Favorite Tent(s)

[Owl62]

I was just wondering what your favorite tent(s) is/are?

 

As for me:

 

Eureka Get-A-Way 2 for the little backpacking I do and ocassionally for one nighters. I bought it for Wood Badge and Powderhorn to replace a decades old Camel backpacking tent (similar to the Eureka Timberline 2 man tents).

 

Coleman Sundome for regular camping. I have two sizes: 7X7 and 9X7 and select the one most appropriate for the event. The are the olive green and buff colored versions.

 

Coleman Outdoorsman for longer term camping. This is an "A" frame tent that is 10X8 and makes a great summer camp tent. It is forest green and white. This tent has a unique pole system that is all shockcorded together. All you have to do is lay it out on the staked down tent, slide the pole sections together to form the A frame, pull the tent up and clip it to the poles and throw the rain fly over it and attach it. Can be set up by one person is a very short time.

 

For my wife and daughter who are also involved in Scouting I bought them a smaller Coleman Outdoorsman that is 9X7. Same type pole system as the larger version. It is tan and white.

 

I use 6mil plastic sheeting ground tarps under all my tents to protect the tent floor.

 

 

 

 

[anarchist]

Troop Tent wise, since I don't hike anymore (can't keep up with the guys after they cut a lung loose) we are using Eureka Timberline 2XT's (21 of them) and Timberline 4XT's. (8 of these)

 

For hikes the scouts can use their own tents or 'break up' a 2-XT tent (tent body with one scout poles, fly and ground cloth with his buddy)... Usually, our scouts use troop tents, they now love looking like a unit.

We also use 6mil plastic as ground cloths and on hikes we encourage the 'ground cloth' be installed inside the tent not under it. When 'wet sleeping bags' are a true potential 'long term' problem I find the waterproof plastic is better acting as a 'boat' (tucked up the side walls of the tent a bit)at preventing water from oozing up from the floors... or down the sidewall seams...and it seems to work really well.

 

When I hiked, I used a tarp (first canvas then high tech nylon), a ground cloth and a mesquito net...Now most of my travel camping is by Canoe and I use my own Timberline 4XT... (sometimes I even allow another Scouter to share it (though my snoring is said to keep the bears away)

 

We have found that with proper scout training (in set-up and take-down and using both hands to work zippers) and good QM-troop care (not allowing wet tents to be 'turned in'), these tents are good for many years. We have also found Eureka very good about standing behind their product if there is a problem. And having a 'uniform tent style allows for keeping on hand readily usable spare parts as well as the ability to canibalizing tents in an 'emergency'. No doubt there are probably better tents out there (?) but we think our 'system' works!

anarchist

[Its Me]

We have three active tents. The Kelty Mantra Five (five man), a Eureka Tetragon 8 (four man) and a really large Target tent sold under the Great Outdoors label (10 man). For room that target tent is great. For light weight that Tetragon by eureka is great, its 9 lbs and has slept my entire family of five (three children under 12). But for foul weather the Kelty Mantra is the best. The large rain fly on the Mantra covers the entire tent and takes the water some 2 feet away from the base of the tent. A six hour rain, at the 4000 elevation on the Appalachian trail and not a drop in the Kelty Mantra tent. The target tent is good and has held up to some strong winds but a good soaking rain at a cub campout put about 2 pints of water in our tent.

 

 

(This message has been edited by Its Me)

[kenk]

I'm a big big fan of Eureka tents.

 

For most camping I tent toward the 4 person tents rather than the 2 person tents. A 2 person tent just doesn't have much room for gear. I'd probably put 2-3 boys in a 4 person tent.

 

I had a hybrid version of the 4-person Timberline (it was called an Aurora and had fiberglass poles that pushed the sides out for more room) for the last 15+ years and loved it. These days the fly's coating is starting to age and has gotten sticky.

 

I recently purchased a 4-person Eureka Assault Outfitter, which is relatively new. It is a commericalized version of the tent that Eureka makes for the U.S. Marine Corps. You can read about it at http://www.eurekacamping.com/assaout.asp

 

I really like the tent. It is ROCK SOLID and very weatherproof. At $250 it is a fantastic value for a sturdy four season dome tent. It is about the same price, height, floor area, and weight as the Timberline Outfitter.

 

For Scouts it has a few issues:

1. The aluminum poles are very long and therefore it seems more prone to damage than the Timberline.

2. It is somewhat more complicated to setup than a Timberline, since you have to insert three poles and "lift" to the dome shape. It would be the same with any dome tent.

3. There is no "fly" covering the doorway, so when entering tent in rain, some will get into tent. I wish they'd made the front door lift up to create a sort of fly effect. Most dome tents will have this same issue. The vertical nature of the Timberline helps prevent rain from entering the door.

 

I find I keep coming back to the Eureka Timberline Outfitter for Scouts. It is easy to setup, tough as nails, and will stay very dry in the rain.

