Customer Reviews

Eureka! Tetragon 9 - Tent (sleeps 4-5)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I shopped for months before I bought this tent, and I have few regrets. Our first outing, the overnight thunderstorm and winds were epic in their proportions: 2 inches of rain blew through the forest within 3 hrs. Here in Florida, that's standard issue for summertime. I had sealed the fly seams, and the rain didn't penetrate our tent. But we weren't entirely dry, and here's the "caveat:" Eureka says you can "leave the window and door open" during rain because of the door/window "hooded fly." Don't do it if the rain is blowing because it will blow *under* the hood, through the no-see-um mesh, and dampen your sleeping bag.
Don't get me wrong: The rain penetration was not due to any manufacturer's defect; on the contrary--I opened the door and window zippers just a little for ventilation (it was 80 degrees during the storm). But I paid the price.
Buy this reasonably priced, roomy, features-laden tent and enjoy it as we have. Just don't open the window or door zippers during a heavy storm.

I bought the Eureka Tentragon 9 the summer of 2006 to go camping at the Outer Banks in North Carolina with my daughter. We found it easy to set up with very large windows, easy zippers and excellent in the rain and wind. The first night we had a huge thunderstorm and it withstood strong winds and heavy rain without any leaking. I have had many tents in the past and found this one "the best". Even my daughter mentioned how great this tent was. I would highly recommend it.

In the three weeks I've owned this tent, I have tested it three nights, once under heavy rain, and it did not leak. I like the high quality of the tent as well. Seems like a good balance of features and cost.

Because the poles are so long, it is tricky (but not impossible) to set up without help. However, with two people, it was a snap. I doubt anyone's going to go camping alone in a 9 x 9 tent anyway!

We are pretty minimalist campers, but 4 people and a dog, we needed at least something bigger than the 3 person backpacking tent we have.

From the pictures it looks as though you have great rain-fly coverage- but the back window is pretty exposed. Why this was done- i have no idea. the front rain fly extension works well- WHY not provide a little bit on the back? From the look of the front, and the aggressive overhanging front fly wing, you'd think it would be nice and covered on the back, it's not.


This is definitely a warm weather tent. the 2 sides are about 70% mesh- the ceiling is also mesh providing good stargazing. (i dont know why anyone would say this has poor ventilation, they must be reviewing the wrong tent) It's almost ALL ventilation- which comes across as a negative in a cold downpour.

After a 3 night trip- maybe 3 hours of light rain and a little wind picking up at night, nothing crazy- had a seam stress - (mesh separated from the seam). Another stress-rub tear adjacent to the pole.

n. I was expecting another great Eureka experience, only to be disappointed with another big corporate sell-out. Ok for light camping, but if you want a real tent, I guess I will keep on looking. I had a timberline for 20 years Never had a stress tear or seam separation.

If I was the Eureka! product manager I'd be trying to produce something awesome instead of cutting costs. there are plenty of cheap tents, and there is a demand for REAL quality. You are Eureka! prove to the world that you care about making great tents. If that's not their objective, then they need to be fired.


Good:
Light and fast with a decent size- not too huge but cozy for 4
Nice zipper action- does not hang
Versatile storage bag/loft thingy
Excellent ventilation
Bold front fly wings - blocks wind and does an OK job with light rain

Cons:
Fly does not continue it's aggressive coverage to the back
Roof panel mesh takes stress w/out proper reinforced stitching
Fly rubs on poles - not reinforced in the obvious places
Poles could be upgraded from this 1970s fiberglass- heavy!
Not for temp dips below 40F with wind- vestibule does not cover top vents very well- not a prob in warm climate
Cheap tent factory settings- poorly stitched (slightly better than a Wal-Mart tent)
Floor could be a teeny notch thicker material- just a LITTLE please.

I've had several Eureka tents & usually I've very happy with them, but this one is a disappointment. Even tho the 11mm poles seem sturdy, during a stiff wind on the first time we used it, the poles all splintered, one breaking off completely in the ferrul. And all of the metal sleeves bent. I've used other Eureka tents in higher winds & downpours & never had this problem!
The offset door is a pain to use, reaching the zipper while the fly is on is akward. The weather was very hot during the day & the ventilation was poor, making the tent a sauna! At night it was chilly. The use of the gear loft eliminated the valuable headroom.
On a positive note it showed no signs of leaking, but this is pretty well expected with Eureka. The door mat is a nice feature, but needs to be staked down adding something else to trip over. Comes with decent tent stakes, but I always bring extras anyway.
For the money it's a decent tent, but having to buy all new poles for it after just one use makes it not such a great deal afterall. It's back to aluminum poles for me!

