Freespirit Recreation Aspen Pro Standard vs Latitude Tents Explorer

The Freespirit Recreation Aspen Pro Standard and the Latitude Tents Explorer are both hardshell tents in the same part of the market, which makes them a genuine head-to-head rather than a comparison across categories. Freespirit Recreation and Latitude Tents take noticeably different approaches to the same problem.

By the numbers, the Freespirit Recreation Aspen Pro Standard brings 60.8 kg, 2.39 m² of floor, 132.1 cm of headroom and sleeps 2. The Latitude Tents Explorer counters with 75 kg and sleeps 2.

The Aspen Pro Standard is 14.200000000000003 kg lighter at 60.8 kg against 75 kg, which on a factory roof rated for 68 to 75 kg is often the difference between a legal fit and a rack upgrade. Their list prices are within a few percent of each other, so price is unlikely to decide this one.

They open differently: the Aspen Pro Standard is a clamshell and the Explorer a pop-up. That is not cosmetic — it decides whether headroom is even across the tent or tapers towards one end, and how much of the roof the tent occupies when closed. The Aspen Pro Standard uses aluminum hardshell: extruded aluminum frame, polymer corners, honeycomb aluminum top; the Explorer uses aluminium hardshell. Canvas differs too: tri-Layer: polycotton fill between two layers of 210D ripstop against heavy-duty rip-stop poly-cotton with waterproof & UV-resistant coating (3000mm hydrostatic head).