relationship is very similar now that I've navigated the process. First, she tried to give me the run around stating that I got an "upgraded" tent with the 20D material. Then, she said that it was listed as 20D all along, to which I pointed out that was only for the orange color. Then she said that she only "made" $10 off the sale so she could refund me that, which I also rejected and filed a formal trouble ticket with AliExpress.

I will tell you that the sellers are as scared of bad feedback on AliExpress as they are on Ebay. The woman responded and said she would give me a refund of the difference between what I paid and the cheaper tent IF I changed the reason for my complaint to (something like) "personal preference." This immediately tingled my spidey senses, so I did some googling and some people claim that if you change your complaint to this category the seller can basically ignore you - I said no dice and had my requested refund 2 days later.

[fiddlehead]

After seeing this thread a month or so ago, and in need of a new mega-mid (mine from '98 has broken zipper and very well used at about 300 sleeps)
I went on Aliexpress (where I've bought things before, and ordered a mega-mid type tent.
Got it 2 days ago.
It is bigger, lighter, and has a few benefits over the mega-mid (instead of square, it has tapered (out) sides and is higher at 6' high or, if you set it up with ventilation: 8' high.
Comes with an aluminum extension piece to hook to a trekking pole.
Took a picture of it today with the kids.
IMG_25591007_132318.JPG

Was $96 with free shipping (to Thailand)
I'm quite happy.

[fiddlehead]

Here's the link (says $98, but somehow I got $2 off from a coupon):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3F-U...608.0.0.hV4mpW

It is 860 grams or 30 oz.
Didn't get to check it as I don't have a scale in Thailand but will be back in the states next week.

[Tipi Walter]

Ok, you've intrigued me. I bought this 760g single person trekking pole tent to try out:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Black...999.261.hThIdw

I'll report back when I've had a chance to test it out.

Please give us a full report after some serious testing . . . like a whole year in all conditions. And not a review after one weekend in the rain.

My main concerns would be (and price is the least of my concerns for a shelter which will help keep me alive in bad weather)
** Does it have a flame retardant chemical stink to it?
** What are the fly and floor deniers and hydrostatic head numbers?? (Very important).
** Does any part of your sleeping bag touch the inside of the tent fabric? If so, it's a non-starter.

[SWODaddy]

Please give us a full report after some serious testing . . . like a whole year in all conditions. And not a review after one weekend in the rain.

My main concerns would be (and price is the least of my concerns for a shelter which will help keep me alive in bad weather)
** Does it have a flame retardant chemical stink to it?
** What are the fly and floor deniers and hydrostatic head numbers?? (Very important).
** Does any part of your sleeping bag touch the inside of the tent fabric? If so, it's a non-starter.

I provided a short initial impressions above - wouldn't recommend the tent at the link at this time. I like the inner tent...floor looks like a ~30D ripstop silnylon, noseum mesh is beefier than I expected. Fly is a 20D ripstop silnylon. I don't recall seeing any hydrostatic #'s, not that I think they mean anything as loose as these small Chinese shops are with specifications. My secondary purpose for buy this was to have something to use as a pattern for a DIY project, for this purpose I'm satisfied.

[dog812]

I got one of their tipi over the weekend. It seems like a decent product.
993 grams , tipi , 14 stakes, all guy lines.
6 x 8 x 4 tall.

[dog812]

It's a little bigger on the outside, maybe 7x9.
The guy lines all have tensioners, spots to hang a inner net on the inside. Not bad.
Here is the same one on Ali
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32649899927.html#autostay

[Wil]

... I like the inner tent...floor looks like a ~30D ripstop silnylon, noseum mesh is beefier than I expected.

I bought the standalone inner bugnet (about $45 including shipping as I recall) to use under my zpacks hextarp since Joe doesn't sell the standalone inner anymore. I'm extremely happy with it. A couple of ounces heavier than the original zpacks cuben fiber version. There were a few high tie points I suspect were made for attaching to their version of the over-tarp and I sliced those off. Also replaced some heavy cord loops with ultralight.

Very well made. I love the higher bathtub floor and the easier/taughter pitch; I think Joe had made the same improvements from the original in the last version before he discontinued it. Doesn't have attachment points to the tarp around the edges so you have to use separate pegs, but I was pretty much doing that anyway.

Have used on numerous trips including long hard rains and I didn't get the bit of rain splash on hard ground I used to get, the high bathtub floor is wonderful.

If I ever need to replace the overtarp I will still get that from zpacks, but the undernet is great for anybody who needs one.

[dog812]

Which inner? This one?
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32473563124.html#autostay

I bought the more expensive Orange one last year and it was good, but I sold it. . Now I wish I never did.