Bought this tent a few months ago for 109 with a 10 dollar rebate. No comparison to the normal large discount store tents as this tent is top notch and everything we needed for a family casual camping tent. It says 5 person, but we camp with three and its just right. Also with it being square, its easy to manage and put on top of a tarp.

It's certainly not Eureka's top-of-the-line model, but for a basic tent it is very good. I put it up by myself in about 20 minutes, everything went together easily even without looking at the instructions. I love the fact the rain fly covers the whole tent, not just to the top of windows and windscreens, plus with the smaller fiberglass polls installed, it provides an extended cover over the back window and front door.

The front door worked well and has both a zipper to shut out the elements and to open to just the screen. All zippers seem to be high quality. It even survived some pretty heavy rains without any leaks. It is very light though and would highly recommend not only staking down the tent, but stake down the rain fly as well, else you might end up with broken poles.
For the cold, I wish there was a way to zip up the vents up top, but it's not a 4 season tent anyway.
Very light and you can't go wrong with this tent for a casual camper. If you hike or are looking high end, this is probably not the tent for you.

The best feature is - it is incredibly easy to setup. I love the way the tent clips onto the poles. I love just having two poles (plus two small poles which form a brim over the front door and rear window. We can set this up in maybe 3 minutes I'd say.

The tent is very well ventilated with all the mesh on the sides, huge mesh front door and large mesh rear window. It was very rather warm the last time I used it and the tent sat closed up in the sun all day, but it cooled off very quickly once opened up. I appreciate that very much.

On one evening around 9PM, the wind picked up something fierce. Good thing we staked it down well because the wind was blowing straight in the front door and caused the poles to bend quite a bit, but they didn't break as some other reviewers have reported. The tent material was snapping as the wind blasted through the tent. Because it was so warm, we just left everything wide open and enjoyed the tremendous breeze.

Then came the rain... Having not seam sealed this thing, I was really worried... but we had no problem! It didn't leak at all. I thought maybe with the rain hitting the front of the tent it might come in through the zippers but it didn't.

The tent packs up very small and for it's size, it's quite light.

Bottom line is... so far... I love it!

I just got back from a weekend of camping in Northern Minnesota, and the Eureka tent passed with flying colors---so far. As an avid camper I've learned over the years there are several things to look for in a tent when "car camping". First, and most importantly does it hold up to the elements. Second, design and ease of setup. Third, quality and craftsmanship. Lastly, cost of the product. I have not experienced rain in the tent so far, which is one of the reasons why I did not give it 5 stars. I can't honestly say whether the tent holds up in the rain or not. I am disappointed that Eureka did not include seam sealer with the tent. I enjoy camping in early spring and late fall, and the tent's design does a great job of retaining heat..temps got down in the mid 30's on this last trip..and my wife and I stayed warm. Another reason I purchased the tent...ease of setup. If you notice there are no sleeves to deal with. 2 poles and clips for the main body and 2 smaller poles for the rainfly. Setup took about 5 minutes to include the rainfly(this is fantastic for a larger tent). There are 2 pockets inside, one on each side to stow gear and a net that hangs from the ceiling. This came in handy as well, but it takes up much of the headroom. There is also plenty of no-see-um mesh which provides decent airflow. The rainfly extends in front which adds some protection for shoes but a vestibule area would be a great add-on, another reason I did not give this tent 5 stars. The zippers worked fine..no problems there. I would also like to see aluminum poles to increase tent strength, the poles are 11 mm fiberglass. The last point I would like to add is cost. I bought this tent on Amazon to include free shipping for $100.00. I couldn't find it cheaper any where else on line, including Ebay..most sites go for $140-$180 and up. Considering the cost this is a great buy....so far..I'll see how it does in the rain.

Length:: 0:47 Mins

This is a Tetragon9

The first time my husband and I used this tent the poles snapped and tore the tent (just as another user said). The day was pefect, sunny NO WIND, NO RAIN and after a day of kayaking the tent was in shambles on the ground with the snapped pole. Nowhere else to sleep . . .
We've owned another tent that lasted a couple of years - this was a one time use and didn't make it through 8 hours.