Alpkit
Alpkit Ordos 2
Best use
- Made for
- Bikepacking, Backpacking and wild camping
- Not for
- Winter mountain
Why these labels
- Bikepacking: The maker states this use, and the published specs do not rule it out.
- Backpacking and wild camping: The maker states this use, and the published specs do not rule it out.
- Winter mountain: 3-season rating, not built for winter storms
From the maker's stated use and the published specs.
- Summer wild camp: 7/10 UK, roughly May to September, nights above about 8 °C, sheltered pitches.
- Three-season hills: 7/10 UK hills in spring and autumn. Wind, rain, and nights near freezing.
- Winter camp: 4/10 UK winter or high ground. Below freezing, strong wind, possibly snow. Capped at 4: needs the maker's 4-season rating and wind 7+.
- Weight: 7/10 How much it adds to your pack, compared with the whole market.
One person who wants a roomy, light freestanding tent, or two people who don't mind a snug fit
- Pitches
- Inner first
- Freestanding
- Yes
- Walls
- Double
- Sleeps
- 2
- Seasons
- 3-season
- Min. weight
- 1.4 kg
- Flysheet
- 3,000 mm
Packed size 5.58 L, 42 cm long and 13 cm across Compare with a 2-litre bottle
About one and a half 2-litre bottles long and a bit wider than one. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
Alpkit £229.99 In stock. Free delivery. Kelp and River colours in stock, Chilli sold out. Free UK delivery over £60. Footprint sold separately.
View at shop: AlpkitPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Weight
From maker's figures 7/10How much it adds to your pack. This is the whole tent: two people sharing can split it. 7: Better than most.
Alpkit's minimum weight of 1.40 kg (no pegs or footprint) is in the 1.0–1.49 kg band; 1.75 kg all-in with 13 pegs and bags. Live for the Outdoors weighed 1.52 kg with pegs.
Rain protection
From maker's figures 8/10How well it keeps out heavy, long rain. 8: Clearly better than most.
Fly 3,000 mm is in the 3,000 mm+ band (the top band); floor is also 3,000 mm, so no deduction. Reviewers kept dry in prolonged rain, though T3 advises pulling the fly tight so water doesn't pool on it. The printed figure alone gives 8 at most: a 9 or 10 needs 3 reviews that say it stays dry in real storms.
Wind
From reviews 6/10How steady it stays in strong wind on open ground. 6: A bit better than average.
Reviewers disagree (2 to 4): Live for the Outdoors found the wedge shape shrugs off medium gusts with the foot end into the wind, T3 found high wind buffets the low end noisily and would not take it onto high exposed ground, and HeapsWellNice found it held but felt flexible in driving wind.
Reviewers disagree on this.
Space
Estimate from maker's specs: berths and tent shape (no floor area published) 5/10Room to lie, sit up and keep kit inside. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Estimate from maker's specs
Packed size
From maker's figures 7/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 7: Better than most.
Packs to 42 cm long x 13 cm across: 3.1416 x 6.5 x 6.5 x 42 = 5,575 cm³, so 5.6 L, in the 4–6.9 L band. Alpkit says 'the size of a 2 L bottle', which T3 calls an exaggeration.
What reviewers say (out of 10)
Ratings marked * are from reviews and are not part of the trip score. They are reviewers' scores, not our own measurements. How we score
Pitching*
Reviewers' average 7/10How quickly and easily one person can pitch it, including in wind and rain.
4 reviews on pitching, e.g. "can be pitched very quickly".
Condensation*
Reviewers' average 7/10How dry it stays inside on still, damp nights; higher is drier.
4 reviews on condensation, e.g. "Ventilation is also limited to one vent and the front door, so some condensation may build up".
In short
Good for
- One person who wants a roomy, light freestanding tent, or two people who don't mind a snug fit
- Wild campers and bikepackers on a budget who want a 3,000 mm fly at under 1.5 kg
- Spring to autumn UK trips in sheltered to moderately exposed spots
Strengths
- Freestanding on one hubbed pole, packs to 42 x 13 cm
- Can be pitched inner only on warm nights, or fly plus optional footprint for about 1.2 kg (Alpkit)
- Large mesh panels and a fly vent keep condensation low; the fly sits above the ground for airflow
- Kelp green colour is discreet for wild camping
- Comes with 13 pegs and a repair kit; Alpkit's 3-year Alpine Bond covers it
Weaknesses
- One door and one small porch: two people's packs and cooking won't both fit under cover
- Tapered floor (136 cm wide at the head, 105 cm at the foot) and sloping walls: only one person can sit up comfortably
- Pitches inner first, so the inner can get wet when pitching in rain
- Thin 20D floor needs the footprint (sold separately) on rough or wet ground; the porch has no groundsheet
- Reviewers disagree on wind: the low foot end can buffet and the structure flexes in driving wind, so pitch it foot end into the wind
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (7)
- Alpkit: Ordos 2 specifications
- The Great Outdoors: Alpkit Ordos 2 review (Chris Townsend's two-person tent test)
- T3: Alpkit Ordos 2 tent review
- Live for the Outdoors: Alpkit Ordos 2 backpacking tent, tested and reviewed
- HeapsWellNice (YouTube): Alpkit Ordos 2 two-person honest review after 1 year
- Cycling366 (YouTube): Alpkit Ordos 2 review, a better bikepacking tent?
- Singletrack World: Alpkit Ordos 2 tent review