Zpacks Duplex Ultralight Tent Review
A long-term, in-depth review of our favorite ultralight, easy-to-set up Dyneema Composite Fabric two-person backpacking tent informed by 10,000 miles of backpacking
Treeline Review editor Liz Thomas called the ZPacks Duplex home for her fall thru-hike of the Arizona Trail.
Home > Gear Reviews > Backpacking
July 15th, 2024
The Zpacks Duplex is the best ultralight backpacking tent for most thru-hikers and ultralight backpackers who want an easy-to-set up tent that is fully-enclosed with space for two people.
To test, three Treeline Review testers used three Duplex tents over 10,000 miles of hiking (yes, really!).
The Duplex is made with bio-based Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF–formerly known as cuben fiber), a lightweight, strong, tear-resistant, highly windproof, and waterproof fabric that doesn’t absorb water or stretch and is quick drying.
Paired with a design that is easy to set up with plenty of liveable space for two people, this made in the USA single-wall tent is ubiquitous on long distance trails. We awarded the Zpacks Duplex our best ultralight backpacking tent in our Best Backpacking Tents guide and Best Overall winner in our Best Ultralight Tents guide.
In this Zpacks Duplex Review, we go into why we think this is the best backpacking tent for those seeking an ultralight two-person tent, such as thru-hikers and ultralight backpackers–whether you're out for a weekend or out for 6 months.
COMPARE PRICES OF THE ZPACKS DUPLEX TENT
We create reader-supported, objective gear reviews independently selected by our editors. This story may contain affiliate links, which help fund our website. When you click on the links to purchase gear, we may get a commission – without costing you an extra cent. Thank you for supporting our work and mission of outdoor coverage for every body! Learn more.
HOW WE TESTED
Camping in the ZPacks Duplex in the snow in the San Juans on a thru-hike of the CDT.
To test the Zpacks Duplex tent, three Treeline Review writers thru-hiked with it for 10,000 miles. I used this shelter on thru-hikes of the Great Divide Trail (800 miles in the Canadian Rockies), the Pacific Northwest Trail (1,200 miles from Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean in Olympic National Park), the Sierra High Route (which parallels the John Muir Trail, only off-trail and higher), and San Juans section of the Continental Divide Trail. I also backpacked shorter trails and routes, including the Chinese Wall Loop in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Treeline Review editor Naomi Hudetz on a late season thru-hike of the Great Divide Trail across the Canadian Rockies. The ZPacks Duplex is rolled up and attached to the bottom of her pack.
Treeline Review co-founder Naomi Hudetz also thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, a second Great Divide Trail hike, the Pacific Northwest Trail with me, the Idaho Centennial Trail with Treeline Review writer Felicia Hermosillo, the Low to High route with me, and the Tahoe Rim Trail. Treeline Review Mike unger took that same ZPacks tent out for additional thru-hikes on another Pacific Northwest Trail thru-hike and another Appalachian Trail thru-hike. This review is based on our long-term experience with this shelter over many years, backpacking trips, and thru-hikes.
Treeline Review tester Bill (6 feet tall) in the ZPacks Duplex on an off-trail traverse of the Chinese Wall and Continental Divide Trail in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana.
OUR VERDICT
For its ultralight weight, weatherproofness, bug proofness, and ease of setup, the Zpacks Duplex set the gold standard for a reliable tent for thru-hikers and gram-counting ultralight backpackers. While the price is on the high end for a shelter, and its durability makes it reliable for one 2000+ mile thru-hike (though we've gotten a lot more than that on one tent), it remains a two-person backpacking tent that best balances the needs of most thru-hikers and ultralight backpackers.
To test this tent, we’ve taken the Duplex in cold temperatures and snow, extreme heat and wind, the humidity of temperate rainforests, and high altitudes. In total, we've tested for nearly 9,000 miles of backpacking.The Zpacks Duplex won our award for Best Ultralight Tent in our Best Backpacking Tents guide. In this gear review, we do an in-depth, long-term look at why we like this ultralight tent.
