Customer Reviews

Eureka! Tetragon 8 - Tent (sleeps 4)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have owned an 8 x 8 tent made by Eureka (Gander Mountain label) for about 8 years and it is an excellent tent. I also own a 7 x 8 tent made by Kelty which is also and excellent tent. I take great care of my tents as well. I bought this tent with great excitement, for two reasons: It was designed more like my Kelty tent, which I love, and because it had the Eureka name, which is considered to be a great name in tents.

After unboxing the tent, I set it up in no time at all. This tent sets up VERY EASY, just like my Kelty. After getting it set up and taking a closer look at the seams, etc., I discovered that there were about 2 inches of missing stitches along one of the seams. I accepted this as merely a mass-production flaw and I stitched it up. I REALLY wanted to keep this tent. The next day, I began examing the surface of the tent fabric a bit more and discovered a couple small holes that were obviously original holes (smooth edges). At this point I was becoming skeptical of whether this tent was REALLY any better than the cheap tents you can get at Walmart. I tried to ignore these flaws, becaust at this point, I still really wanted to keep this tent because of it's ease of set-up and it's great ventilation.

The next week I took this tent on our annual Canadian adventure into northern Ontario, to be used for interior kayak camping. It set up easily, It held up good in the rain, but not great, and everything went fairly well with it for 3 nights. At this point, I had planned on keeping it. Then, upon returning home,I unpacked it to dry it out more thoroughly, and I noticed that one of the metal ferrules had just fallen off the end of one of the fly rods. I was so disappointed, as I knew I could not justify keeping this tent.

It is my opinion, based on examining a LOT of tents, that this tent, as much as I want to say otherwise, is no better in quality than those that are half the price from Walmart or similar stores. From the crooked weak stitching, to the inferior fabric, to the horribly assembled rods, I saw no reason to pay twice as much as a similar tent.

Either Eureka quality has dramatically gone down over the years, or they are having their less expensive tents built by some inferior company, and selling them with the Eureka name. One thing is absolute, this tent was not near the quality of the one I bought years ago for about the same price, not even close. I am guessing that if I kept this tent, it wouldn't have lasted more than 2 years of regular camping. I returned it.

I would have given it 3 stars because that's what it is, and AVERAGE tent. However, because it cost twice as much as the same size AVERAGE tent from Walmart, I had to deduct 1 star. If you want an average tent that will perform just as good as this one, you can get one for half the price. If you want a high-quality tent for more money, look elsewhere. I wish I could recommend this tent but I cannot.

Very easy to set up. Can set it up in under 3 minutes. It replaced an Ozark Mountain from Wal-Mart. Though it costs a little more than the Wal-Mart tent, it is made much better, easier to set up, and works flawlessly.

The Wal-Mart tent, though cheaper, had problems with zippers getting stuck, and took much longer to set up and tear down and ultimately tore in the middle of a rainy campout due to he zipper.

I've used this tent three times and it appears very solid. Many people I camp with have earlier models of this tent that are 4 and 5 years old.

In the long run, you will save money, and have a better camping experience.

----------------Update 18 months later- October 30 2009 -------------------------

I love Eureka Tents. We have 8 tetragons that are 6-7 years old. I bought a new tent 18 months ago in 2007. It looked like the old ones with a key difference in that the new one was made in China.

On a campout this past two weeks ago, I had 100% total tent failure. The two poles suddenly snapped ripping a whole in the fly. The loops on top that hold the poles in ripped out and the tent collapsed.....at 3:00 am.

No wind, No weather.

I first threw the tent away..but then decided to send it back to Eureka to see if they would replace it.

--------------Update November 2, 2009 ------------------------

What an AWESOME company. No questions asked. I sent the tent back and they just called me that they are sending out a brand new tent to replace the one that failed!!!!!

What a great company!!! Lifetime guarantees rock!!!!! How can you NOT buy from these guys!!!

