Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
The new Aper APEX1 is a modular, minimal tent that incorporates the bicycle as part of its structure to meet the unique demands of bikepacking. With a tiny one-liter pack size and a trail weight as low as 480 grams, there’s a lot to like. Learn more about the APEX1 Kickstarter campaign here…
Aper is a new Swiss outdoor brand founded by industrial designer Fabian Furrer. Fabian has over a decade of experience in the outdoor industry, including leading the equipment and footwear design team at Mammut Sports Group. He earned multiple design awards, including the Eurobike Award and ISPO Gold. Aper was founded because Fabian saw that modern backpacking tents, even those with shorter poles, didn’t take into account how bikepackers pack their gear. According to Fabian, “Aper is the first outdoor brand fully dedicated to providing cyclists with overnight equipment, with a focus on pack size, compressibility, repairability, and modular use.”
Aper claims its flagship product, the APEX1, was explicitly designed for bike travel and field tested over several years. The APEX1. Testers include Alexander Kopp (9th-place finish at the 2025 SRMR), Transcontinental Race finisher Andrea Guidugli, and Danny Lane, the former Design and Production Lead at Restrap.
The tent’s main differentiator is the fact that it utilizes the bicycle as part of the tent structure, allowing an efficient use of fabric that reduces the overall pack size and weight. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a bike-supported tent, but it’s definitely one of the most unique designs. The tent uses a single vertical pole on the entrance-side, and the cockpit of the bike acts as a secondary pole, with a guyline running over the bike and down to the ground. The modular design allows it to be set up fly-only, as a fly and groundsheet, or a as a complete bug-proof system with an integrated bathtub floor and bug net inner.
Aper claims no other single-pole tent on the market packs down this small while offering this much space and that it packs down to the size of a 1-liter bottle and has over 2m² of usable interior space. The exterior is made from double-sided, silicone-coated nylon, and the outside shell fabric is undyed to reduce the CO2 footprint. The waterproof seams are stitched using a specially impregnated thread which requires no glue or seam taping. This keeps the product repairable over time using simple sewing tools.
The APEX1 has a single outer zipperless doorway with a fabric overlap and spacious vestibule, there’s a peak vent over the doorway, and the optional inner tent has a large rainbow zipper to make entry/exit easier. The tent requires six stakes for a proper setup, but can use seven in windy conditions. The complete setup, including the tent, poles, pegs, and guy lines, weighs ~480 grams (outer shell only) or ~790 grams (full double-wall setup).
Without the inner, the interior peak height tops out at 140cm (55″), tapering down to 90cm (35″) on the bike side. With the inner installed, the max height is 119.5cm (47″). The floor on the inner tent is 75cm (30″) wide by 220cm (87″) long, leaving plenty of room for rectangular sleeping pads and tall users. There’s even more room without the inner tent. The poles, when collapsed, are just 32.5cm (12.7″) long, which is in line with the bikepacking tents from MSR and Big Agnes.
The Aper APEX1 is available for pre-order via Kickstarter today. Early-bird pricing (25% off MSRP) will start at 420 Swiss francs (~$530 USD). A limited pre-launch group has already secured 100 early supporter spots. The first production run is scheduled for November 2025, with first deliveries expected in early 2026.
Head over to Kickstarter.com to learn more and support the campaign.
Further Reading
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