SPECS:
Freestanding: No (but can be made freestanding with Freestanding Flex Kit)
Type: Single-wall
People: 2
Doors: 2
Vestibules: 2
Weight: 18.5 ounces (including stuff sack, excluding stakes)
Fabric: Dyneema Composite Fabric, bug netting, carbon ion poles (for optional Freestanding Kit)
Stakes Required: 6, 2 stakes for optional pullouts
Trekking Poles Required: 2 (or optional Freestanding Flex kit)
Interior Length: 90” (longer version available in the DupleXL at 96”)
Interior Floor Width: 45” (same at head and toe)
Peak Height: 48”
Floor Square Feet: 28.1 SF
Vestibule depth: 24”
Packed size: 5.6 L
Comparison Table
| BACKPACKING TENT | FREESTAND | WALLS | PEOPLE | DOORS | VESTIBULES | WEIGHT (oz) | LENGTH (inches) | MAX WIDTH (inches) | HEIGHT (inches) | FLOOR SPACE (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zpacks Duplex | No (Yes, with kit) | Single | 2 | 2 | 2 | 18.50 | 90 | 45 | 48.0 | 28.1 |
| Zpacks Duplex Zip | No (Yes, with kit) | Single | 2 | 2 | 2 | 20.40 | 90 | 45 | 48.0 | 28.1 |
| Zpacks DupleXL | No | Single | 2 | 2 | 2 | 21.80 | 96 | 44 | 48.0 | 29.3 |
| ZPacks Triplex | No | Single | 3 | 2 | 2 | 21.60 | 90 | 60 | 48.0 | 37.5 |
| Hyperlite Unbound 2 | No | Single | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24.00 | 90 | 48 | 48.0 | 28.0 |
WHAT WE LIKED:
Ultralight two person shelter
Generous interior space
Easy to set up
Beginner-friendly ultralight tent that can get a taut pitch
Thoughtful tie outs, intuitive door systems, and pockets make it extremely livable
Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) is light, strong, and waterproof
Bug protection
Comes fully seam taped and ready to use out of the box
DCF doesn’t sag or absorb water weight
Extremely waterproof in heavy rain or light snow
Bathtub floor is well placed to let condensation drop out of tent rather than into sleeping area
WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE:
Zippers need babying—use zipper lube and clean them regularly
Slopes of ceiling make it easy for your head or toes to brush up against condensation covered walls
Not the most windproof
DCF can be loud in the wind
There are better options for people 6 feet and taller (they should consider the DupleXL, made for taller people)
Price
DCF tents aren’t as packable as silpoly or silnylon
DCF is slightly see-through
Vestibules are on the smaller side for these kinds of tents, giving less room for gear storage
DESIGN
Treeline Review founder Naomi Hudetz and Treeline Review writer Felicia Hermosillo used the ZPacks Duplex on the Idaho Centennial Trail.
The ZPacks Duplex is a single-wall A-Frame tarp tent that is set up with two adjustable trekking poles and 6 tent stakes (instead of a traditional tent pole). It has a rectangular symmetrical design, meaning you don’t have to worry about which side is the head and which is the toe—they’re the same width. It has two doors and two vestibules, meaning you don’t have to worry if you accidentally set up one door against a rock or tree. You can always exit out the other door.
This design makes setup easy and foolproof. I've found this personally ideal for thru-hikers exhausted from a day of hiking who want to minimize things to think about before going to sleep.
Scotland is notorious for midges. Luckily, the ZPacks Duplex fine mesh kept them on the outside of the tent.
The ZPacks Duplex tent has an 8-inch bathtub floor with a tarp that extends 4.5 inches out to keep rain out of the tub. The DCF waterproof bathtub floor connects to the generous mesh bug netting, so there’s lots of ventilation (see below). The depth of the bathtub helps prevent water from getting inside, like when you’ve set up on uneven ground during a rainstorm. On the Great Divide Trail, Naomi and I often found ourselves setting up the Duplex in storms where puddles and streams formed around us in the night. The high bathtub floor kept us dry through 38 days of rain or snow.
Inside, there’s a small guyline on a toggle that allows you to adjust the ceiling’s angle. In extreme humidity or if there’s a lot of condensation, this clever design allows water to drip outside of your tent instead of on your stuff.
Each hiker has their own rainbow-shaped door and their own vestibule. That means you don’t have to crawl over each other to get out and pee in the middle of the night. Each door is 36 inches high, which isn’t the highest we’ve seen on a tent, but is certainly better than many other cottage options.
Each vestibule door opens in the middle and can be rolled back or hooked into place (see more about hooking the panels below). You can have each vestibule half open. Zpacks also makes a zipper version of the tent for hikers who prefer the ease of a zipper. I like the hook system as it’s lighter and is less likely to break than a zipper, but it also requires two hands to operate. This year, they also released the Duplex Zip Tent for backpackers who would prefer a more straightforward door. The Zip has magnetic door toggles to make securing back the flaps of the door easier.
FEATURES
WEIGHT
The ZPacks Duplex after a windy storm atop a ridge in the Bob Marshall wilderness.
For a two-person tent, the Zpacks Duplex is unbeatable. At around one pound, it still is spacious for two people with all the features we’d want for weatherproofness in an ultralight tent. It's got the perks of a traditional backpacking tent: bathtub floor, bug netting, pockets, and generous vestibules. The ZPacks Duplex is arguably the lightest tent out there that offers this amount of room, features, and liveability.
