Alpkit Tarpstar 4 Review - The Ultimate Family Bikepacking Tent?

In this video I review the Alpkit Tarpstar 4 - 4 person family tent for bikepacking:
Link to buy Alpkit Tarpstar 4 alpkit.com/pro...
Vertex pole: alpkit.com/pro...
I have been using this tent for family bikepacking trips like this: • Family Bikepacking in ...
Basic Pros:
1. Very light
2. simple design
3. Packs down small(ish)
4. Loads of space for two double mats
Basic Cons:
1. No outdoor storage space
2. Vertex pole is a bit flimsy
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[@tomsitzman3952]

Nice tent and very practical. An advantage of a center pole is that you can hang everything from a light to clothing on it. If you are setting up in the rain the inside stays dry. The four-person center pole tent I had back in the 70's and 80's was 118 cm, 70 inches high at the center. It weighed about 5 pounds or 2.27 kg we used it for canoe, kayak and bike trips. North Face made a single center pole, six-sided tent in the 1980s that was about 46 inches 137 cm high with 360 ventilations around the bottom and a roof vent and sleeps 3-4 adults. On a rain day it is nice to be able to stand up and move around a wee bit.

[@Cycling366]

Nice! Yeah it is a simple yet great design

[@DavidMackenzie]

Alpkit are producing a lot of really useful kit.

[@Cycling366]

Yeah some really nice stuff

[@IanFarmer]

2 kilos is amazing for the size of tent hope you have some brilliant times in it with the wee man

[@Cycling366]

Thank you! Yeah it’s decent weight wise. Even better if you’re taking hiking poles already

[@DanielEarlester]

And the pole in the middle means no roll together 😅

[@Cycling366]

Indeed 😰

[@boyandbike]

Nice to see this reviewed. We have been using an Alpkit Khort 4 person tent for family cycle trips and its ideal although heavier a 3.4kg its still packable and has porches. I don't thing we could cope with the lack of all-round headroom in the Tarpstar

[@Cycling366]

Cool, the Khort is pretty beasty so this definitely trumps it for packability and lightness but yeah the overall headroom isn’t great outside the centre