Adventuridge 2 Person Pop-Up Tent

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My family has gone tent camping most summers over the last decade and a half. We cut our teeth on loaner tents before getting bigger ones of our own to accommodate our growing family. Our current tent, an 18 x 10 instant tent, has been a summer staple for the last several years.

On the other end of the spectrum, we like to keep a small tent on hand, too. More than twenty years ago, before I got married, I bought a simple 7 x 7 tent from Kmart for summer camping. I replaced that tent in 2017 with Aldi’s Adventuridge 9 x 7 Dome Tent, which I used a number of times both by myself and for a few occasions when my youngest daughter asked to go camping. Just this summer, I retired that tent in favor of a newer — and better ventilated — Coleman 9 x 7 model.

For years, I’ve walked past another tent in the Aldi middle aisle, a pop-up model. Each time, I passed on getting it, and for any number of reasons. However, this spring, after walking by it yet again, I finally decided it was time to grab one and see how it compares to other smaller tents.

The Adventuridge 2 Person Pop-Up Tent (Product Code: 834404) is an Aldi Find. It’s only in stores for a short time, and once it’s sold out, you won’t be able to get it again until it comes back. This has been an annual Aldi product for years, so we would expect it to return next year if you can’t find it now. Unfortunately, you can’t order it online, so if it’s sold out, you’re out of luck.

At the time of this post, Aldi sold the tent for $29.99. That’s lower than almost any other pop-up tent we can find online. The price on this Aldi tent has stayed at that price point going back to 2019.

Most Aldi tents are made by Wenzel, but not this one. I can’t find any information about the manufacturer in the packaging, other than a disclaimer on the back of the manual that says the tent was made in Bangladesh.

Detailed Specs:

Aldi laid out a number of details in its weekly ad about the tent. Here’s what the grocer had to say.

• Features:
  • Ventilation openings on back and sides of outer tent for air circulation and condensation reduction.
  • Dimensions: 94.50 x 61.02 x 41.34 inches (7.9 x 5.7 x 3.4 feet)
  • Fits a standard 2-person air bed
• Materials:
  • Outer tent: 100% Polyester / Taffeta 190T, 68D PU/WR 2000mm
  • Inner tent: 100% Polyester / Taffeta 190T, 68D BR/WR
  • Floor: PE sheet 72″ 120g/M2 NFR; Water column 1500 mm
  • Ropes: PP string 3.5mm 5pcs
  • Pegs: steel pegs, 3.5mm x 7″” (9pcs)
  • Frame: FRP pole 5mm (roof part) & 4mm (floor part), black color
  • Bag: 100% Polyester, Taffeta 190T 68D, PU/WR 600mm
  • Ventilation window: poly-mesh, 68D 60″, 42gsm, outer tent ventilation / inner tent

Inside the Bag:

The tent comes with the following:

• 1 pop-up tent
• 3 tensioning ropes
• 9 steel pegs
• 1 carry bag
• 1 manual

One thing it does not come with is a warranty, which is different from most other Aldi tents we’ve seen over the years. There is also no after-sales support.

My first impression pulling it out of the bag is that it reminded me some of the Crane Pop-Up Sun Shelter. It’s packed into a stack of circles that pops open once it’s put out. To pack, you have to put it back into a stack of circles.

To assemble, you first remove the tent from the bag, then unstrap the band that holds the circles in place. It will then start to pop open. The instructions made it sound like I could just throw it in the air and it would magically fly open into a tent, but in my experience it only came about half open and I had to tug on things to get it all the way open. Part of the reason may be that there are two stabilizing bands on the bottom of the tent and I had to maneuver those a little bit to get the tent open.

Once I had everything unfurled, I noted that this tent is really two pieces: the internal tent and the covering fly. The walls of the internal tent are an almost translucent fabric that lets some light in and also some ventilation. The fly is a thicker, more opaque surface that covers most of the internal tent except for some visible light at the bottom of the tent and a small vent port at the top of the back. The net effect is that you’ll see light streaming in from the bottom edges of the tent and more darkness above that.