It uses adjustable trekking poles for support, so Zpacks doesn’t count that as part of the weight (since you’re assumed to be carrying them anyway). If you don’t carry trekking poles, such as bikepacking or packrafting, you can opt for a 1 lb 12.7 oz solution—the Duplex Freestanding Flex Kit.
For a two-person tent with these features, the closest you’ll get in weight for a two-person tent is the Hyperlight Mountain Gear Unbound 2p (24 oz) and the TarpTent Double Rainbow Li (28.9 oz).
Big Agnes also makes some Dyneema Composite Fabric options like the Fly Creek HV2 Carbon and Tiger Wall 2 Carbon, but their reviews note a lack of durability and the price is well above options by smaller cottage brands.
FABRIC & WATERPROOFNESS
Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) started as a sailing cloth known for its strength-to-weight ratio and incredible waterproofness and windproofness. DCF is available in different weights. Over the years, I’ve used tarps, backpacks, and tents of DCF that were either too thin or too thick. In contrast, the almost .55 oz/sqyd Standard Dyneema® Composite Fabric weight of the Duplex is just the right balance of weight, strength, and durability for most three-season backpacking trips.
If you see a ZPacks tent, it's made of DCF fabric, but different tents vary in thickness and heaviness of the DCF.
On the Duplex, the bathtub floor is made of a thicker DCF–1.0 oz/sqyd Dyneema® Composite Fabric and a membrane that Zpacks says is "more than twice as thick as our canopy material" (we're not quite sure how 0.55 oz times two yields 1.0, but we can attest that it is thicker).
The bathtub floor can withstand setting up on rocks and roots for extended periods, as I often find myself doing when not camping on established trails, such as on the Sierra High Route or Low to High Route through rugged terrain in Death Valley.
You also have the option of getting the Duplex in a thicker DCF of 0.75 oz/sqyd. See more on that below.
As for waterproofness, we get into where we've taken it below in our testing notes on waterproofness. Long story short, Dyneema Composite Fabric is incredibly waterproof with a hydrostatic head of 15,000 mmH₂O. In contrast, the minimum standard for tents is 1000 mm, and we recommend at least 2000mm.
INTERIOR SPACE
Treeline Review photographer John Carr eating dinner on the Pacific Crest Trail in his ZPacks Duplex.
The Duplex interior is 45 inches wide, which is more than enough for two 20 inch wide backpacking sleeping pads. That being said, most backpacking tents we reviewed are 50 inches wide at their widest spot and 43 inches wide at the foot. Still, most thru-hikers find that this is ample space for two people living in the tent for months at a time. I personally prefer the rectangular shape (same width at head and foot) for an easy no-hassle set-up.
When I was on the Sierra High Route, we fit three people inside the Duplex to play games while sitting out a thunderstorm. While backpacking the Bob Marshall Wilderness, I used this tent as a solo shelter and actually found it to be too much space as it was hard for me as a single person to warm up the inside of the tent. Still, as an ultralight tent, the Duplex is incredibly spacious for two people. Unlike pyramid style ultralight tents, it has no pole in the center that can make things awkward, and has room for both people to sit up.
If you think the Duplex won't be enough room, some couples opt to carry the Zpacks Triplex (also available as the Triplex Zip). For a mere additional 3.1 ounces, you get an additional 15" of width. It's downright palatial for two people.
PACKED SIZE
Treeline Review founder Naomi Hudetz carried the ZPacks Duplex on the Great Divide Trail attached to the bottom of her pack. You can see what it looks like stuffed in its stuff sack.
The Zpacks Duplex packed size is 5.6L (the stuff sack is 7 x 13 inches), which we find packs to about the size of three Nalgene water bottles. Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) isn’t as packable as other tent fabrics, like silnylon or silpoly (a newer fabric found in tents by Six Moon Designs and Durston Gear). The bulkiness is a minor flaw, but there’s no way around it with DCF.
Treeline Review founder Naomi Hudetz summiting a snowy ridge in the Canadian Rockies. The ZPacks Duplex is on the outside of her pack.
As a result, Treeline Review co-founder Naomi Hudetz has found the Duplex doesn’t always fit in a 55L backpacking backpack, especially when we’re also carrying 7-day food carries or a bear can. We’ve strapped the Zpacks Duplex to the top of our backpacking backpack on the Great Divide Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail to get around this.
Some of our testers complain (especially during the first few weeks of use) that the stuff sack feels small for what needs to go inside, but we’ve found that the DCF softens and it fits nicely after a month. The Duplex comes with its own DCF stuff sack. We’ve found the stitching gives out on the stuff sack after about 4 months of use, especially if you're really cramming it in there, but we think that’s pretty reasonable.
