Tester Bio
I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities. Backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with my friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3 season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information

Item	Zeus™ 2EXO (2 person tent)
Manufacturer	Eureka
Manufacture Date	2004
Manufacturer URL	http://www.eurekatent.com
Listed Minimum Weight (tent and poles)	3 lb 10 oz (1.6 kg)
Actual Minimum Weight (tent and poles)	3 lb 14 oz (1.8 kg)
Actual Total Weight (3 stuff sacks, tent, poles and 8 Stakes)	4 lb 3 oz (1.9 kg)
Tent in stuff sack	2 lb 13 oz (1.3 kg)
Poles in stuff sack	1 lb 1 oz (0.5 kg)
8 Stakes in stuff sack	5 oz (142 g)
Floor Dimensions	4 ft 10 in (147 cm) wide x 7 ft 5 in (226 cm) long
Center Height	3 ft 6 in (107 cm)
Packed Size	7 x 18 in (18 x 46 cm) cylinder
Poles	7000 series Aluminum
Tent Walls and Vestibule	40D ripstop nylon
Tent Floor	70D nylon taffeta
Tent Floor Area	32.7 sq ft (3.04 sq m)
Vestibule Area	12.25 sq ft (1.14 sq m)

Product Description
The Zeus™ 2EXO is a single wall, 3 season, 2 person, free standing, dome style tent with a small vestibule located at the front. The tent uses 2 shock-corded poles which connect to the tent with carabiner like clips. With the screen door and vestibule closed the tent still has a fair amount of ventilation through the 2 side vents and the 1 high vent in the rear roof section. The side vents can be controlled a little by staking the flaps out as far and as high as possible for maximum air flow or pulling them down as close to the netting and as low to the ground as possible to limit air from entering.

Field Testing Locations and Conditions
Testing has been conducted mostly in the woods near my home. Besides the storms I mention in my Field Report I managed to observe the tent as the remainder of 2 strong hurricanes came through with high winds and lots of rain. These events happened in the day time so I just put the tent up in the yard and observed what effects the wind and rain had on the tent. Fortunately, the tent survived both storms intact and without leaking. The winds in the last storm were quite severe, estimated at 60 mph (97 kmph) on mountain tops by the local weather guys (and I was on a mountain top). The winds blew down several trees in the area and damaged my wife’s flowers (sniff). I also took the tent on a hiking trip in the Black Creek wilderness area in Mississippi and most recently on an overnight hike to the Walls of Jericho in North-East Alabama. This was also the coolest night at 31 F (-0.6 C). I tested the tent solo throughout the test period.

Long Term Test Result
The Zeus™ 2EXO tent does what it is designed to do very well. shaking dirt out of the tent

It kept me and my gear dry and bug free. It withstood heavy rains and high winds without flinching. It really shined in the set-up department. On several occasions I had to set it up after dark. It always took longer to find a good spot, check for overhead widow makers and clear the tent site than setting up the tent. The exoskeleton pole system is a winner in my book and much easier than threading a pole through small tunnels of fabric. The fact that I could pick the tent up to shake it out came in handy many times. I have seen little tent broom and dust pans for sale in backpacking catalogs and can't imagine taking one with me.

Much of my testing was done during the hottest part of summer. This tent is not ideal for Alabama's hottest weather but by leaving the door open I managed to stay reasonable cool and usually got my best sleep in the later half of the night. When it rained I was forced to close the door but with the rain it was usually cool enough that keeping the door closed was acceptable. However, I did get a little warm even just sleeping on my pad with a light blanket.

Once fall arrived and with it cooler temperatures the Zeus™ 2EXO performed much better. I actually used my 30 F (-1 F) sleeping bag and a little later a 20 F (-6.7 C) sleeping bag. With the beautiful fall weather, I was still able to leave the door open until the last night when it dipped to 31 F (-0.6 C) on a windy night. I actually stayed a little cooler than I liked on this night. I had frost on the tent the next morning which told me I wasn't generating enough heat to warm up the inside of the tent very much. I guess the side vents and the overhead vent were doing too good a job in the windy conditions. In fact condensation was never a problem with the Zeus™ 2EXO. I checked the inside roof and it was always either dry or just barely damp.

Likes

easy to set up

equally easy to take down

keeps out rain (even wind blown)

can pick up tent to change location

can pick up tent to shake out debris

color blends in well with surroundings

plenty of room to store my gear out of the weather

Dislikes

not much ventilation

got hot inside in the daytime very quickly

not the most comfortable place to read a good book

no window to look out and aid in ventilation.

rain comes inside if the door is left open.

Final Thoughts
Asking for all the bells and whistles in a 4 lb 3 oz (1.9 kg) tent is not very realistic but when it was raining I found myself wishing for a view out the tent many times. Even in the dark I like to be able to shine my light out to see if I can spot any noise makers. Other than that and perhaps a door which did not let in rain if left in the open position are about all I can really complain about.

I would say that this tent is a real treat for a hiker on a budget but that sounds like I'm saying spending more money on a different tent might be better. In fact I mean just the opposite. This tent, while not perfect, keeps thing simple, which is exactly what I need when its getting dark fast and I'm tired from hiking all day.

I would like to thank Eureka and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to participate in this test.

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Read more reviews of Eureka gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

Long Term Report

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