Customer Reviews

Eureka Timberline Outfitter 6 10' 3" by 8' 6" Six-Person Tent

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I needed to replace my car camping/kick around tent,which was an 18 yr. old Timberline 4. The Timberline design is about as fast and easy setup as it gets,and all things considered, not bad stability. The new outfitter 6 is a step up as it has stronger materials and two doors. I am 6'2" and have headroom to stand up straight. This is a luxurious walk in,A-frame cabin tent for 2,with a ton of gear and cots! It will comfortably sleep 4 or 5,(6 in a pinch). The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is Eureka only put 2 mesh pockets in a tent this size(why not 4 or 6 ?). Also the heavy, awkward, hard to use metal clips that attach the body to the fly could have been nylon/fastex. I highly recommend this tent for car camping, basecamp,even some canoe camping.

This tent is used for leaders of our local Boy Scout troop. I have spent many nights in this tent and wouldn't have any other. Eureka tents are well built, the only replacement part needed is a pole every once in a while. As it stand the troop owns 4 of the Eureka 6.10 by 8.5 Timberline Outfitters and 8 of the smaller Eueka Timberlines that the Scouts use. Eureka Timberline Tents- Well worth the price.

I am a little obsessed at times, in a good way. I wont buy something for good until I have tried and researched as many alternatives as I can. I tried the Northface trailhead 6, a couple of Kelty Tents, and an REI base camp. All of these were fine tents, however the Eureka is the fastest tent I have ever set up, I can do it by myself in ten minutes without breaking a sweat. It is made out of ripstop nylon, something that is increasingly hard to find these days. I am 6'4 and can stand up perfectly in it.

One thing I would mention is that the floor saver is a little cheap, but other than that I love it.

I think it is a little tight for 6 people, but other than that this is the perfect tent. the Northface Trailhead 6 was a close second but a pain to put up.

The good: An a-frame freestanding tent that you can stand in. Durable floor, even though I use a groundcover anyways. Granted I've used a timberline 2 in scouts for decades, but I could put this tent up solo in about 10-12 minutes. It is freestanding, but you will want at least 2 stakes on each side to pull the sides out. If you expect windy conditions, you will want the tent well staked and guyed out. The a-frame also means for the floor space, it's easier to get and keep the tent warm in cooler weather as opposed to a straight-wall cabin tent. There are 2 d-rings at each end at the top for gear lofts or clotheslines.

The fly overhangs the door enough for you to open the door windows at the top about 8-12" without fear of rain coming in unless the wind is coming straight at the door.

Plenty of room for a queen airbed, duffles and golden retriever, however, it's not really roomy enough for 6. If you have a timberline 2 or 4, you will be pleased with the sudden ability to stand up.

The bad: The tent got hotter than expected with the fly on. With the fly off, it's not too bad; the white fabric is light and breathable. The high-lo ventilation worked, but not as well as mesh windows on the sides would have. If it's raining, that 8-12" triangle at the top of each door is the only ventilation you'll get. It is more stable in the wind than a cabin tent, but not as good as a dome. While you can stand in the tent, the center of the floor is the only place you can do it, which also happens to be where your gear loft or clothesline is run.

You need to be careful with the door zippers; they easily catch the fabric weatherflap. I think I would just as soon wax the zippers and not have the weatherflap, but that's just me.

The shape of the fly at the doors means the entrance is a little lower than the inside of the tent. It does serve to guard the top of the door window as noted above.

When I was an Adult Leader with my son's Boy Scout Troop we had smaller versions of these tents for car camping. Our troop was fortunate enough to have dedicated backpacking and car-camping tents. They were pretty kid-proof. This tent goes up just as easy as the smaller versions and holds up in nasty weather when you need a tent. Our family had several large family style tents over the years and none of them could withstand a desert windstorm. This one could.
It has many tie-down points and is quite sturdy.

I bought this one in July 2009 a summer trip and it was perfect for luxury camping with two adults. I'm a bit over 6 feet and could stand upright in this tent. They say its for six people but we found it a nice fit for two with our car-camping Thermarest pads, carry-on luggage, and two folding chairs for sitting out afternoon rainstorms.

This thing has a big foot-print and we found it hard to find a site with a level area this big. It is only slightly less imposing in a campground than a Class "A" rv...

I saw my first Eureka Timberline at a boy scout jamboree when I was 12 or 13. At the time it was a unique design--shock corded construction, a floor, rain fly, doors with windows that can remain open during a rain. These things were unheard of at the time, and were unimaginable improvements over the canvas single-wall tents my troop was using.