For the Freestanding Flex Kit, the poles fold down to 19.25 inches. We’d like to see this cut down to 12 inches to be friendlier for bikepackers who want to strap the poles to their handlebars. We see a similar optional pole design in the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (alas, only for one person)
VESTIBULES
The vestibules are 24 inches long and 28.1 square feet. While these aren’t the biggest, it is more than enough to store your pack and shoes. Zpacks and Treeline Review recommend you should never use your backpacking stove while you’re still inside your tent—especially not alcohol stoves. But we’ve cooked with canister stoves more times than we can count when the weather keeps us in the tent. The ability to pop up one of the four vestibule panels means you can be a little safer cooking (which again, you shouldn’t do from your tent!) while also maintaining as much tarp protection in your vestibule space as possible.
DURABILITY
The ZPacks Duplex and its stuff sack survived intense bushwhacking and travel on extremely unmaintained trail on the Great Divide Trail in the Canadian Rockies. While some people find the stuff sack on the Duplex to lack durability, we were incredibly impressed at how well it avoided punctures and abrasion and how well it kept the tent dry in wet and rough conditions.
We have extensive testing experience with the Duplex, and found the durability to be surprisingly good for such an ultralight shelter. We expected to only get one long thru hike out of our Duplex, but ended up getting 7,000 miles from one Duplex – and this from a tester who is notoriously hard on his gear. We were impressed.
Treeline Review founder Naomi Hudetz during a rain and snow storm in the Canadian Rockies on the Great Divide Trail. The Duplex is attached to the bottom of her pack.
Note that we did not use a groundsheet for any of those miles. Two small punctures happened, but were easily repaired with the DCF tape included with the tent.
VENTILATION
The ZPacks Duplex has excellent ventilation (relative to other ultralight tents) with full mesh on both sides. Here it is after a rain storm in northern Montana.
While we have read complaints about lack of ventilation (leading to condensation), our experience was the opposite. We had no condensation on 2 thru hikes of the Appalachian Trail, and numerous other thru hikes.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
The Zpacks Duplex comes with its seams taped, so no seam sealing is necessary.
It comes with all the guylines and linelocs already attached, so you don't need to know any knots to set it up.
It doesn’t come with tent stakes, which some people find annoying, but honestly, everyone seems to have their own preferences for stakes, so I think it’s better that way. Zpacks sells 6 different types of tent stakes on their website. Just be sure to pick some up before you start a trip!
You’ll also need two trekking poles or the Freestanding Flex Kit to set it up. It doesn’t come with its own poles.
It also doesn't come with a tent footprint, although ZPacks sells that separately. In our 9,000 miles of testing, we've never used a footprint with this tent.
TESTING NOTES
Two ZPacks Duplex (left in blue) and one Six Moon Designs Deschutes tent all fit into a small camping area in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
SETUP
The Duplex has a classic A-Frame trekking pole tent. That means it sets up with two trekking poles and six tent stakes instead of a traditional tent pole. Two optional tent pull-outs (at the head and foot) can make the tarp even more taut if you carry two extra stakes. With practice (and no wind), it takes me around 3 minutes to set up—and even less time when setting up with another person. This has been so appreciated when setting up in the rain or cold when all I want to do is get into my tent. Since it’s single walled, one of the big advantages over double-walled tents is the inside stays relatively dry as you’re setting it up in the rain.
Other cottage manufacturers make tents with offset or asymmetrical walls, but I often find that these require more mental energy than many thru-hikers have at the end of a hard day.
Unlike a lot of tarps, there isn’t too much fiddling required to get the geometry on the Duplex right, which is one reason thru-hikers (usually mentally exhausted after a day of hiking) like this tent. It's all friendlier towards folks who are on their first backpacking trip or thru-hike.
Lineloc adjusters make it easy to tighten up or adjust your tie outs without having to think about knots. Some hikers complain these can freeze up when traveling below 32F, but we’ve taken this tent out for what was cumulatively months of shoulder season conditions and haven’t had any issues.
This tent's double door is the thing that seems to cause the most trouble for folks setting up their tent for the first time in their yard. We promise it gets easier, but will always require two hands.
The ZPacks Duplex uses a thin material that is incredibly waterproof. By hooking the vestibule shut, you can securely keep water out of the tent during intense storms, like this one near the Continental Divide in southern Montana.
Here's how it works: The vestibules and doors are held out by a guyline. That’s what you stake into the ground. Then, you use a connected guyline with a W-shaped double-sided hook hardware to hook in place each door of the vestibule with a circular piece of plastic on the bottom of each door.
