Customer Reviews

Eureka! Tetragon 5 - Tent (sleeps 2)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For the price, I figured this was the dirt tent.

I was wrong...When I opened this tent, I water proofed it first thing. Sealed the seams and the fly. Left it outside and of course, we got a healthy DUMPING of rain! It wasn't intentional but as it turned out, it was the ultimate test. This tent does not have high marks for water resistant but let me tell you that after sealing it, it DOES! Like all other EUREKA tents, this one has the "bathtub" bottom which means they designed it to stay dry by engineering the material to have little seams AT the bottom. Instead they are sewn 3-4 inches above the ground line which creates a lip that keeps the whole bottom dry. You have to step over it to get in but ... who cares! Once sealed, this tent hits a home run!

So now the durability test: The kids played in the tent for three days. I have two boys that know how to test stuff, believe me! Little did I know that they were playing ball with the dog and were tossing the ball inside the tent. I was horrified to watch the dog jumping in and out of the tent. Oh, the dog tried to jump through the screen as well! AUUGHH...but the tent not only survived, it came out unscathed. The fabric is VERY tough and took a beating with no scratches!

The tent was easily packed into a hiking backpack and is very lightweight. The room inside is terrific and you CAN share it with two full adults if you HAD to. I don't recommend it unless you really LIKE that other adult. he he...

Overall, this tent rocks. My only thing is that between the tent price and the shipping, I paid too much for it. :( ($60)

It was on sale at our local *grocery store* for much less!

*DOH*

So Amazon is great and you get good research but sometimes it doesn't hurt to look locally once you are finished because the vendors charge WAY to much for shipping and thats disappointing. This does not take away from the tent itself though. This tent is the best backpacking tent I've had bar none.

I have used this tent on four backpacking trips and it is awesome for the money. It is 1) lightweight 2) very fast to set up 3) very sturdy in moderately high winds 4) reliable zipper, etc. 5) strong poles

When alone I can fit my entire backpack and my 6'1" self easily inside (if taller than this you'll need to sleep diagonally). The gear loft overhead is nice, and you can sit up for changing clothes. Have shared it with another person on one winter packpack trip (recently in Shenendoah Nat Park) and there was plenty of room for sleeping for two without being on top of each other. I've been rained on only once, slightly, and it kept me dry. On one backpack trip with 11 people to Mount Mitchell, mine seemed to be the only tent that didn't have condensation all over the top of it in the early AM.

I do recommend buying some of the inexpensive aluminum pole stakes at REI or similar, to replace the metal ones it comes with, if you want to save a few ounces more weight.

Overall outstanding value.

I've had this tent for a little over a year now, and have taken it out camping about 8 times so far. With the exception of one trip we've gotten rained on every single time. The last time we went we were out in the open (on the beach) with 20-30 mph winds and heavy rains for most of the night. I've never done any additional waterproofing and I have never gotten wet in this tent. It sets up easy, even in the dark, and easily fits 2 adults and their essentials (change of clothes, water, etc). A good tip for setting this tent up is to make sure its set up with one of the sides facing into the wind, because if it rains the fly will offer the most protection that way. One thing I would like would be a little more privacy when the rain fly was off, but overall I have enjoyed this tent. It has kept me warm and dry from March-November in Pennsylvania.

After shopping for a light weight tent for a backpacking trip for my son, I thought I'd have to pay big bucks to get one. Most of the inexpensive ones were pretty heavy in weight. I saw this one and picked it up. It's nearly as light as the really costly ones, but at a fraction of the price.

It set up easily and kept us nice and warm for our week long trip. Great tent for the money. I was very pleased.

Amendment: Another week long trip, this one rainy and windy at times. The tent held up great and did not leak at all. We did treat the rain fly with a water repellent

The person complaining that rain was getting them wet because the wind was blowing it in, had made a tenderfoot mistake in setting up the tent. One should always angle the tent so that the wind hits it from the side where the rain fly is close to the ground. The wind cannot catch it and the rain will not blow in. Even the most expensive tent will allow rain in if not set up properly. We're talking tents here not condos. No tent is completely rain proof.

My sister and I went camping this week, and we took a huuuuge tent with us, which we quickly grew irritated with; it just took too long to set up, and we'd planned to set it up and tear it down each day. So on the second day of our trip, we went to the store and bought this Eureka tent. It's 7x5' and it uses clips instead of channels to attach the tent to the poles, so we thought it'd be perfect. We brought it to our site and set it up in no time, and when the time was right, we went to sleep. When we woke up, we were WET! Everything near the perimeter of the tent was wet. It was awful. The cloth itself is not waterproof, so it lets water through, and then, later, since the cloth has absorbed water, it's still wet when you're trying to put the tent away. The fly doesn't zip over the door, so the rain can (and will) blow in there and seep through the zipper. We had to go buy a plastic painting dropcloth and stake it out over the tent so we wouldn't wake up rained on again. I'm really surprised at all of the 4- and 5-star reviews for this, because we were really unhappy.

Before it started raining, we thought this was a great tent with a couple of shortcomings--cheesy poles and blousy fabric near our heads--which are to be expected at the price we paid! So I guess if you're in a dry climate (we're in Oregon), it's probably a good buy. I'm giving this tent 2 stars, though, because the packaging says "STORMSHIELD" all over it, which is ridiculous. But for a predictably dry climate, I'd give this tent four stars.

