Alpkit Kangri
For the last decade I've been using my parents' TNF Tadpole or Aerohead when camping out in the hills with company. Both are great tents and absolutely bomber, but getting on these days. Solo I've used a brilliant MSR Hubba HP, but with the gear library of Mum and Dad (similar to the popular bank) I'd never needed to find my own four season tent. Unfortunately this summer there were noises made that now I've not lived at home for a good few years and have a proper job maybe I should get my own... parents hey?!
Having a look around there are an abundance of good mountain tents out there and a bewildering number of reviews. My first port of call was sites like www.outdoorgearlab.com where I found several tents that fit the bill. The problem was cost. I loved the look of the Hilleberg range especially, but all of these tents were expensive as hell. If I needed to this money could be spent, but I decided to look about for alternatives. This is when I found myself on the Alpkit website.
My wish list was for a genuine two man tent that was big enough for two and their gear so you could base camp with it and be comfy. Camping in Scotland a lot I wanted that to be space behind an insect screen. It needed to stand up to bad weather and all four seasons through good design and build quality. Ventilation can be an issue in four season tents and I don't appreciate a damp sleeping bag so that needed thought too.
The Alpkit Kangri looked good on their site and all the right specs were there. The thing that amazed me was it's limited reviews. Lots of people mention it in forums to say it's great but that's it. I took a punt.
So lets get one more review out there...
What's Good?
There's a feature list as long as your arm for this tent. The simple answer to the question is that it's easy to put up, well thought out and roomy as hell all while not being too heavy.
Starting with easy set-up, the Kanuri pitches inner first using four grey or yellow poles that fit into colour coded sleeves that quickly give the tent some structure. Adding the outer is really easy: it simply clips onto the the inner using strong plastic buckles (see gallery). All that's left is fully pegging and guying out with the highly adjustable, strong adjustment points provided (see gallery). It's pretty easy to get a good taught pitch. Once set up and settled in the Kangri is spacious and comfy (even with two people and all their kit). Two entrances and vestibules makes managing kit and toilet breaks even easier.
The doors are actually genius. Both open from either the top or the bottom. When opened from the bottom there is a pocket to tuck away the door to stop it flapping around. Opening from the top allows you to vent the tent even in bad weather thanks to the the flap covering the top of the door. You can zip open the mesh part of the door on the inner to allow good ventilation further while keeping out the mosquitos. See the gallery below for pics.
The geodesic design is strong and holds its shape well in wind. The Kangri is strong enough to hold the inner above your head and shake out any twigs etc that sneak their way into your tent. I'm yet to have any problems with water ingress. when fully pegged and guyed out the Kanuri sits surprisingly low for a large tent and has an almost speak profile.
Inside the Kangri has a host of features that make it more liveable. There are loads of decently sized floor level pockets as well and small pockets I'm each corner that perfectly fit a head torch and turn it into a down light. To attach a gear loft, washing line or lantern there are 5 loops on the ceiling. Did I mention there's loads of space.
What's Bad?
Some see inner-first pitching tents as a negative, but I've never had a problem with a soaked tent etc that they seem to worry about. If you're one of those people this may not be the best tent for you.
The abundance of guying points and loops for staking out the tent lead to a problem. A lot of pegs. The Alpkit Candy Canes supplied are not the lightest, strongest or best holding pegs on the market. There also weren't enough supplied with mine (I think 4 were missing). If you don't choose to peg out all the guy lines the centre of the large centre panel city very close to the inner in a stiff breeze the two may touch. More annoying is that however you tie up the lines they will hit the side of the tent all night unless you peg them. There's six.
Quality
General impressions are good. Everything is well put together and the stitching looks top notch. The DAC poles are a good balance of strength and weight. In fact at around 3.5Kg the whole tent is. The only problem I've had so far is with one of the inner tent zippers. It occasionally misses a tooth on the zip making it weaker and forcing you to re-zip it.
Alternatives
As I suggested at the start there's a few. If your wish list is similar to mine but your budget higher (or more easily spent) I'd seriously consider a look in the direction of Hilleberg. The Nammatj 2 or the Tarra look to be great tents and a friend swears by the range. Modern day versions of tents like my Dad's fifteen year old TNF aero are there too: TNF's Mountain 25 gets good reviews. I've always liked Mountain Hardware's 4 season tents too when parked up next to them in a campsite (although this does seem to be their habitat).
The Vedict
I have a couple of little quibbles with minor bits of the Alpkit Kangri, but so far I'm rather happy. At £350 it represents brilliant value for money when compared to tents like the £925 (RRP) Hilleberg Tarra. As I see it i have a great tent and the money left for a holiday to enjoy it... Speaking of which it'll be spending ten days in the Alps at the end of the month. Couldn't do that spending £1k.
Gallery