I find the hooking to be satisfying. I like that I have the option of opening or closing anywhere between 1 and 3 panels of the vestibule, and miss this design in other tents. But for folks who prefer the simplicity of a zip system, like what you’d find on something like the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV or Six Moon Designs Haven or a pyramid style tarp like the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid. In addition, Zpacks recently released the Duplex Zip Tent, which weighs 1.9 ounces more than the Duplex.
LIVABILITY
The ZPacks Duplex was home for Treeline Review editor Liz Thomas and Treeline Review writer Felicia Hermosillo on the Sierra High Route.
The Duplex is relatively roomy for a two-person tent, especially in the lightweight or ultralight category. The inner tent area is 28 square feet. It has one of the higher peak heights of ultralight tents—48 inches—meaning I could sit up straight while playing games with friends while sitting out a thunderstorm.
In comparison, the Nemo Hornet Elite Osmo (our winner for best lightweight tent) has a peak height of 37 inches. The TarpTent Double Rainbow Li has a peak height of 40 inches, and the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 has a peak height of 42 inches.
However, as with any A-Frame tent, the head space goes down as the slopes of the walls go down. The result is that my head and toe box of my sleeping bag sometimes gets wet from internal condensation. Staking out the guylines on the panels helps reduce this. However, Treeline Review co-founder Naomi Hudetz thru-hiked the extremely humid Appalachian Trail in the Duplex and didn't have condensation issues. She credits good campsite placement and cross ventilation. See more below on ventilation and condensation.
For those who want a little more room for livability, consider the similarly designed Zpacks Triplex tent or DupleXL. I’ve only known one hiker couple to have opted for the Triplex, but he was nearly 7 feet tall so he said it was worth it.
Treeline Review editors Liz Thomas and Naomi Hudetz used this Z-Packs Duplex set up on their thru-hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail.
WATERPROOFNESS
I thru-hiked the Great Divide Trail with the Zpacks Duplex in the Canadian Rockies, where it rained or snowed for 38 out of 40 days of hiking (Treeline Review editor Naomi Hudetz shared the tent with me, too!). Naomi also thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail starting in early March using that same Zpacks Duplex, facing freezing rain and snow.
The Dyneema Composite Fabric is incredibly waterproof with a hydrostatic head of 15,000 mmH₂O. In contrast, the minimum standard for tents is 1000 mm, and we recommend at least 2000mm.
We’ve used the tent in heavy precipitation on the Great Divide Trail, where it rained hard for nearly 12 hours straight, the longest and hardest we’ve ever experienced rain.
ZPacks also offers the Duplex in a heavier version that is .75 oz/sqyd Dyneema® Composite Fabric with a hydrostatic head of 20,000 mmH₂O, for people who want a thicker canopy fabric. It's also less see-through.
Part of this weatherproofness comes from the design. The tarp hangs 4.5 inches over and away from the bath tub floor, meaning water gathers outside of the tent instead of pooling into the bath tub floor. Smart placement of guylines ensures that the tarp stays taut and water is directed away from the tent interior.
Close-up on the bathtub floor and corners on the ZPacks Duplex.
The floor in all versions of the Duplex is made with 1.0 oz/sqyd DCF for additional puncture and abrasion resistance. This means we've been able to set up on wet and muddy ground and still stay dry.
The author shared this ZPacks Duplex with her friend Cheezy (in photo) on the Continental Divide Trail in the San Juans.
WINDPROOFNESS
The Zpacks Duplex excels at ventilation to mitigate against condensation. However, this isn’t the tent we’d set up in high winds at altitude on an exposed ridge. It sets up with adjustable trekking poles instead of using a traditional tent pole. As a genre, trekking pole tents can withstand high winds with a pyramid design found in 4-season ultralight tents. Trekking pole tents can sustain more moderate winds when used in A-Frame designs. We've found the Duplex's A-Frame design does a good job of holding up to the wind for what it is. It's a suitable tent for the weather most hikers experience during three season backpacking.
When I thru-hiked the Snowdonia Way, the local air base thought it'd be fun to buzz my tent with their helicopter, hovering what felt like 30 feet right above my tent and providing massive amounts of wind. Despite my minimalist tent stakes, the Duplex stayed put (admittedly, it helped that I was inside).
The Duplex can be set up at various heights, so you can adjust your hiking poles to a more-windproof height if needed. The Dyneema fabric can be loud while flapping in the wind (especially when a helicopter is right above the tent), but it’s fairly straightforward to get a taut pitch on this tent and to batten down the hatches to minimize noise.
View out of the ZPacks Duplex the author used on the Sierra High Route.
VENTILATION AND CONDENSATION
As far as single-wall tents go, the Duplex is considered among the best for ventilation and having minimal condensation. The Zpacks Duplex excels in the crowded single-wall tent category due to its ventilation. Aside from the bathtub floor, it is nearly all mesh on the inner tent. The storm door design allows you to easily roll up 1-4 panels of the vestibule to maximize ventilation.
