Ryan Madani
Alpha Breeze
Our very first car camping tent and still the one we bring the most.
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Why we picked it:
In spring of 2020, we placed an order for a Snow Peak Amenity Dome Small, which was supposed to be our first car camping tent. At the time, we were coming from a two person backpacking tent, so the Amenity dome Small looked plenty spacious! However, a couple days after that order, Snow Peak launched a new tent, the Alpha Breeze. This tent offered standing height, four entrance points, and a large front awning. We instantly had buyers' remorse and switched our order to the Alpha Breeze, which looking back now was a great decision. To this day, the Alpha Breeze has been our primary tent and has kept us comfortable while camping through all seasons here in the PNW.
What we like:
The Alpha Breeze has four entrance doors which is incredibly convenient. All of these mesh doors/windows add up to great ventilation and visibility at your destination. We don’t have any condensation issues with this tent and for the most part, we just leave the two top triangle vents open throughout the night. Another cool feature about this tent is all the mesh fully zips up with fabric as well. This is not only great for times you don’t want to use the rainfly, but also better in those colder months as well.
Depending on your height, you can comfortably enter and exit the tent through the large covered front entrance. For reference, I’m 5’8” and the awning skims the top of my head, so a slight duck is required. Inside, the Alpha Breeze offers a peak height of 6’2” and while it’s not necessary to have standing height in a camping tent, it does make changing clothes and setting up gear much more convenient.
Inside the tent, you have a few pockets, which we keep headlamps, sunglasses, and sometimes bear spray if we’re in an area where bears are present. There are also a few loops across the top to hang your lighting. There’s plenty of room for a full size mattress, we use the Exped Mega Mat LW+ and still have space for a table and gear storage.
Things to consider:
While this is a four person tent, I'd say it’s perfect for two adults and one to two children. However, with multiple mattresses you will lose some floor space, so that’s something to consider.
With the Ivory colorway, this tent is well lit inside when the sun is up. If you are sensitive to light, enjoy sleeping in, or need to put kids to bed during daylight, you may want to consider a darker fabric. To be honest, I don’t find it bothersome, as it’s pretty well diffused through the rainfly and tent. However, having used darked tents, I can say that the Alpha Breeze is definitely brighter than other options out there.
Setup:
Setting up the Alpha Breeze is pretty intuitive, despite Snow Peak instructions not being the best. It’s definitely easier with two people, though possible with one. The first step is to assemble and insert the ridgeline pole, which is the peak of the tent.
Next you assemble the A frame poles and insert them into the ridge poles. Snow peak uses classic pin style inserts for the poles which simply work great.
After connecting the A frame poles, you will insert the last pole through the front loop and connect it in the center pins.
From here you will fasten a few velcro loops and connect the tent to the poles via snap closures.
The rainfly can be challenging solo, as it is pretty massive.
The last step is staking the tent, which I primarily use the Snow Peak Solid Stake #30s and a single #40 in the back. I highly recommend investing in these stakes and copper peg hammer, they were a game changer for us in the beginning.