 

Another very high potential that I think is relatively new is the Eureka Backcountry Outfitter, which is similar in size, an external framed (clips to external frame) 2-aluminum pole dome tent that runs for about $200. It seems the EXO clips would overcome the setup complexity of the dome tents. It also allows the tent and fly to be clipped at the same time, making setup very fast. It has a small fly over the opening that should help keep rain out of the door when entering.

 

All of this is for car/trailer camping. Backpacking is a whole 'nother issue.

[Twocubdad]

It's not like I've done an extensive study of various tent, but I have two and are very happy with both.

 

One is a six-man Coleman I bought 3-4 years ago for $100 when my boys joined Cubs. It's plenty roomy for the three of us plus gear. Both boys sleep like Tasmanian Devils, so I like to throw the two of them in the mosh pit at one end of the tent with all the gear between them and me. The thing I like most about this one is that the waterproof flooring material extends up the sides of the tent 6-8 inches. We've camped in it in driving rains and stayed completely dry. Of course it weighs a ton.

 

My other tent is a two-man Eureka Alpine Meadows II. I use it when I'm sleeping alone. It was an expensive, state-of-the-art tent when I got it 20+ years ago. It has an external A-frame which takes some practice to set up quickly. I like all the clips and pockets on the inside which are very convenient. I recently refurbished it with a new set of poles (Eureka still sells them), resealing the seams and waterproofing the floor and fly. A little mildew on the fly, but 20 years later it's still a great tent.

[packsaddle]

Unless I'm fairly sure it's going to rain I don't use a tent, just a ground cloth. When I do, I prefer the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight CD tent, gives me room for my daughter as well.

 

Twocubdad, how did you waterproof the old floor and how well does it work? I also have a favorite old standby and the coating is long gone. My conservative nature doesn't want to retire it.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[John D]

Just got new Eureka Timberline Outfitter 4 tents, noticed they're made in China. Quality's great, I'm glad I don't work in an industry that competes with the Chinese.

[anarchist]

Packsaddle

 

if you don't mind me jumping in several water proofing products (water based polyureathanes are sold by good outfitters. If the old tent has peeling material be sure to coat the otherside...not the side with the peeling material (iusually old polymers of varying types) if it is the floor that sould not be a big appearance problem...

 

A better solution (from my experience) is not to worry about the floor...make a 'ground cloth' from 6 mil Poly and cut so it slopes up about 4-6 inches up th walls and place it INSIDE the tent...no seams, four pieces of duct tape can be used to pull the corners tighter and make a solid 'bathtub', absolutely water proof and does better than any chemical you can put on nylon...give it a try...if you want to keep the floor 'underside' clean, you can use an old sheet, really(it lets water 'perc' through - not up) or another sheet of 6 mil.

 

my 2 cents

anarchist

ps... was not my 'original' idea..got this out of a book 10-12 years ago...one of the best 'bad weather tips I ever got!

[packsaddle]

Anarchist, thanks for the ideas. I like the plastic sheet idea and you're right about appearances being unimportant. The rain fly lost its coating years ago but rather than buy the material and sew another, I'd try recoating if there's a good chance of success. It's an old REI expedition tent and my attachment is more sentimental than anything. What am I saying, it is still a fine design.

[John D]

RE Timberline Outfitter 4, this has been my family's home in Europe the last 2 summers. The 5 of us (3 teenagers) rode bikes thru the Loire valley 2 years ago and hiked thru northern Italy last year, each time for a month, with this tent. We use the annex for gear, makes it roomier, and on rainy days set up a separate fly to cover packs or bikes. It's a heavy beast but it never failed us. Saved a heck of a lot of hotel bills.

[hastingr]

All of my scout camping, thus far, has been within a stone's throw of the vehicles. My son just turned twelve, and I haven't had the opportunity to go High Adventure yet... I look forward to it though.

 

When my son got old enough and I dragged him into Scouts, I got myself a new tent, since I had shredded the tent (a first year Flashlight) I had used as a scout about 7 years ago.

 

I purchased the Sierra Designs Gamma at

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/tentdetail.cfm/SD1026

 

The price was reasonable and it has pretty good amount of room. I can easily sit up and move around in it. I'm a good 40 lbs over heft, so I don't contort well anymore (gonna have to lose it, I know) so space was important to me. I wanted to be able to sit up, change clothes and get my gear in the tent. The Gamma does all these things admirably well, and it is easy to set up. It is light enough to be a decent backpacking tent, about 5 lbs 5 oz.

 

On our scouting campouts, I sleep alone, as do all the adults.

 

For my son, he wanted the lightweight and got the Sierra Designs flashlight, which was the tent I had purchased in the waning years of my scouting, maybe in '80 or so.

 

It is very lightweight, and can sleep 2, and is very easy to set up.