Condensation is inevitable with an A-frame or pyramid style single-wall design. As a tactic, I’ve done most of my thru-hikes in this tent using an ultralight bivy, which dries quickly and protects my Katabatic quilt from getting wet from internal condensation.
Treeline Review editor Naomi Hudetz used the Duplex on the wet and humid Appalachian Trail and had no condensation. This echoes what we find in research of other user reviews. Complaints about condensation don’t come up often.
Still, as with any single wall tent, condensation is something that happens with some frequency, especially while camping in areas near water, on top of vegetation, or in cooler temperatures. Z-Packs has a helpful article on campsite selection that can help you choose tent sites that are less likely to encourage condensation on your tent.
While the ventilation is excellent for summer hiking, many hikers find it to be too drafty during shoulder season hiking or on colder nights.
Drying out our ZPacks Duplex on the Great Divide Trail. Of our nearly 40 days of rain, this sunny day was a time to dry out gear on an old road.
QUICK DRYING
One of my favorite things about this tent over other single-wall shelters I’ve used over the years is how quickly the DCF fabric dries. Part of my daily routine while backpacking is to dry out all my gear during my lunch break (or whenever the sun or wind is out). The DCF doesn’t absorb water, so the dry out time is much quicker than tents made of other fabrics.
DURABILITY
For this Duplex review, we tested three separate Duplex shelters.
For the first one, Treeline Review writer Mike Unger used the Duplex to failure–to the point the fabric was disintegrating on the roof and it was leaking and couldn’t ultimately be repaired. On that one the zipper failed before the fabric failed, but Zpacks customer service replaced the zippers. It had two Appalachian Trail thru-hikes, a Pacific Northwest Trail thru-hike, and a Colorado Trail hike. That totals nearly 6,100 miles on one Duplex tent.
For the second Duplex tent we tested, Treeline Review co-founder Naomi Hudetz and I tested on thru-hikes of the Great Divide Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, and Low to High route. Naomi also used that same tent on the Tahoe Rim Trail and Idaho Centennial Trail. Ultimately, it's still in good condition, though the zipper failed and Zpacks wouldn't repair it. That totals nearly 2,900 miles of hiking in the Duplex tent before the zipper failed.
The third Duplex we are currently testing is nearly identical to the first two, except it has a few loops to accommodate the Duplex kit. We've only had it a few months but are looking forward to seeing how far it can go.
While this sounds like a lot, it isn’t as long as other tents made of materials like silpoly like the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo.
POCKETS
The Duplex has two mesh pockets below each door. This means each person using the tent can have their own area to store sunglasses, the tent stuff sack, a headlamp, etc. Other reviewers used the tent on a section hike of the Appalachian Trail and complained that they found the weight of the stuffed pockets to pull down too much on the mesh rainbow doors and were concerned about long-term durability. We’ve been using those pockets on several Duplexes for nearly seven years of thru-hiking and haven’t had a rip there. It does pull slightly on the door but never enough to impact the ability to zip up the door or impact the tent's tautness.
View through the DCF on the ZPacks Duplex. Some backpackers find that the fabric doesn’t provide enough privacy and is see-through.
COLOR, PRIVACY, AND SEE-THROUGHNESS
Zpacks offers the Duplex in blue and green and has even offered it in orange, white, and "dirt" (some of these colors are made with heavier and less see-through 0.75 oz/sqyd DCF). The thinner and lighter colored fabrics can be see-through when set up in the light. The transparency isn’t the best for privacy, but is pretty cool for watching the moon rise on a clear night. If you're worried about transparency, the heavier 0.75 oz/sqyd fabric colors are slightly less see-through.
Sustainability and ethical company
The Zpacks Duplex is Made in the USA of USA-made biobased Dyneema Composite Fabric material. The DCF that Zpacks uses is made from renewable, bio-based feedstock. You can learn more about their sustainability initiatives here.
FREESTANDING FLEX KIT
The ZPacks Duplex Flex Kit allows the Duplex to be freestanding.
The third Zpacks Duplex we tested is outfitted to work with the optional Freestanding Flex Kit for the Duplex Tent. This kit allows you to set up the tent without trekking poles. This is ideal for backpackers traveling to rocky ground where it can be difficult to get a tent stake in. The Freestanding Flex Kit is a huge improvement on trying to make a deadman or pseudo deadman anchor. It's also potentially a good option for thru-hikers who will be traveling on snow for extended periods, such as northbound hikers on the PCT in the Sierra or CDT hikers in the San Juans. The Flex Kit is also great for bikepackers or packrafters who won’t be carrying trekking poles.
