Tent Purchased!

I went on the zPacks website and found a brand new Plex Solo in blue in the bargain bin for $60 off.  I bought it immediately.  There are a couple of reasons why the tent might be in the bargain bin.  The single biggest reason is that it is a return.  I know that many people new to backpacking purchase a specialty tent only to discover that they are completely different than the camping tent they have always used.  Backpacking tents are tiny!  zPacks tents are as minimal as they come, which makes them seem flimsy, but I can attest that they are very well made.  I could take my Hexamid.  Despite a PCT thru-hike, it is still waterproof.

Another possibility is that there is some minor material defect, such as blotchy color.  I do not care about how it looks.  It is going to get dirty very quickly.  There also might be some minor sewing defect that needed to be repaired.  It will be taped and it will have the same guarantee as an unblemished tent, so I'm good with that.

This tent is different than my Hexamid Solo Plus.  On the good side, the Plex Solo weighs 5.8 ounces less.  While I'll miss the removable bathtub, the bathtub on the Solo Plus will do a much better job of protecting me from splatter when it rains.  Finally, zPacks makes the zipper very easy to repair in the field.  For an additional $0.50, I also purchased an extra #3 Pull Zipper slider which I will add to the repair kit.  Set up is pretty much exactly the same.  I was able to pitch my tent in less than two minutes in the dark by the time I made the Canadian border.

The one big negative is that this tent will be smaller than the Hexamid Solo Plus.  Although I'm 5'9", I bought the tent for someone 6'5".  That left plenty of room for gear.  I'll have to get used to that. 

One other change I've made is that I will go with a zPacks Food Bag instead of my Bear Vault BV500.  I received plenty of helpful advice after I blogged what I was going to do.  There is a short three mile stretch were the bear vault is necessary over the entire hike and most shelters have places to hang or a bear box.  A zPacks food bag weighs 1.5 ounces while the BV500 weighs 43 ounces, so that is some significant weight savings.

With that, my kit is complete.  Now back to training!