Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Eureka Zeus 2EXO > Brian Tannehill > Long Term Report

Backpacking Background:

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 boys are getting to the point where they can do 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.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Eureka!
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.eurekatent.com
Mfg Weight: (tent, poles) 3 lbs 10 oz (1.6 kg)
My weight: Everything weighed in at 4 lbs 7 1/8 oz (2016 g)
Breakdown of the weights:
Just the tent: 2 lbs 13 oz (1280 g)
Stakes: 4 1/4 oz (122g)
Poles: (2 sets) each weighed 9 oz (256 g)
Stuff sack for poles: 3/8 oz (12 g)
Poles + stuff sack: 1 lb 2 3/8 oz (522 g)
Seam sealer: 2 1/2 oz (70g)
Small stuff sack to hold stakes and sealer: 1/4 oz (8 g)
Stuff sack, seam sealer and stakes: 7 1/4 oz (206 g)
Large stuff sack for everything: 1 1/4 oz (36 g)
Dimensions: Floor size: 4'10" x 7'5" (147 cm x 226 cm)
Center height: 3'6" (107 cm)
Seasons: 3
Persons: 2

Field Locations:

The locations of my testing 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). Temperatures ranged any where from the low 40's F (4.4 C) up to 80 - 90 F (26 C - 32 C) inland. Weather varied from windy to wet, cold to hot. Unfortunately no snow was involved during the test period.

Long Term Thoughts:

This is the third and final report in a three part series. You can read about the initial and field reports here.

My experiences with this tent over the past six months have been very pleasant. I went from a single man Eureka Gossamer to this two man Eureka Zeus Exo. I have used this tent primarily by myself, but have on two occasions been able to have other folks go along. I've spent on average about one weekend a month out in this tent over the last six months, with the weather being pretty cooperative. I spent one night out in the rain which I will discuss later, but most nights were clear and cool.

Construction:

The roof, walls, and vestibule of the tent are made of 40D ripstop material while the floor is made of 70D nylon taffeta. Overall the quality of the construction was great. I did unfortunately tear the bottom of the vestibule on one of my external framed packs. The bottom of my pack was sticking under the vestibule. When I pulled it out the next morning, I did not notice the cotter pin was catching the vestibule. I have not tried to fix it yet, but it ripped about 2 inches (5 cm) at the very bottom where the tent meets the vestibule. The tear did not effect the operation of the tent at all, and had it not been for the ripping sound I would have probably kept pulling my pack out, because I did not notice it was tearing. This happened within the last month of the test and there was not enough time to try and contact Eureka, especially since the tear did not hurt anything.

Condensation:

One of my main concerns for this tent was that of condensation. This is the first single walled tent I have used. All others have had a fly, and condensation has not been a problem. Condensation was a problem with this tent. The Eureka tent incorporates the hi/low vent system, which is supposed to help combat condensation. I had condensation every time I slept in the tent. So much that if anything touched the sides, it would become wet. I could not set the tent up in any configuration where I did not get condensation. Most times I tried to set the tent headlong into the wind to get good ventilation through the tent.

Waterproof:

I did get to sleep in the tent once in the rain. 30 minutes after I set up camp and climbed into bed, it rained. It rained on and off four times through out that night. I did not have the insight to seam seal the tent before hand because we were in the middle of a 180 day dry spell. Relying on the factory taping and sealing produced some leaks through out the night. It took a couple of hours for the leaks to develop, I guess soaking the seal enough to come through. There were three areas that leaked on the tent. Two of them were the loops that were sewed into the top of the tent. Fortunately for me I was camping by myself so I could move around and not get wet. It wasn't enough to measure in the morning, but it was some big drops that got my pad, and my sleeping bag wet. Enough to be noticeable though. The last area that leaked was in the vestibule. There is a tie string that is sewed through the vestibule. This soaked through from the outside and dripped water on my pack. Again it wasn't enough to produce a puddle but my pack was wet when I got up. One of the things I noticed about the tent during the middle of the night is that the water would bead up on the tent but not really run off. Also on the top of the tent there is a small vent cover. This pooled up with water and had to be knocked off periodically through the night.

Ventilation:

The Zeus line of tents use what they call a hi/low vent system. It is supposed to help with condensation. See my condensation section above. I could not get any substantial amount of breeze into the tent at all. One of the things I think would help, is to be able to tie the two side vents fully open. This would get a considerable amount of ventilation, and allow for cool air to come in the bottom of the tent. Another idea I had while drying it out from the last trip was to just tie the vestibule back out of the way. Unfortunately the test series was over before I could get out again and try that out. In the winter though that configuration would be very cold because the door is just mesh. During the warmer months of testing, this tent was hot. No breeze plus no ventilation equals hot!!

2 person tent?

I was able to test this tent with all my kids, and another adult but not at the same time. My son is shorter than me but not by much, and the other adult is the same height as me, but just a bit heavier. Both times we had no problems with room. My friend was a bit skeptical as we stood shoulder to shoulder outside the tent looking in. Surprisingly we had plenty of room. I was using my full size Therm-a-Rest Basecamp mat, and he used a green 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) thick army surplus pad. Both pads fit in the tent just fine, and we had plenty of space between us. The one nice thing I like about this tent is the ability to sit up and change clothes. The vestibule is a little tight for two large packs but it worked.

Conclusion:

Overall I really liked this tent. It packed nicely into all my packs, wasn't much bigger than my single man, held up well to the elements and had plenty of room for two folks. On the other hand I think the ventilation could be improved by allowing the two side vents to be tied fully open. It has just enough room to sleep two people, but I prefer using it as a one man tent unless my kids are along with me.

Thanks to Eureka and BGT for allowing me to participate in this test series.

Brian

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Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Eureka Zeus 2EXO > Brian Tannehill > Long Term Report