ALPS Mountaineering Taurus 5 Outfitter Tent

So much to like about this tent!!I got a chance to really use this tent when my wife and I went camping in the Baldwin, Michigan area around the first half of August. After reading many online reviews, I went ahead and purchased an ALPS tent footprint, just in case I needed a little added protection for the floor. My wife and I raised the tent in less than 5 minutes and I spent another 10 minutes staking out the tent corners, the rainfly, and guy lines. With a 6-foot peak inside height, standing up in this tent is no problem. Our queen-sized air mattress covered a little more than half of the floor space, but we still had plenty of room for our duffle bags and a small folding table. There are two vestibules on this tent. The vestibules are not huge, but they have plenty of room for shoes, flip-flops, and any other small items that you would rather leave outside the tent. With both door windows open, the vestibules can be rolled back a lot or a little, to help with cross-ventilation.This year was an unusually warm August in middle Michigan, with daytime temps in hi-80s to lo-90s and overnight low temps in the hi-60s to lo-70s. Even when we went to bed at 9 or 10 at night, it was warm enough for me to sleep on top of our queen-sized sleeping bag, with the tent windows and front vestibule open. As the night moved closer to sunrise, temps cooled enough that I finally closed the vestibule and climbed into our sleeping bag. There was no rain during our trip, so I can't speak to the tent's ability to keep out water. One morning, I noticed that the rainfly was completely covered with dew, but it dried out shortly after sunrise. None of the dew made it onto the tent walls.Based on those 4 days at the camp site, I would say that the tent is quite good at holding in heat; probably too good at it, especially if you plan on camping during warm and/or hot times of the year. On the other hand, I believe the tent will very likely do a great job of keeping you warm and keeping out the drafts when camping in the late fall, winter, and early spring. I'm not really sure how well the tent/rainfly will insulate you from the cold, as temps get close to freezing, but with a tent heater, a good sleeping bag, and the proper sleeping clothes, it should allow you to stay relatively comfortable for most of the night.Construction of the tent is very good. All seams are double-stitched and taped. There are six staking points around the base of the tent. The aluminum poles kept the tent and rainfly rigid, with daytime breezes having no effect on stability. The rainfly is attached at each corner of the tent with snap-in clips and can be adjusted by tighening/loosening the webbing straps. The fabric in the tent walls and doors is opaque enough that my wife and I were able to dress/undress in total privacy. Take-down was easy and everything went back into it's storage bag for the trip home. If you plan on Car Camping, this tent should serve you well. While the stated capacity is 5 people, realistically, it can handle 2 adults, 1 child, and your stuff. If you have a lot of bodies, you'll probably want to look for something larger.We are very pleased with our tent and we're looking forward to using again very soon!!***(Update: Bee Mountain Resort, Cleburne, Texas 5 - 8 April 2024)***My nephew and his fiance invited my wife and me to join them for camping on the weekend leading up to the Great American Eclipse of 2024. Weather was predicted to be in the 80s during the day and the lower 50s overnight. What we didn't know was nighttime winds would be whipping through this area on the first two nights of our camping trip.The first night, measured wind speeds were 25 to 30 knots sustained and gusts as high as 38 knots. I checked all the guy lines and made sure they were secure before going into our tent and calling it a night. The wind battered our tent for most of the night and finally subsided about 5-ish in the morning. With a temperature of 50-something in the tent, my wife and I were toasty in our 20-degree sleeping bag. Eventually, I got up, got dressed, and went outside to check around the tent. With at least 6 to 7 hours of steady winds hammering away, the rainfly/tent were tight and secure, with absolutely no damage. The second night was not quite as windy or chilly, and the night before Eclipse Day was completely still. The mornings and daytime brought with them light winds and a mix of clouds and sun, so no concern for any possible damage to our tent.My wife and I have had many camping trips with this tent and it has never failed to exceed our expectations. If you're sensative to chilly mornings, this tent doesn't hold it's heat as well as a smaller rainfly tent would, so bringing a tent heater might be a good idea. What it lacks in heat-retention is countered by it's spacious 8' x 10' footprint and 6-foot interior height. I continue to be impressed with the quality and workmanship of this tent. Once again, my wife and I highly recommend this tent, especially if you have plans to do some car camping.

Everything about this tent is HEAVY DUTY! It's been out car glamping "castle" for over a year now and has worked out very well. It goes up as easily as any gigantic dome tent; more than possible for one person, easy for two people. The tub is thick and durable -it stands up to our 55lb. dog, no problem. The zippers are smooth and big. The rain fly covers the whole tent(you'd think Coleman actually includes a blue tarp with their tents) and does its job perfectly, laughing in the face of a weekend onslaught of Coastal Oregon spring downpours!What it lacks in airy, pretty views, it makes up for in heat retention and privacy. Our queen sized air matress (also Alps), 28"X28" aluminum collapsing table, dog bed and packs all fit with room to spare. And we can stand up to change our clothes! Such luxury! The built in storage is decent. Ventilation is decent. The poles are very sturdy. And it all fits back into its sack without needing to memorize 4 different folding patterns with extra space to fit the nearly unnecessary footprint(sold separately).The stakes are on the cheap side but they almost always are. The vestibules are on the small side and, when opened for entrance and egress, allows water onto the tent door and into the tent. At least one extended awning would be great but would probably also make this already huge tent even larger. It's already big enough that some camp sites can be ruled out simply based on their usable square footage, so I can't fault Alps for keeping its size under some control.Overall an excellent tent if durability and comfort are your priorities.

This is a very well made tent. There is no question about that. The materials are heavy-duty. The zippers are robust. The aluminum poles are superior.Much of this tent has been carefully and thoughtfully designed.The full coverage rain fly is superior.There are doors and screens at the front and back of the tent making for easy entry and good ventilation.The fly provides vestibules for storing shoes, etc at front and back of the tent.The clip to frame design is easy to set up and take down.There are NO cumbersome sleeves to deal with.Tall enough for a 6'1" person to stand up straight.Seams are all sealedIncludes storage loft.4 inside top corners have loops for using the storage loft or stringing clothes lines.Disadvantages are:1) Because the fly has no eave, rain will get into the tent through the open door when entering or leaving the tent in a hard rain.2) This tent will not hold up in strong winds. We had our Taurus 5 staked down solidly with the four side guy-lines and the tent completely collapsed on us in a heavy windstorm. Fortunately, the poles did not break, but the tent was blown completely flat to the ground. This is a fine tent in even the heaviest of rain - absolutely a reliable shelter against the heaviest rain, but not WIND and rain. So, if you camp mainly in wooded forests where you have wind shelter from the trees, then it will protect you against the heaviest of down falling rain, BUT it is not as good in high winds as some other tents.The fly prevents some ventilation even when fly opening is pulled back.Bottom line: This is an excellent, well made, well designed, high quality cool weather tent and an excellent tent for rain protection (as long as you stay inside). Probably a bit warm for very hot conditions.

Not a bad tent but at this price could have been better. Came with no footprint, during heavy rain the fly sticks to the inner tent causing it to be wet.