Just want to mention again that the tent leaked through the FABRIC, not just the seams or around the zips, so we'd have to have waterproofed the whole thing, not just the seams, to keep it from leaking.

To be fair to Eureka, it's possible that the tent we received was defective.

We replaced it with a Coleman Sundome, which kept us dry. We put up the Eureka properly, but if you find that hard to believe, then I will condescend to endorse the Coleman Sundome as a tent that will keep you dry even if you are incapable of putting up a tent properly.

The tent is quick and simple to set up, using just two main poles and clip (rather than sleeves). The pole ends stay fixed easily and confidently with pins, allowing for single-person setup. The floor is rectangular and nicely accomodates two tall adults with enough room for self-inflating sleeping pads. Three removable/relocateable cargo pockets make storage of small items very convenient. Very airy design prevents condensation. Rain fly fits snugly and small poles extend cover beyond doorway and rear window, eliminating entry of precipitation or noise of tent fabric flapping. A modest vestibule will keep a pack and boots dry and out of the way. Only (minor) downside is single door on side of tent means that the occupant at the back has to step over their partner to get in/out. Tent is less than 6 pounds. Nice, mild light green in color rather than gaudy, unnatural color scheme. Rain fly requires use of two stakes for full vestibulecoverage.

Bought this tent to go hiking on the AT in NC. For the money, I am not sure you can beat this tent. I have not used it live action yet, but setting up in the garage, here are my opinions-

1) Zippers and windows all zipped open and closed with no snags- nice extensions of cloth to cover the bottom zipper edge from rain, nice touch
2) Without the rainfly, great airy tent with wonderful views, if I can, I would camp without it in good weather. The rain fly seems very good, really covers the rest of the tent and I get the impression this thing would shed water pretty nicely
3) Fit and finish seemed very good- Materials seem strong, floor seems a little thinner than what I usually expect, so I will definitely be using a floor protector underneath. Nice touches are the extra gear bags and the loft area in the top of the tent. Size of the tent seems good for two people, roomy for one. Weight is excellent for backpacking. Regardless of the quality of the tent, I recommend sealing it anyways.

I purchased this tent for times when I am solo camping. I'm 6'6" and needed something that I could stretch out in. This tent worked well, although I won't be inviting company in, unless they are small and friendly. For someone my size, it's definitely a solo tent.

I had occasion to spend a week out camping just after the tent arrived, several days each in Joshua Tree and Death Valley.

Setting it up the first day at Joshua Tree was complicated by the howling windstorm gusting around me, but I followed the suggestion in the instruction sheet that I stake down one corner before trying to set up the poles and found that I had little trouble getting it up and in place even though I was on my own. In spite of continuing gusts of wind throughout the trip, there were no problems with it staying where I put it.

I was plenty warm on cold nights and the tent breathed well through its venting system so I never had condensation problems and it didn't get too hot even when it was still 90+ degrees (F) outside.

Other than a very brief sprinkle of rain (in Death Valley, strangely enough) I didn't have water to contend with, though the rain fly seemed resistant enough and all major ground seams are factory taped.

So why only four stars? Two reasons:
1) The stakes that come with the tent are feeble and completely unsuited to hard, rocky ground. Not a big problem at Joshua Tree, where I was in fairly sandy soil, but the baked caliche of Death Valley was pretty nearly impervious. I destroyed two stakes, curved two others, and only put the remaining pegs in a couple of inches. I have purchased a set of good steel stakes (less than $3 for a set of 4) to replace these.

2) The vestibule flaps might be a blessing in the rain, but in the wind they can be a problem. In one case a strong gust actually caught one flap in such a way that it was able to pull the stake from the ground and send it a dozen feet away. I solved this by coiling the flap inward under the rest of the fly and clipping it to the corner with the rainfly's attachment. Even loose, the flap wouldn't have kept the rainfly from working as it should, but it was annoying. If they had added some way to roll these flaps back and tie them down I'd have been happier.

Overall, I think this was a good purchase, well worth what I paid, and I expect to get several years of heavy use out of it.

I purchased this for use during a four day bike/hike/camping trip in False Cape State Park located in Virginia. I was a little worried because some people were complaining that this tent needed to be water sealed before use in a heavy rain environment but I didn't have the time to do this before leaving so I took a chance. Well I was very pleased with the results. It rained solid for two days and ridiculously hard for hours on end and everything was kept 100% dry not a leak in sight. While it isn't the smallest tent for backpacking I'm a pretty big guy and like having my space but I'm very confident I could squeeze in a camping buddy or gal ;) without feeling cramped. I recommend removing the tent from it's storage bag and folding it over at least once more then packing the poles separately (I carried mine on a bike rack attached to the back of my bike). My tent became known as a traveling Hilton compared to my friends Motel 8 :) (He had a Eureka Solitaire). I can't wait to use it more in the near future. I 100% positively recommend this product.

Trotted out for a 5 month trek of the Philippines with this tent as my primary sleeping arrangement. After sealing the seams (a must unless you want to get wet) it works like a dream. Quick to set up, stable, and roomy. I'm 6 feet tall and was able to stretch out as much as I wanted. Had room for me and my pack with room to spare. Easy to take down as well. Has zippered windows to let air in and little clips spotted around to hang various things. 5 stars all around.

It is hot is the Phils. Without a breeze and i did wake up sweating sometimes. Not an issue when my 80 degree morning dip is 20 feet away, but something to consider.