Close-up of how the Flex Kit connects to the ZPacks Duplex. The system is minimalist and lightweight, yet strong enough to handle wind.
The freestanding kit includes four carbon ion poles that fold down to 19.25 inches long. That’s on the longer end for optional poles. We tested bikepacking tents that fold down to 11 inches long, like the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo, and prefer that length for strapping poles to our handlebar bags.
Still, the flex kit is lightweight and clever. It took us a while to figure out how to use it (practice at home before you go!) but once we got it, we were impressed by its innovative design to make the tent freestanding. The poles hook into the bottom of the tent, secure in the middle of the tarp panel, and snap into the peak. The result is the roof eaves of the tent creating two X’s that keep the tent taut and freestanding. It takes longer and is harder for one person to set up than the trekking pole design, but is surprisingly quick once you figure it out.
Close-up of how the Flex Kit connects to the ZPacks Duplex at the ridgeline. The poles connect into small hooks and stay in place.
Some reviewers claim that the tent is more comfortable with the Flex system, but we didn’t notice a difference in the amount of headspace room or structural stability over using setting up with trekking poles.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER
Treeline Review photographer John Carr used the ZPacks Duplex on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Zippers
It seems nearly inevitable for an ultralight tent, but the zippers on the Duplex are a failure point. We recommend taking good care of your zippers. We suggest regularly cleaning them and using zipper lubricant. Many ultralight tents use small zippers to save on weight. In our experience, these can easily get jammed by sand and other grit that you will encounter on a thru-hike. On our first Duplex, Zpacks replaced the zipper free of charge. On our second Duplex, they did not. Zpacks has returns and warranties that are good for two years.
Ridgeline Gear Storage
One thing I miss is the guyline along the ridgeline to hang a headlamp as a lantern, dry wet hiking socks at night or store sunglasses, as can be found on the Gossamer Gear The Two as an added accessory. It's very minor and could probably be rigged up separately.
Suitability for taller people
The Duplex isn't the preferred tent of people over 6 feet tall. Complaints were common until ZPacks came out with the longer DupleXL. As someone under 6 feet tall who finds the Duplex's length and height just fine, I appreciate that they didn't make the entire tent line bigger to accommodate taller folks. That keeps the cost down and the weight down. However, it means the DupleXL costs more than the Duplex.
VESTIBULES
The vestibule on the ZPacks Duplex has enough room for shoes and a pack, but not much else.
The Duplex's vestibules are adequate, but we found ourselves wishing they were bigger. Many backpackers and thru-hikers use vestibules for gear storage. While we could fit most ultralight backpacking backpacks and our hiking shoes into the vestibule, it can get tight.
OTHER VERSIONS
ZPacks DUPLEX ZIP
Freestanding: No (but can be made freestanding with Freestanding Flex Kit)
Type: Single-wall
People: 2
Doors: 2
Vestibules: 2
Weight: 20.4 ounces (including stuff sack, excluding stakes)
Peak height: 48" (122 cm)
Floor width: 45" (114 cm)
Floor length: 7.5 feet (2.3 meters)
Floor Area: 28.1 square feet (2.6 square meters)
Zipper entry height: 36" (91 cm)
Packed Size: 6" diameter by 12" tall
The Duplex Zip is new as of 2023 and is very similar to the Duplex, only it has a zip door instead of using the hook system. It weighs 1.9 oz more and costs $30 more.
VIEW THE DUPLEX ZIP
ZPacks DUPLEXL
Freestanding: No
Type: Single-wall
People: 2
Doors: 2
Vestibules: 2
Weight: 21.8 ounces (including stuff sack, excluding stakes)
Peak height: 48" (122 cm)
Floor width: 44" (114 cm)
Floor length: 8 feet (2.3 meters)
Floor Area: 29.3 square feet (2.6 square meters)
Zipper entry height: 36" (91 cm)
Packed Size: 6" diameter by 12" tall
The DupleXL Dyneema Composite Fabric ultralight tent is nearly identical to the Duplex, but designed for people up to 7 feet tall. The floor length on the inner is 8 feet vs the Duplex's 7.5 feet. The peak height remains 48 inches. Oddly, the interior floor width is 44" compared to the Duplex's 45". It has a floor area that is 1.2 SF larger.
Another big difference is the DupleXL tent has 12" (30.5 cm) struts at the head and foot ends to provide more space for taller hikers. It does not work with the Duplex freestanding tent kit, so you'll have to use your trekking poles to set it up. To accommodate the struts, it weighs 2.3 oz more than the Duplex and costs $30 more.
