French 3-person Alpine Dome Tent, Surplus

The French Army Alpine dome tent is designed to be used in extreme conditions. It provides shelter for a patrol of three soldiers and hits way higher quality-wise than any tent you can get for this price. Dome tents are a rarity in the world of army surplus: these are a one-off lot!

• Robust, high-quality tent for all seasons
• Two entrances with large vestibules
• Air intake and outlet for a heater

The materials and workmanship are first-grade and the design is honed for functionality in hard weather, whether it's cold and rainy or hot and windy.

The plum color is probably chosen to hide red wine stains.

Inner measurements 200 x 145 cm with a 105 cm height (6' 6" x 4' 9" and 41" respectively) and total weight 4.6 kg (10 lbs). The weight comes from the strong materials - these are not ultra-light civilian tents!

Features

To help up to three people operate in the confined space, the tent has side-entrances with roomy vestibules on both sides. Separate groundsheets are included to be placed in the vestibules. When fully pitched, the tent is octagon-shaped with a rectangular living space in the center.

The tent stands on its own supported by two aluminum main poles and a brow pole that increases the space with reasonable height. The inner tent is pitched first and can be used on its own in hot weather. Stakes and guylines are used to bring the flysheet to full shape and make it stormproof.

As a rather special feature, the inner tent has two passages and the flysheet has one that matches either of the inner ones. We gather these are for air intake and exhaust of a tent heater but have never actually seen a model small enough to be used in a tent-like this. More likely, you can wave a white flag through these without leaving your tent.

French army surplus

Used, but in good serviceable shape, sometimes even unissued.