Wechsel
Wechsel Pioneer
Best use
- Made for
- Backpacking and wild camping
- Not for
- Winter mountain
Why these labels
- 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: 6/10 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.
- Weight: 4/10 How much it adds to your pack, compared with the whole market.
Two campers who want a roomy tunnel tent with a side door and a porch each
- Pitches
- Outer first
- Walls
- Double
- Vents
- 4
- Sleeps
- 2
- Seasons
- 3-season
- Min. weight
- 2.1 kg
- Flysheet
- 3,000 mm
- Inner length
- 235 cm
Packed size 9.05 L, 45 cm long and 16 cm across Compare with a 2-litre bottle
About one and a half 2-litre bottles long and about one and a half times as wide. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
Alpinetrek £547.36 In stock. Free delivery. Free UK delivery from £85. Delivery 5-7 working days.
View at shop: AlpinetrekPrices 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 4/10How much it adds to your pack. This is the whole tent: two people sharing can split it. 4: A bit below average.
Wechsel lists a weight of 2,100 g and no separate trail weight. OUTDOOR magazine says the 2,100 g includes the bag and all 14 pegs and Alpinetrek's answer to a customer says poles and pegs too, so the bare tent is lighter; we band the published figure, as for any tent with no minimum weight: the 2.0-2.69 kg band.
Rain protection
From maker's figures 8/10How well it keeps out heavy, long rain. 8: Clearly better than most.
Wechsel gives a 3,000 mm fly and a 5,000 mm floor with taped seams. The fly is in the 3,000 mm+ band and the floor is over 2,000 mm, so nothing is taken off. The printed figure alone gives 8 at most: a 9 or 10 needs 3 reviews that say it stays dry in real storms.
Wind
Estimate: only 1 review about wind (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 8/10How steady it stays in strong wind on open ground. 8: Clearly better than most.
Not enough evidence: OUTDOOR magazine's 2024 long test of the same tent (called Pioneer Zero-G there) is the only independent hands-on source for it (its 2021 test is the same outlet and counts with it once). A first-pitch video by one UK camper is not a test, and Alpinetrek's 3 customer reviews are too few. OUTDOOR says it holds in wind if all six guylines are pulled tight (one source, 4). Wechsel states no wind rating.
Space
From maker's figures 7/10Room to lie, sit up and keep kit inside. 7: Better than most.
Wechsel's drawing shows an inner 235 cm long and 125 cm wide: 2.35 x 1.25 = 2.94 m2, so 1.47 m2 each, in the 1.35-1.59 band. The inner is a plain rectangle that doesn't taper at the foot.
Packed size
From maker's figures 5/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Packs to 45 cm long x 16 cm across: 3.1416 x 8 x 8 x 45 = 9,048 cm3, so 9.05 L, in the 7-9.9 L band.
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*
Estimate: only 2 reviews about pitching (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 7/10How quickly and easily one person can pitch it, including in wind and rain.
2 reviews on pitching, e.g. "Door de brede kopse kanten is de Pioneer soms iets lastiger in één keer goed op te zetten.".
Durability*
Estimate: only 1 review about durability (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 8/10How well the fabric, poles, zips and seams hold up over seasons of use.
1 review on durability, e.g. "hochwertigen, enorm reißfesten Außenstoff aus mehrfach silikonbeschichtetem Nylon".
In short
Good for
- Two campers who want a roomy tunnel tent with a side door and a porch each
- Tall sleepers: 235 cm inner length
- Three-season trips in the UK where quick pitching and low weight both matter
Strengths
- Two side doors, each with its own 55 cm deep porch (Wechsel drawing), so nobody climbs over the other
- Inner 235 x 125 cm and 105 cm high; a plain rectangle, so two mats fit to the foot end
- 2,100 g including the bag and all 14 pegs (OUTDOOR)
- Fly 3,000 mm and floor 5,000 mm HH with taped floor seams; the silicone fly barely stretches when wet
- Inner can stay clipped to the fly for one-piece pitching
- Rated 'very good' by OUTDOOR magazine in 2021 and praised again in its 2024 three-month test
Weaknesses
- Not freestanding: it needs pegs, with six guylines pulled tight for wind (OUTDOOR)
- OUTDOOR found the fly zips often snag
- 20D fabrics are light and suit fair-weather three-season use; Wechsel states no wind rating
- Wechsel doesn't publish a trail weight, so the 2,100 g is the total
- Not PFC-free (Wechsel marks it 'no (C6)')
- Shops list it as three seasons; Wechsel's page gives no season rating, so that is our assumption
- Inner size taken from Wechsel's dimension drawing, not a stated area
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (6)
- Wechsel Tents: Pioneer (specifications and dimension drawing: inner 235 x 125 cm)
- Alpinetrek: Wechsel Pioneer (3,000 mm fly, 5,000 mm floor, 2,100 g packed, 3 customer reviews)
- OUTDOOR magazine (Germany): Wechsel Pioneer Test, Pioneer Zero-G after three months (praised pitching, space and weather protection; zips snag)
- OUTDOOR magazine (Germany): Trekking-Zelte im Test, Wechsel Pioneer 2 (rated 'very good'; same outlet, counted once)
- Hiking-site.nl - Materiaalbespreking: Wechsel Pioneer tent (Huib van der Wal)
- Scott Thompson (YouTube): First pitch of the Wechsel Pioneer 2. Side entry tunnel tent.