Mellow
01-11-2008, 08:20 AM
I have been using my Eureka 2XTA (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15), for a couple years now and it has been a great tent.
However, we're always looking for something just a little better aren't we?
So, I took a look at a lot of tents. My 3 main requirements were 1) a tent I could stand up
in and 2) a tent with poles that would fit in my Wing's saddlebags and 3) a 4-person tent to
give me a lot more room. There is a very short list of tents that meet these requirements,
primarily due to the pole length.
I first bought the Eureka Tetragon 8 tent. The box has a typo and says the packed length
is 26" which would have just fit into my saddlebag. When I got the tent the poles were
29" long. I wrestled with the different packing options that would allow me to bring that
tent along but I'm so used to MY way of packing and it's worked for years so I decided to
sale that tent and keep looking.
The Kelty Teton 4 tent was one of the tents on my list but the price was about $60 more
than I wanted to pay. I decided to cough up the difference and just get it as it looked like
THE tent for me and would meet all my requirements.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=912&d=1200054971
Setup
The seup is fast for a tent of this size. The Teton 4 has just one door and one vestibule
whereas the Gunnison 4 is the same basic tent but with 2 doors and 2 vestibules. Sice the
tent is so big I prefer the smaller fly size as well as quickly arranging the fly to align the 1
door/vestibule.
The corners of the tent use a bent plastic part to attach the poles and then snap the fly
corners into. It's a very quick way to setup the tent but I'm suspicious about how durable
it will be over the years. I would prefer just using typical corner straps/eyelets. Here's a
pic of these corner pieces:
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=913&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1200056536 (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=913&stc=1&d=1200056439) http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=914&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1200056536 (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=914&stc=1&d=1200056439)
Rain Protection
The fly coverage on this tent is very good. It's not 'full coverage' however, from looking at
it, I don't think I'm going to get wet. It's about as close to being 'full coverage' as you can
get. I'll update this with pictures after my first camp out with it.
Pack Size
The tent packs at 26"x8". This tent really doesn't take up much more room
than my Apex does. The poles are longer but will still fit in my saddlebags.
The interior height is 4'10" so I can't stand straight up but I can stand up with my head
down a bit and will be able to put cloths on that way rather than laying down.
Value
The one I purchased was $155 at Mountain Sports (http://www.mountainsports.com/MSmain.asp?Option=Detail&Detail=081879).
However, we're always looking for something just a little better aren't we?
So, I took a look at a lot of tents. My 3 main requirements were 1) a tent I could stand up
in and 2) a tent with poles that would fit in my Wing's saddlebags and 3) a 4-person tent to
give me a lot more room. There is a very short list of tents that meet these requirements,
primarily due to the pole length.
I first bought the Eureka Tetragon 8 tent. The box has a typo and says the packed length
is 26" which would have just fit into my saddlebag. When I got the tent the poles were
29" long. I wrestled with the different packing options that would allow me to bring that
tent along but I'm so used to MY way of packing and it's worked for years so I decided to
sale that tent and keep looking.
The Kelty Teton 4 tent was one of the tents on my list but the price was about $60 more
than I wanted to pay. I decided to cough up the difference and just get it as it looked like
THE tent for me and would meet all my requirements.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=912&d=1200054971
Setup
The seup is fast for a tent of this size. The Teton 4 has just one door and one vestibule
whereas the Gunnison 4 is the same basic tent but with 2 doors and 2 vestibules. Sice the
tent is so big I prefer the smaller fly size as well as quickly arranging the fly to align the 1
door/vestibule.
The corners of the tent use a bent plastic part to attach the poles and then snap the fly
corners into. It's a very quick way to setup the tent but I'm suspicious about how durable
it will be over the years. I would prefer just using typical corner straps/eyelets. Here's a
pic of these corner pieces:
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=913&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1200056536 (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=913&stc=1&d=1200056439) http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=914&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1200056536 (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=914&stc=1&d=1200056439)
Rain Protection
The fly coverage on this tent is very good. It's not 'full coverage' however, from looking at
it, I don't think I'm going to get wet. It's about as close to being 'full coverage' as you can
get. I'll update this with pictures after my first camp out with it.
Pack Size
The tent packs at 26"x8". This tent really doesn't take up much more room
than my Apex does. The poles are longer but will still fit in my saddlebags.
The interior height is 4'10" so I can't stand straight up but I can stand up with my head
down a bit and will be able to put cloths on that way rather than laying down.
Value
The one I purchased was $155 at Mountain Sports (http://www.mountainsports.com/MSmain.asp?Option=Detail&Detail=081879).