The Salewa Alpine trekking tent weighs in at just 3 kilograms, with it's sturdy construction and numerous carefully considered design features, this tent is the perfect companion for a long distance backpacking adventure.

The biggest advantage of Salewa’s Alptrek tent is its packability and its weight! With Scotland's fantastic right to roam access laws I love to get out wild camping as much as I can and this tent is perfect for that. Every consideration has been made to bring the tent’s weight down, enabling it to be carried comfortably over long distances. Its lightweight fabric allows it to be packed up to 52 x 16 x 16 cm - really quite compact for a two man tent! Even the tents pegs are of a streamlined design and far lighter to other brands i’ve used. This could perhaps be a drawback in very high winds, but they withstood moderate to strong winds on my trip with no discernible issue whatsoever.

Easy to pitch - Upon unpacking my tent for the first time I was pleased to discover it comes with the inner sheet already clipped onto the waterproof outer, not a regular feature for most tents. This means that in rain or storms you don’t have to worry about the inner sheets getting soaked as you struggle to cover it. This cuts the time it takes you to erect the tent in half, a particularly handy feature given the unpredictable nature of Scotland’s weather!

Additionally the tents four poles are colour coded to their allotted sleeves so construction is a breeze. The instructions- should you wish to check them out- are also rather handily sewn into the fabric of the tent’s storage dry bag, negating the need to chase a sheet of paper across the campsite on a windy day!

Comfort - For a two man tent the Alptrek is really quite spacious, comfortably sleeping two people with ample space for enough baggage to sustain a long trekking trip. The tent features two vestibules which are great for getting out of the rain whilst you kick off your muddy gear. This keeps the inner area of the tent clean and dry and can also be used for cooking when the weather isn’t great. The tent features two ventilation systems on each side which are designed to keep rain, flies and insects out whilst allowing fresh air to circulate. When it comes to waterproofing this tent is perfect for Scotland; the outer material has an outer water column value of 2,000mm whilst the floor is an even more robust 10,000mm. Taking the additional wide space between inner and outer walls into consideration, this means rain has a really hard time finding it way inside!

We pitched this tent after trekking for miles through woodlands and across rivers in spate, having climbed the slopes of beautiful Corbett Ben A’an. It’s minimal weight for me makes it one of the best backpacking tents on the market for comfort and ease of use. Its thoughtful design features and durability make it the perfect tent when faced with the oftentimes unpredictable climates of Scotland in winter! All in all, a fantastic product that would be an excellent companion for tackling some of Scotland’s most spectacular long distance hikes such as The Cape Wrath Trail or The West Highland Way.