The door, likewise, is really two doors. The inner door is part of the internal tent and has an almost-translucent fabric like the walls of the internal tent along with a screen on the upper third or so of the door. The outer door is more solid like the rest of the fly. Most campers would probably close the inner door if they needed ventilation and both the inner and outer door if inclement weather was a problem. The door zippers are a little fussy, albeit not much more than many other tents that I’ve used.

The stakes are the modest metal ones that seem to come with most tents.

We had some other observations. One, this thing is fairly dark when it’s all sealed up. It’s not pitch black, but it does a good job of keeping the sun out, something most of my tents don’t do all that well.

Two there is a small storage pouch on the inside of the tent. It’s meager, but it’s there.

Three, airflow is adequate. The two ventilation points at the front and back offer a little breeze. That airflow is obviously less when the fly door is zipped up. I’ve had better airflow in tents, but I’ve also had worse.

Three, this is a one-person tent. I’ve learned over the years that the person capacities listed on tents are generous — as in, they work if you pack campers in like sardines — and this tent is true to form. You might be able to pack in two people in this tent, but it would be cramped.

What’s more, while the tent is nearly 8 feet long and more than 5 1/2 feet wide, the sloped nature of the tent means your actual space inside is going to be less. My wife and I are in the mid-to-upper five feet range, and for both of us it’s impossible to lay straight in this tent without either head or toe touching the wall or door, especially if you’re sleeping with a sleeping bag or blankets that will stick out more. I know from experience that touching the walls can lead to seepage through the walls if there’s rain or heavy dew, so keep that in mind. If you’re six feet tall, this is likely not the tent for you.

Packing it Up:

Having written about — and fought with — the Crane tube and dome pop-up sun shelters, I’ve learned that putting a pop-up shelter away is considerably more aggravating than taking it out. It’s not a coincidence that by far our most popular video on YouTube is how to put away the Crane dome shelter, and the Crane tube shelter (which is even harder) also has a number of views.

Putting this tent away is tricky, and the instructions, while technically correct, are vague on a few of the key points and don’t have great illustrations. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered with both a video and some step-by-step instructions. Keep in mind that you’ll need the tent unstaked and the door sealed up before you begin.

1.  Grab the two ends of the tent and pull them together so you’re holding two poles in each hand, forming a very rough cylinder. Take note of the location of a stretch band trailing off the end of the back of the tent; you’ll need it later. Now, while holding two poles in each hand, fold one set over the other, creating a single large disc.
2. Stand up with the disc perpendicular to the ground. Find the stretch band from earlier, and make sure it’s facing toward the ground. You’ll know you’ve done it right when the exposed poles are at the top of the disc, in your hand. Be careful not to confuse the stretch band, which is a loop, with the two bands that connect the bottom of the tent.
3. Now, using your right hand, lever the right side of the disc down toward the ground, almost as if you were pushing forward on a throttle stick. If you are doing this correctly, you’ll start to see your big disc turn into something of a figure eight. With your left hand, pull the left side over the right. It will turn into two small discs that fold over one another.
4. Find the strap and pull it over the compressed tent, then slip it back into the bag. I find sometimes the tent can fly back open at this point (as you’ll see in the video), so be careful. Also, you may have to push some air out of the tent as you put it back in the bag.

If you did everything correctly, it should fit neatly back into the bag.

The Verdict:

The Adventuridge 2 Person Pop-Up Tent is a different approach to a tent, and those differences are both good and not-so-good. On the positive side, it opens quickly for the most part and — once you get the hang of it — can be set up, including stakes, in just a few minutes. It’s fairly dark inside and has decent ventilation. It’s also flat when packed up, making it portable.

However, it’s got its drawbacks. It’s no surprise that it’s cramped for two people, but even for one it’s a little tight, especially if you’re taller. There’s a learning curve to setup and a bigger learning curve to taking it down. I’m also disappointed that there is no warranty like you see with other Aldi tents — with as much bending of the poles that setup and takedown requires, some peace of mind would be nice.

In my view, I’d probably opt for a dome style tent over this one. Dome styles set up fairly easy, are usually decently ventilated, and are generally easier to tear down. Dome styles also pack into smaller brick-shaped packing that we think is more compact than this pop-up disc. Other campers may see it differently, though, and if a pop-up is your thing, this might be in your ballpark.