VIEW PRICE OF THE DUPLEXL
ZPacks TRIPLEX
Freestanding: No
Type: Single-wall
People: 2
Doors: 2
Vestibules: 2
Weight: 21.6 ounces (including stuff sack, excluding stakes)
Peak height: 48" (122 cm)
Floor width: 60" (153 cm)
Floor length: 7.5 feet (2.3 meters)
Floor Area: 37.5 square feet (2.6 square meters)
Zipper entry height: 36" (91 cm)
Packed Size: 6" diameter by 12" tall
The Triplex is essentially the same as the Duplex but designed for three people or a couple who wants extra room for gear and a hiking dog. It's 15" wider with almost 10 SF more floor area and with a weight penalty of only 3.1 ounces. It's also good for folks who are taller. Keep in mind you'll need bigger campsites to accommodate it. It costs $49 more. The Freestanding Kit does not work with the Triplex, so you'll have to set up with trekking poles.
VIEW PRICE OF THE TRIPLEX
OTHER SIMILAR TENTS
HYPERLITE mountain gear UNBOUND 2
Freestanding: No
Type: Single-wall
People: 2
Doors: 2
Vestibules: 2
Weight: 24 ounces (including stuff sack, excluding stakes)
Peak height: 48" (122 cm)
Floor width: 48" (122 cm)
Floor length: 7.5 feet (2.3 meters)
Floor Area: 28 square feet
Packed Size: 6" diameter by 12" tall
The Hyperlite Unbound 2 tent looks very similar to the Duplex with DCF5 and DCF8 fabric, an A-frame design, two trekking pole setup, two doors, and door vestibules, but weighs more at 24 oz. The floor width is 3" longer at 48". However, the length is the same, so we're not sure how the two tents are both 28 SF in floor area.
A big difference is that the Unbound 2 is more expensive. Here is what we think that cost may cover: One advantage potential is the Unbound is available in black (and also white) compared to the six color options of the Duplex. The black color may be appealing to folks concerned about privacy and the see-through fabric. The stuff sack packs down shorter, which may be easier for fitting into ultralight backpacks. Another potential difference is that Hyperlite uses two #3 YKK Aquaguard zippers with magnetic toggles, which contribute slightly to the increased weight. These zippers are more robust than on the Duplex. The magnetic toggles are an upcharge on the Duplex, but included in the Duplex Zip.
VIEW PRICE OF THE HYPERLITE UNBOUND 2
BIG AGNES FLY CREEK HV 2 CARBON
Freestanding: Semi-freestanding
Type: Double-wall
People: 2
Doors: 1
Vestibules: 1 (7 SF)
Weight: 24 ounces
Peak height: 40"
Floor width: 42" (toe) 52" (head)
Floor length: 7.16 feet (86")
Floor Area: 28 square feet (2.6 square meters)
The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV 2 Carbon takes a time-tested and trusted double-walled, lightweight backpacking and bikepacking tent and uses Dyneema Composite Fabric for the rain fly and floor instead of the silnylon tent fabric of the original. The tent body is still made with nylon ripstop and it includes features we such as a ceiling gear storage area. Since it's not all DCF, the total weight is 24 oz, slightly more than the Duplex. That saves 7 oz over the 31 oz original Fly Creek HV 2. Adding DCF also means that the price is considerably higher than the traditional Fly Creek HV UL 2.
The Fly Creek HV 2 Carbon has only one door and one vestibule, cutting down on the amount of space for gear storage and making it less livable for two people. Instead of a rectangular design, it has a trapezoidal shape with a width of 52" in the head and 42" at the toe. The Duplex, in contrast, is a 45" at head and toe. However the head space is lower at 40", which is 8" shorter than the peak on the Duplex.
One of the places where they cut weight is the 0.51 oz/square yard DCF bathtub floor—the place we think should have the thickest floor as it is most likely to see the most abrasion. It's also available as a 1-person shelter.
COMPARE PRICES OF THE BIG AGNES FLY CREEK HV 2 CARBON
WHY YOU SHOULD TRUST US
Liz Thomas is an award-winning Los Angeles-based writer and Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review. A former Fastest Known Time (FKT) record holder on the Appalachian Trail, Liz came to Treeline Review from New York Times/Wirecutter, the New York Times’ product review site, where she was a staff writer on the outdoor team.
Liz has talked gear on Good Morning America (TV), in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Men’s Journal, Women’s Health, Gizmodo, and Outside Magazine.
To test the ZPacks Duplex, she thru-hiked many long distance trails. Additionally, she thru-hiked and interviewed Treeline Review co-founder Naomi Hudetz, who has all thru-hiked many long distance trails in the Duplex. All told, Treeline Review writers have backpacked nearly 9000 miles in three Duplex tents to write this review.
You can read more about Liz at her wikipedia page here or on her website. See all her Treeline Review articles on her author page.