A few years ago I bought a Timberline 2 with high-low ventilation and a vestibule. It is very comfortable, and the high-low ventilation, when open, creates a constant flow of fresh air into the tent. Although it's fine for one person plus gear or two people with gear stored in the vestibule, it isn't large enough for my wife and I to take our grand kids camping. So after a lot of research and trial and error I purchased the Timberline Outfitter 6, and we absolutely love it.

Ventilation is even better than the 2-person model because low vents are on each door. With the side guy chords properly deployed, the interior opens up offering almost as much head room as domed tents, the only difference being that the highest portion of the tent extends from end to end rather than the center of the structure. Sure it's a wall tent, but the sloped walls don't restrict interior room as much as one might think.

I can put it up by myself (I'm 5'10") but doing so the first time took a bit of creativity because of the tent's large size. But it can be done.

We bought this tent from Amazon in 2009, but we used it for the first time this week camping in Glacier Park, MT. Good Points - the tent is very roomy, 4 ventilation openings, two doors, sturdy when set up. Questionable Points - a very tall tent, I'm 5'4" and it's hard to reach high enough to snap in the ridgepole and slip the elastic loops on the top pole ends. As tall as it is, it catches a lot of wind. There are 4 metal loops on top, best to run guy ropes to these if there is any wind blowing or expected. The metal side clips used to attach the fly to the sides of the tent are very hard to open and use - I will replace them with different clips. The cord used to attach the lower fly to the tent stakes is very light, and had to be tied to the fly loops? - I will replace these with something more substantial. There are two webbing straps on each side of the fly - what are they for? No loops on the ends so I tied them to the tent stakes for extra security but they are cumbersome for this purpose.

Overall, I like this tent, it's well made, but it catches a lot of wind and is very tall making it difficult to set up. It should have come with more substantial cords to attach to the tent stakes, and with fasteners instead of tying them on. The metal clips supplied to attach the sides of the fly to the sides of the tent are too hard to use. I will replace these components, but better components should come with the tent. I'd only rate 4 stars because of these problems.

This is the ultimate tent for campers or if you go on a trip in the wilderness. I went on a fly-in trip in Canada, although the weather was nice, if there was rain or wind, you would not get water in your tent, or rip this tent in the wind. It would last for 15 years of hard use! 3-5 people could fit in here! It is huge. 6 would be pushing the space if 1 person/air mattress was how you slept. There are small pockets along the side. It takes 2 people to set it up or take it down! Well worth the cost if you will use it a lot. It will pack up into one medium sized bag! A small bag for a huge tent! Great purchase.

This tent was great. Very roomy. Not complicated to put up. It poured down rain and not a drop in the tent. Sleeps 4 with plenty of room. Green in color has you blending in with nature. Front and back door. Two hanging storage cubbies inside. No complaints here! Enjoy.

I bought the second Eureka Outfitter 6 tent within 20 years this January from Amazon. The first one is still in use by one of the grown up kids who had used it heavily and then departed with it. "Yes", he said when I asked about the wind, "I had to use the vise a few times".

The new tent has only been used a few times since January. A chilly overnight pitching on a bluff over a Southern California lake at 33°F as a shakedown in the first month. The tent had a little ice on the his and hers door zippers, but the windshield of the car had a quarter of an inch coating. The dozen included yellow plastic stakes worked fine in the wet, compacted dirt under the campground grass. No wind. No problem.

A couple of months later, I pitched the tent for two nights at Furnace Creek in Death Valley. The little bit of wind was a nuisance, but after one corner lifted, I managed to pound the yellow plastic stakes back into the hardpan to hold it down through the night. On the way out of Death Valley I came across another campground in a canyon on the other side of the mountains. Free. Water, a table,and a restroom. Great. So I hammered the plastic stakes in the rocks again. These rocks were tougher. I should have known I was in for trouble when the Rangers came by at 4:00PM and tried to give the weather report without laughing while looking at my big new shiny slab sided tent. 25-35mph winds, they said. they didn't factor in the vortex effect underneath my SUV parked longways 6 feet away upwind.

At about 10:00PM that night, despite my feeble attempts to anchor, and reanchor, the upwind corners with yellow plastic stakes finally failed. But I got an excellent lesson in wind tunnel design and testing from the inside of a flexible A-Frame with tent poles hooked to a single mid-point connection at each corner.

Summary: The Outfitter 6 materials are first rate. The wind was second rate. My installation was and Eureka's intructions were both third rate. I would recommend that anyone packing one of these tents add at least an extra 24 metal tent stakes and 150 feet of stout parachute cord, plus at least six empty stuff sacks.

Why? You'll figure it out along about sundown. By 11:00PM, you might even remember back 20 years and recall going to the hardware store for metal stakes after pitching your first large tent in a different Sierra Canyon 20 years earlier. Replacement 5/8 inch aluminum poles also available if you don't have a vise handy, or if you just want to start over.