Customer Reviews

Eureka! Titan - Tent (sleeps 8)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am an avid backpacker and typically use much smaller tents. However, I recently used a Titan for 5 days at a music festival. While the first three days were sunny and warm, the 4th and 5th days brought rain and micro-burst wind conditions with gusts over 60 mph. Winds coming straight down that caused the tent to pump up and down like a bellows. The word 'scary' comes immediately to mind but the tent and all contents came through dry and without damage. The corner guy-out points are the key!!! Use nylon cord and take advantage of these above-ground points to anchor and stabilize this tent and you cannot go wrong. All around us, awnings were being ripped off of very expensive RV's and lesser quality tents turned into big kites. Thanks Eureka! for making a very tough and dry tent!

First, I am a fan of Eureka tents. They put out a quality product. The Titan tent is no exception. It's large, 13X9 and can be split into 2 separate rooms by zipping in a piece of fabric. The entire package is very lightweight including the poles. Additionally the tent, poles and stakes all come in their own nylon bags.
There are 2 separate doors, one at each end of the tent, so if you do create 2 rooms, each area has it's own entrance. The windows are large with full zippers so you can control the air flow simply by adjusting the zipper. The floor is black and runs up the sides of the tent which comes in handy if you are caught in a downpour and the mud starts flying.
The poles are made of aluminum which I prefer over fiberglass. With the shock cord inside the pole there now way of assembling the poles incorrectly.
As for pitching the tent, this was my greatest concern as I have read where some had trouble putting it up saying the directions were impossible to understand. I think they just had a bad day. I put the tent up by myself in about 20 minutes. This was a crucial point as I am always the first one at the campsite and always setup before anyone arrives.
The key is the spider hub on the top center of the tent. It even comes wrapped in it's own little nylon bag. There are 4 arms coming out of the hub, one for each corner of the tent, 2 are color coded yellow on the end of the arm and they are the ones which sit right above the tan colored fabric. Just make sure they line up and nothing is twisted and you got it made. Insert one pole on a yellow arm, run down that corner of the tent and insert the pin into the bottom of the pole. Put the opposite pole in, run down that corner of the tent, insert pin and lay the 2 poles on the ground. Insert the 3rd pole and let it support itself or if there is a 2nd person, have them steady the 3rd pole as you put in the 4th and final pole, lift it up, insert pin and the rest is easy. The final pole takes a little strength as the tension on the tent is becoming taunt, but it's not too bad. Attach the hooks and loops,(do this after all 4 poles are attached, I found doing it prior to all 4 are in creates too much tension on the tent and the last pole doesn't want to go in) stake out the tent and your "home" is good to go.
The fly adds protection if the weather is looking bad and takes another 15 minutes to put on.
The added rings inside the tent are a nice addition for hanging clothes, a flashlight, etc. They are located in the corners and one at the center of the roof.
This is a great tent and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for size, quality and a product that is very lightweight and easy to handle. Hope this helps. Happy and safe camping to all.

I was at a campground with a family that had this tent. Love it. It's huge...and they raved about it in terms of set-up and stability.

It was also noted in Consumer Reports and was ranked "Excellent" in set up, rain resistance, and construction test criteria for Large Sized Family Camping Tent Comparison. It was also a quick pick of Consumer Reports for this category.

I have been camping for 40 years and have owned many tents. This is absolutely the best tent I have ever owned. Not only is it easy to set up, but the quality exceeded my expectations.

I have owned a Titan for nearly 10 years and use it often. It has traveled no less than 20k miles with us on various camping trips. During this time we lost one rain fly due to our ripping it, poked one hole through the side material of the tent body and lost stitching in one corner. This is by far the best tent we have ever come across. My wife and I can set up the tent quite easily in less than 10 minutes or I can and have several times set it up alone.

We have traveled with our children in this tent and in the last two years have purchased another Eureka tent for them as we also travel with four dogs. It is beginning to show its age and of course we are getting ready to replace it with another Titan.

If you are considering this tent then by all means buy it, you will not be disappointed.

John

We bought this to replace an older Eureka tent. Our old tent was similar to the Sunrise 10, except it had aluminum poles...and this was one of the few aluminum poled tents I could find.
Our old tent survived gale force winds (we slept in the truck during that event). On another trip the 45mph remnants of a hurricane bent the tent nearly in half for 6 straight hours. I wanted that kind of durability and solid construction in my new tent.
We made our first outing with this tent without setting the tent up in the backyard ahead of time, and it was after dark when we got to our camp site but set-up went very well. There's a little umbrella hub at the peak of the tent and four identical sets of tent poles, so no possibility of mistake. It might *barely* be possible for one person to set up the tent alone (because of the size of the tent), but with 2 people it was a piece of cake. About a 15-20min process from start to finish. The rain fly has one long pole and two short poles that form the brims over the doorways. The short poles are installed after the fly is in place...simple.
The rain fly attaches to the tent corners with nylon straps and buckles, that are then cinched into place. The buckles are like what you'd see on a backpack. I'm not sure about the durability, but they were easy to use. The tent clips to the aluminum poles with nylon straps and plastic clips. A similar system on our previous Eureka tent lasted for years without breaking.
There are plenty of guy points on the tent, two on each side, one on each door and four at the tent corners. Each with reinforced backing and sturdy stitching. I have no doubt that with the guy lines in place, the tent will survive anything short of a gale...and I'm kind of looking forward to putting it to the test! Inside the tent there are also several stitched in nylon loops for hanging lanterns, clothes, etc. The tent comes with a center divider, but it's nylon mesh and I'm honestly not sure why I'd use it. Plenty of window space and hi-lo vents in the doors. And of course the tent is tall enough to stand up in, which is very nice.
As luck would have it, we had a good rain on our first trip to the woods. Not a gully washer, but definitely a good hard rain with steady wind. The tent stayed dry. The rainfly diverted most of the water away from the tent, doors and windows--and the waterproofing did a great job of repelling the rest. On our next trip we got some moderate wind. Between the tent stakes and a couple of guy lines on the windward side, we had no problems. I was actually surprised by how little "sail" there was to such a large tent.
It's too early to be completely sure, but overall I'm completely satisfied.

