ALPS Mountaineering Explorer 6-Person Tent by Sherper's

If you look at the Alps website you will see they offer a series of "outfitter" tents based on their Taurus and Mermac models e.g. same basic design but with larger (=more durable) zippers and oxford nylon (=tougher) floors. The Taurus and Mermac designs are super easy to put up and use only 2 poles - my 9 & 11yr olds can easily set up my 4pps Taurus AL by themselves and our scout troop uses the Mermacs for the same reason. The main difference is that Alp's Taurus tent series have a more complete rain fly that zips down in front and back to create awnings and the Taurus comes with ALUMINUM poles which are more durable, lighter and don't give splinters like fiberglass. The Mermac has no awnings and comes with fiberglass poles - we live in Minnesota and fiberglass can get brittle cold. Aluminum can bend if abused - fiberglass breaks. SO.... why is this Sherpers version the best? Because if you want a 6 person, 10'x10' footprint outfitter duty version WITH factory aluminum poles THIS SHERPERS VERSION is your only option. Alps sells a Taurus Outfitter sized for 5 people with an 8x10 footprint and aluminum poles for $389MSRP(as of this writing!!!) but they don't offer a 6 person version. Alps also sells a 6 person Mermac Outfitter but it comes with the less protective rainfly and fiberglass poles.All that being said - I used this tent twice at 2 separate scout camps and the tent performed flawlessly. Two adults on cots had PLENTY of room and the awnings and doors on each side allowed each person a place to store shoes and other "outside" gear outside the tent.A couple of tips - we used a cheap 5mil 10x10 blue tarp for a footprint - costs $12 on Amazon and worked just fine. No need to buy an expensive fitted footprint. We used moving blankets on the floor inside to create "carpeted" interior that is also easy to clean. Bring a 2x3 piece of astro-turf as a door mat. This is for car camping of course - not for use as a mountain trek with your titanium spork!!!Conclusion - great price for an awesome tent design with heavy duty upgrades and aluminum poles. Get one while they last!!! [I AM NOT GETTING PAID ANYTHING - I GENUINELY LOVE THIS TENT AND IT IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AFTER DOING THE RESEARCH]

We were hoping this tent was the same design as their smaller version...only with the needed height. We found that the 2 door entryways are full screen and do not have the internal zippered extra window as we were expecting for the many nights of cold weather we camp in. This tent is strictly for summer months. Also, where the 2 poles meet at the top, there is nothing to secure them together...just the pole hooks on each side of the poles to attach the tent. 'sigh'. We love the extra roominess...but would have loved to seen the same great design as it's smaller version! We have high winds here and the tent definately sways in and out as the tent pole need to be more secured together...we had to use the tie strings for the first time EVER to secure the tent in higher winds. Love the extra sturdy zippers and it is well made material...just wish they would have made it sturdier and had the inner window flap for extra cold and wind protection.

As a family of 6, with of those being under the age of 12 and unable to carry much of their own weight/supplies, it was a struggle to find a large enough tent that was also lightweight enough for long backpacking trips. We just purchased this and used it for the first time. The set up was super easy and quick for us 2 adults and we believe 2 of our older kids can probably do it next trip after watching us this first time. The tent itself was surprisingly roomy and comfortably fit all 6 of us and some of our gear without difficulty. During our first night in the tent, we experienced an unexpected wind storm and the tent withstood 35mph winds for almost 24 hours straight without problem once we tightened everything down once. We were pleasantly surprised with how the tent stood up during the storm. I cannot say enough about this tent and we look forward to using it again soon!

I have owned multiple tents from Coleman, Kelty, Eureka, Eddie Bauer, and Marmot just to name a few over the years and have spent time in the outdoors in Oklahoma in every season and possible weather condition and this is hands down the absolute best tent I have ever owned. Being an almost full walled tent under the rain fly adds in my opinion an extra layer of wind protection therefore making this tent warmer. It is also absolutely 100% waterproof with the rain fly installed.We used this in April of 2023 and it dipped down into the low thirties and October of 2022 and went through a severe thunderstorm with winds over 40 mph and rainfall amounts of over 2.5” in about 8 hours. We also added the Alps mountaineering ground cloth sized to match this tent and it never leaked a drop. In fact the last day of camping during tear down the ground underneath was found to be completely dry so the rain fly diverted all of the rain out and away from the tent.

Bought in early June 2023. By the end of August 2023, with everyday use, the zippers already failing. Also, any amount of the dust or grain of sand on the coil zippers will result in fighting with the zippers to get in or out of the tent.Waterproof tape coming undone on floor seams - I don't understand why tent manufacturers has the floor that isn't made from one piece.Tent poles isn't well supported to keep them from flopping about in the wind of 10-20 miles per hour or zipping open or closing the doors, especially without the rainfly on the tent.Tent material is high quantity but I haven't tested the tent out in the rain as I had tent set up under tarp for shade from the sun.Update:Alps did send me a replacement but different tent for the zipper failure beyond being repairable as they didn't carry Alps Mountaineering Explorer from Sharps.