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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Eureka Zeus 2EXO > Brian Tannehill > Field ReportField Report Eureka! Zeus Exo 2
I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. The majority of the hunting has been done from a well-established base camp, venturing out from there for the day. Because of the young kids I have (2, 8, 10), I mostly do weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching anywhere along the central coast of California. I am also an avid mountain biker. My two oldest kids are boys and are getting to the point where they can come out more hiking and camping with me. I am looking forward to this in the future. For now I live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round.
Manufacturer: Eureka! The locations of my test will be varied from the beaches located in Central California, (Lompoc, Santa Maria area) to the National Forest just east of here ranging up to 5000 feet (1500 m). We are getting into summer now, so temperatures will be around 70 F (21 C) by the beaches to 80 - 90 F (26 C - 32 C) inland.
I have used this tent 4-5 times now, and on one day trip to the beach. I will break this section down into two parts, setup/teardown, and usage. Setup/Teardown Setup is easy if there is little to no wind. For the most part the Eureka! Zeus Exo 2 sets up in about five minutes. This tent is freestanding, with no fly so it pitches inner first. There are two sets of poles which are made of 7000 series aluminum and man are they light. Step one: Lay out the tent, assemble the poles, lay the poles in an x across the top of the tent.
 Step two: Attach the poles to the corners in the grommets, and then attach the middle carabiner to the point where the poles cross in the middle of the tent.
 All the carabiners are attached to the tent, which was VERY smart to keep from losing them.
 Step three: After you have the first carabiner attached, go around each pole and attach the rest of the carabiners.
 Step four: Finally stake out the vestibule and the rest of the tent. Some notes about staking out the tent though. Stake out the four tent corners first before doing the vestibule. Make sure to zip the vestibule and inside window before staking it out. Reason being, the vestibule will get off center if it is not zipped. Then when you go to zip it up, it will be too tight.
 The hardest part of setting up this tent was finding a level spot and removing anything from underneath the tent so it did not poke through the tent. Like I said though setup was easy without wind. When I took this tent to the beach, it was really windy. I think the wind was blowing constantly at 20-30 mph (32-48 kph). It was blowing so hard you could hear the sand moving, and our footprints were erased within 2 hours of visiting. My first attempt I laid the tent out perpendicular to the wind. I got the tent pitched, but I could not keep it staked down long enough to get all the way around the tent and get back inside the tent. The side of the tent acted like a big sail and caught all the wind. I then turned the back of the tent into the wind, with the same effect as before. No luck getting it pitched this way either. I finally decided to turn the tent vestibule into the wind. I found this way worked the best as the gentle slope of the vestibule moved the wind over the top and some what held the tent down. I staked out the vestibule, and the front two stakes of the tent. The back of the tent started flopping around in the wind but the front stakes remained in the ground so off I went to get the whole thing staked out. After getting the tent staked out, I climbed inside the tent. I left the inside screen door open because when it was open it did not catch as much wind. The tent and poles were bending from the wind but the tent held up well. Inside the tent there was virtually no wind, which made the beach almost bearable because it was overcast and the temperature was in the lower 60's F (15 C) the day we went. In such a windy configuration I would have liked to have two more stakes to help hold down the middle of the tent. There are two stakes in the middle but they basically hold the vents open. I found that in a strong wind, they were pulled right up.
Tear down of this tent is just the exact opposite of setting it up. Pull up the stakes, unclip the carabiners, remove and disassemble the poles, and fold the tent up. One thing I would have liked is to have a bag that fits the tent. The bag is a bit big for the tent, and once you get the tent nice and tightly rolled up, it comes undone a bit in the bag. Usage My main concern with the usage of this tent is the condensation. Every time I have slept in the tent, I get massive amounts of condensation built up. So much that whatever touches the side of the tent becomes wet, and the condensation will roll down the inside of the tent. Temperatures have been in the high 40's F (4 C) to the low 50's F (10 C) on every trip I have used this on. It makes no difference with one or two people in the tent. Eureka does have a hi-low ventilation system that is supposed to help reduce condensation. I think this would help if I could get a slight breeze into the tent. There has been virtually no breeze when I am out in the tent. The vent utilizes the small screen in the front of the vestibule, along with a small half moon vent in the bottom of the screen door for the low part, and a high vent in the top rear of the tent for the hi part. The concept is that cold air comes in at the bottom with the tent pitched into the wind, and the hot air goes out the top in the rear of the tent.
 The side vents of the tent also help keep moisture to a minimum. I think there should be some way to roll or fold the side vents completely out of the way. I have yet to figure out a way to stake them out far enough to help reduce condensation. However, while looking at the pictures on Eureka's site, I did notice that the side vents are tied out with the included guide lines. I will try this procedure in the future to see if I can get the vents open enough to help with the condensation. See my picture above for the outside view of the side vents.
My son and I fit very well into this tent. I have not used it yet with another adult. Quarters will be tight, but not so tight that it will be uncomfortable. One of the things that I also mentioned in my Initial Report was that of "Zipper Duty". What does that mean? It means only one person can unzip the tent, and thats the person closest to the zipper. I do wish the mesh inside pockets shown above were moved a bit closer to the entrance of the tent. For quick access at night I have to almost sit up to reach the pockets. I would like to see them almost right in front of my face so I could just open my eyes and grab what I needed. It would also make it easier during the day if you needed something that was in the pocket, you wouldn't have to climb into the tent to get it. I have yet to use the flashlight loop, mainly because I do not have a light to loop it too, nor have I used the other loops in the top of the tent.
Some of my questions and concerns: The condensation is the biggest concern for me at this point. How can I set up the tent so the condensation is reduced?
Another concern is ventilation. Will this tent be too hot for summer time? Some of the places I camp are very hot, will this be an issue? Will the heat be vented out and be comfortable enough to sleep in the tent at night?
Overall this tent is great. Its not much bigger in weight and size than my one man Eureka Gossamer. I can sit up inside this tent which will be nice to change clothes or just hang out in bad weather. My son and I fit nicely in the tent, along with gear in the vestibule.
Brian
Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Eureka Zeus 2EXO > Brian Tannehill > Field Report | ||||||||