I use a very light mylar blanket as a ground cloth, which is absolutely impermeable and also does double duty in reflecting back my heat from under the tent when temps were in the 30's. The bundle is much smaller and lighter now and fits under the flap on my swiss military rucksack very well. The fiberglass poles would have been more acceptable if they would not have had sections that were 24 inches long, that length sticks out of my setup no matter where I put it, nothing is 24 inches long on anything I carry, so my criteria for my pole builder was to make the sections each no longer than 12', which he pulled off very well. All together the tent in this form weighs under two pounds. I also replaced my poles with Easton Aluminum poles, tentpole technologies did an awesome job for me, and I already had aluminum stakes which I used as well. I have the same tent but the model with solid walls, i used it for eight days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and had constant rain, I also seam sealed everything, I also beleive in using a tarp over any tent, whatever the price or quality, a tarp keeps me warm and dry no matter what. Thanks for your review on this excellent little tent, I'll add my two cents as well, because I saw some bad reviews as well which are undeserved. Sorry no photos from this weekend, I pulled the camera out and set it aside to back in my pack, and left it sitting on the table. I know that it may seem crazy to spend money upgrading a $30 tent, but I believe that the Alpine Design Hiker Biker II tent will last a good long time with a few upgrades and proper care. There are sites like Tentpole Technologies that you can purchase replacements from. I would recommend replacing them with aluminum or titanium. I can see this happening with the poles that have been supplied. But I would replace the pulls with something a little stronger.įinally four - Tent Poles: The tent comes with to very thin fiberglass poles, and biggest compliant about this tent has been the poles breaking, especially during late fall and early spring. I had my leather-man so it was easy to fix. The D-Ring holding the Zipper Tab to the zipper opened up. Three - Zipper Pulls: The zippers are a little tough when closing the door. I tied various colored ribbon to the guy-lines and the scouts still managed to trip on the lines. Boy Scouts don't always watch where they are walking, and quite a few tripped over the guy-lines of my tent. Second - Guy-Lines: replace the guy-lines with something a little easier to see. There are a few things that I would recommend upgrading if you decide to purchase the Hiker Biker II.įirst -Stakes: The stakes supplied are cheap steel, replace these with aluminum or titanium to cut down weight. You can use plastic, Tyvec or a tarp to protect the bottom of the tent. As with all tents a good ground cloth is also essential. I did not experience any issues with condensation. I think the improved design of the Hiker Biker II has a lot to do with this.

This tent also ventilates very well which was another complaint with the original Alpine Design Hiker Biker. It rained pretty hard Friday night and not a drop made it into the tent. I spent the weekend camping in mixed weather conditions, properly preparing this tent paid off. This should be done immediately with any tent whether it cost $25 or $400. And not just the rain fly, water proof and seem seal the floor as well, the point is to stay dry after all. I read several reviews (non of them good), before buying this particular tent, and it seemed everyone had the same complaint They all got wet! The first rule with any new tent is seam seal and water proof before using it. I was able to sleep comfortably in side, but there is very little head room for sitting, the tent is not designed for some one over 5'8'. It also comes with a rain fly for add protection from the elements. It's not no see um netting which is on the door, but it works. The main tent has a 'bathtub' floor and bug netting for walls.

I recently purchased the Alpine Design Hiker Biker II one man tent for $27.99 and had a chance to break it in this weekend.

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