Given the problems inherant in the Euerka Condo - see our review,
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000PW79AC/ref=sr_1_3_cm_cr_acr_img?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
the Titan really is the flagship luxury tent in the Eureka lineup right now and worthy of the title.

Every window and door is well protected from the weather allowing great circulation due to overhangs form the fly. interior space is well designed although optional family gear lofts designed for this line of tents do not fit particularly well, which suprised us.

Having used Eureka tents for decades I must say that the only real negative is the lack of any built in slack in the doors. Euraka used to make sure that even when the floor was stretched tight that the door walls had enough material to allow easy use. This has clearly ended in their recent tents. Because I usually pack my tents with the door open to aid air exchange, now I must make sure that I leave some slack before staking, or the door will not close - Not a big deal but something that a few years ago I didn't have to even think about due to their fantastic designs.

The tent does have significant sail area, but as long as tie-out are used on the upper corners as specified all is well. Used this summer and a large gathering in worst possible conditions - at the base of a Mt.pass which became a wind tunnel every evening, plus two thunderstorms which took down or destroyed at least 50% of the campers tents. No damage to our Titan or my son's Timberline. Way to go Eureka!

The Titan is not a perfect tent, but it is close. The only other issue I have, not really a problem because it is subjective, is that I find it hard to warm to the black and tan color scheme. It may not trouble others, but I am still expecting the forest green and gray eureka used for so many years.

We had a Eureka tent for years before switching to a pop up. Now we have decided to get back into dirt camping and researched all the tents out there. The kids are grown, and it will just be me and my husband and our standard poodle. The tent is probably kinda large for just us, but I figured the size would be appreciated after pop up camping. We plan on using this as a basecamp tent for backpacking.
The tent was so easy to set up, it only took us about 15 minutes, and that included reading the instructions. The thought put into the design is outstanding- the way window flaps are covered and sealed to prevent leaking, the built-in hooks, and the fly is wonderful-perfect coverage over windows and doors. Since we camp year round, this will truly be appreciated.
We take it for its first trip this weekend, so I will update my post. But, I expect to just have more good things to say.

Have used the Titan for 2 years now and just wanted to put up a comment or two.

First, it is a nice big tent. I am 6'3" and can easily stretch out and even walk around inside this tent. That is the main reason I bought one this size - to be able to actually stand up inside. Also, the windows are very nice and big - nice storage pockets and lots of rings to use - good screens on doors and windows - they are all 2 zipper style so you can open and close as you wish - have only been stuck once or twice. The tent is also very well made - I have done perhaps 15 weekends and 2 week+ tours with this tent and it has held up to everything - no worries on workmanship or materials - everything works and is wellmade - I do expect that from Eureka. Plently of cheaper tents in this size are available but I would like no problems with zippers or tears and screens and rain soaking in etc.

Second, it is big, easy to get a King air mattress in each room. The main poles are large alumninum type - very strong. 4 poles are connected to a center hub (also metal) and then the corners of the tent use pins which stick into the pole bottoms - works well. I set it myself all the time but 2 people would likely do it better. It is on the heavy side - which is due to the poles - but for strength and durability - there is no other way. The tent itself is rather light for it's size ~30lbs; - rolls up nice and everything fits into the storage bag with ease. Rain fly works well - I have been in some down pours and no water has leaked in.

<Added 6/2010: Suffered a major storm (80mph+ windgusts, fully exposed by a large lake) - bent 5 pole segments and broke 3 pole segments (this was a nasty storm) a few tears - but all in all no other damage. To see 1 inch aluminum poles snapped and bent - wow. Luckily, Eureka can replace each Titan pole for about $50.

This is a large tent and that means the winds can pick it up due to the "sail area" of the tent faces. I suggest guy tie downs - run 2 lines (in different directions) from each tent corner down to stakes in the ground at about 10-15' or see the instructions.>


Would easily buy it again. I paid about $420.

This is a superb tent. Eureka has really thought of everything and put together a great package. A couple of middle-aged women have absolutely no trouble setting this up or taking it down, and we have enjoyed it on several trips this past summer throughout New England. It made it safe and sound through one of those "surprise" summer micro-bursts on its maiden voyage, which convinced us we had made a great decision when we bought this tent. There is so much room inside - makes a long weekend or a week extremely comfortable and luxurious! As others have mentioned, we have considered campers or trailers, but we have given up on that idea now that we have the Titan!

A couple of suggestions to enhance your enjoyment of this great tent -

First, seal the seams! The instructions mention this, and it is important to do it. It's a big tent, so this will take a while, but it will pay off in the first rainstorm.

Second, be sure to stake it down with the proper stakes. There are different types for different surfaces - be sure to get the right ones for your destination. Better still, if you plan on doing a lot of camping, get several sets and keep them with your camping gear. They're not expensive, and you will be glad to have used them when the wind picks up!

Third, stake down the fly from the roof corners. You'll need to purchase some nylon rope to do this. Even if the weather doesn't seem threatening, stake the fly anyway. With those guy lines running from the roof, you will make it just fine through very windy conditions.

If you take some common-sense precautions, you should get years of enjoyment camping with this tent. We're already looking forward to next summer's trips! (We even took it out in the early fall - hated to see the camping season end!)