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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Eureka Timberline 2 > Owner Review by Dave HjelmarEureka Timberline 2 Tent OWNER
REVIEW dated June 15, 2005
Table of ContentsProduct InformationSpecsManufacturer: Eureka Year of Manufacture:
1983 URL: http://www.eurekatent.com/ Weight, listed:
5 lb 13 oz (2.64 kg) reported as "min. weight" Weight, measured:
6.5 lb (2.95 kg) including tent, fly, poles, bag,
and stakes Size, listed:
5' 3" x 7' 2"
(1.6 m x 2.18 m) floor space Size, measured:
same as listed Packed
size, listed:
6" x 24" (0.15 m x 0.61 m) Packed size, measured: 5.9" diameter x 23" long (0.15 m x 0.58 m)
DescriptionThe
Eureka Timberline 2 comfortably
sleeps two
people. It has a rain fly, a door at one end, and
large no-see-um windows in both the door and the rear panel. The rain
fly overhangs both the door and rear windows so they can be left
partially open when it is raining (see figure below). A vestibule is
available for the
tent but I don't own one. The
inside has a single mesh pocket at about mid length along the side of
the tent (see figure below).
Figure: Tent
Setup Without Vestibule
Figure: Inside
of
Tent
The tent uses shock corded, 1/2" (1.3 cm) aluminum tubes for its A-frame construction. The top of the uprights of the "A" at the front and back ends of the tent each fit into a nylon junction tube (see figure below). The peaks of these two "A's" are connected with another aluminum tube that spans the length of the tent. The tent attaches to this external frame at each corner of the floor and at the junction tube at the apex at the front and rear. The result is a free-standing unit (i.e., stakes are not needed unless it is overly windy). The rain fly drapes over the top of the frame, and guy lines attached to stakes (or trees) hold the fly away from the tent on the sides.  Figure: Junction Tube and Reinforcement Material on Rain Fly From the manufacturer's web site for the current version of the Eureka Timberline 2, the tent materials are as follows: Fly: 75D StormShield®
Polyester
Floor: 70D Nylon Taffeta Roof: 70D Uncoated Nylon
Taffeta (beige material in above figures)
Netting: 40D No see-um
mesh
The tent at the web site looks identical to mine even in color so it is
possible that mine was made from the same material, but I do not know
that for sure. I do know that the seams on my tent are all double stitched. Many of the seams are also taped - meaning they have a heavier strip of material that is sown into the seam throughout its length. Highly stressed points, such as the corners of the floor and where the fly contacts the nylon junction tube, are reinforced with extra material. The figure above shows examples of a taped seam (where roof meets front of tent) and locations with reinforcement material (blue material in figure). Field InformationI received the Timberline as a graduation present from high school. Since that time I have logged more nights in that tent than I can count. I used it for backpacking during and after college and lived in it with my wife a number of years ago during an 8 week cross-country trip from national park to national park by van. Throughout that 8 weeks, it was taken down in one camp and setup in another 5 or 6 times a week. With all of this use, I have never had to perform any repairs on the tent. All seams are still 100% intact and, thanks to using seam sealer, waterproof. Note that I do take extremely good care of the tent. No shoes have ever crossed its threshold, any dirt that does enter gets swept out before storage, I make sure there are no sharp rocks or sticks under the floor, and I always use a ground cloth. I also take care to fully dry it before long term storage.While I have used my Timberline for backpacking, it is a bit heavy for that purpose given other options on the market today. However, if I do not have to carry my pack very far (e.g., canoe camping) or when I'm sure I won't be the weak link in the backpacking group, it has been worth the weight (although last year I started using a hammock unless I need shelter for two and/or temperatures are substantially below freezing). What I like about the Timberline most is that one person can easily setup the tent, it is roomy, and it has kept me dry in all kinds of weather (I can't say that for all tents I've used). I have found that the rain fly does an excellent job of keeping the tent dry even with two people inside and myself at 6' 2" (1.88 m). For setup, I start by rolling out my ground cloth. I then put the tent on top of the ground cloth still rolled up and construct the frame. The shock corded poles make this a snap. I then unroll the tent and attach the corners of the tent to the frame. Doing things in this order seems to help keep the tent from blowing around too much if it is windy without having to use stakes at the corners. I then lift the front apex of the tent and attach it to the frame then do the same at the rear. The last step is to attach two short poles to the front and back of the frame and to drape the rainfly over the frame. It attaches to those two short poles at the front and back, to all four corners of the tent floor, and to either stakes or trees at the sides. I can complete setup from start to finish in just a couple minutes. Miscellaneous ThoughtsThings I Like
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