Used twice so far and love it. I ride a motorcycle and use the tent on weekend trips. The tent packs well on the motorcycle, sets up easy and is plenty big enough for two plus gear. The overhead loft has plenty of storage space and tucks up out of the way when not in use. The side pockets are convenient and can be placed on which ever wall you want. Extremely well vented, there was no condensation on the inside of the tent in the morning. This is my third Eureka tent, I have been pleased with all of them and only had one fail and it was 20 years old. I would highly recommend this tent.

This tent was recently (Sept/Oct 2008) used on a 17-day camping trip through Yellowstone and the Black Hills. It performed flawlessly. The zippers were never a problem, the tent set up very easily, and it dried out very quickly when it became wet with rain, dew, or frost. The interior stayed dry in a heavy rain. The ventilation was excellent. We set up/took down the tent 12 times during those 17 days, and no problems at all. We're truly happy with it and plan to use it often in the future.

I purchased the Eureka Tetragon 8 for a recent camping trip some buddies and I took at Myakka State Park in Florida. I did not get a chance to seal the seams before giving it a try. We arrived Friday evening after work and set up camp. This first thing I noticed was that this thing was an absolute breeze to set up without even reading the instructions, the second thing was disappointing, this is not a 4 person tent. By the time I inflated my twin size air-mattress and put the rest of my gear in the tent their would have been room for just 1 more person, but like most manufacturers they tend to exaggerate the amount of people you can comfortably fit. The fit and finish of the tent is top notch. Friday night it rained torrentially for many hours, and when I woke up in the morning the tent was dry! Everyone else had leaks in their tents and one buddies tent had about 1/2 inch water covering the bottom of his tent floor. I highly recommend this tent for 2 people and once again Amazon shipped it on time and in perfect condition.

I bought this tent to use during motorcycle touring. The packed size is a little long to allow it to be placed in the trunk of my 86 Goldwing but we take a trailer anyway. It is a good size for two large men with air mattresses and we have had three inside. It sets up easily but I found it necessary to upgrade on the tent stakes. The door is a simple zipper system that hasn't missed a beat, as long as you grab the zipper pull correctly, it easily navigates past the storm flap for the zipper across the bottom of the door. The pockets inside are adjustable to several locations and are very handy to keep track of items while you sleep. All of the mesh that is covered up by the rain fly is great for ventilation but doesn't retain much heat on cold nights. This is not a big deal as long as you plan accordingly with an appropriate sleeping bag. The extension over the door and window are a nice touch and I have observed no sign of the pole ripping through the pocket and I have used this tent for three years. My friend has a much larger tent, but we take this one because it is just that easy to set up, tear down and pack away. There are many models within the Tetragon series of Eureka tents, just select the size you need.

I purchased two of these tents for use by family while weekend camping at the river.
The tents went up easily and appeared to be of good quality. They would be good for light back packing or car camping. They are not meant for four season camping or in heavy weather. Well worth the money.

This tent is very simple to setup. Great design that eliminates the need to feed the support rods through sleeves in the tent, by providing easy clips that snap onto the rods with ease. One dislike is that the side mesh windows cannot be shaded off without the rain tarp. Most other tents you have zippered shades that can be opened and closed. They do provide this feature on teh front door.

This tent is very easy to set up and take down. When it arrived, my three children ages 8, 10, and 12 had it set up in a matter of minutes. Plenty of ventilation for warm three season camping. We tried it out on a 7th grade backpack trip and did fine. I would avoid very cold weather, though--due to the good ventilation.

The rainfly on the Tetragon 8 that I received was the problem. It has two shock corded short poles to hold the rainfly above the doorway, and above the rear window. By Day 2 of a 7 day camping trip, after a brief summer storm with slight wind, the poles had broken out of their little sleeves and torn small holes in the rainfly, causing the doorway overhang to fall over the door. The back window situation was a little better in that the poles didn't completely break through. That said, the tent did not leak, which is the only reason I'm even giving it a 2. The tent is useless to me now, and I will not make the mistake of purchasing another Eureka with such a flawed design. I am a veteran camper, and have other tents. I was hoping the Eureka, as a lightweight tent, would offer me a viable and economical alternative. It did NOT.