Field Report

Field Report: GoLite Eisenhower Tunnel Tent

Review Date: August 29, 2005

Reviewer Information
Name: Tyler Nagel
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Height: 183 cm (6' 0")
Weight: 76 kg (168 lbs)
Email address: twsnagel [at] shaw [dot] ca
City: Calgary
Province: Alberta
Country: Canada

Backpacking background: I'm an avid hiker with many years of experience in the Canadian Rockies. I am experienced on many light, moderate, and difficult hikes as well as some scrambling. I am just getting into backpacking and am in the process of upgrading and selecting equipment. I tend towards a heavier load since I enjoy a tent over my head and cherish my creature comforts, but I'm searching for ways to lighten my pack.

Product Information (from website)
http://www.golite.com
Manufacturer: GoLite
Model: Eisenhower Tunnel Shelter
Area: Area: 31 sq ft + 11 sq ft / (2.88 sq m + 1.02 sq m)
Height: 42 in / (107 cm)
Weight: 3 lb 1 oz main (1.39 kg) + 9 oz poles (.25 kg) + 6 oz stakes
(.17 kg)
Colors: Stone/Lignite or Lignite/Night
MSRP: $300 USD

Product Information (as tested)
Length: 83.5 in (2.12 m)
Width across main door: 61.5 in (1.56 m)
Width across rear wall: 42.0 in (1.08 m)
Height at door: 42 in (1.07 m)
Height at rear: 19.5 in (0.50 m)
Weight-tent: 3 lb 1 oz (1.39 kg)
Weight-poles: 9 oz poles (.25 kg)
Weight-stakes: 6 oz stakes (.17 kg)
Total Weight: 4 lb (1.81 kg)
Color: Stone/Lignite

Field Conditions and Completed Test Results
I have used the GoLite Eisenhower on two separate trips to date -- one night on a moderately chilly overnight in the parkland of Alberta's foothills, and one seven-day backpacking trip on the west coast of British Columbia. I will discuss the conditions in detail:

Parkland camping:
I selected a grassy spot for the tent. Pitching the tent went easily.No humidity to speak of, nighttime temperature on the order of 15C (59 F).

I was impressed with the ease of pitch, the tent maintained a taught pitch through the night. I slept warm. My ThermaRest ProLite 3 stayed squarely under me throughout the night. I slept with the main door closed but the vent at the foot was open. The wings on the tent were deployed.

There was no condensation buildup on the interior of the tent at all.

West Coast Trail:
The west coast trail is a grueling 75 km (47 mi) trek on the west coast of Vancouver Island, described by Parks Canada as "one of the world's most challenging trails."

All the camp sites are random camping amid large driftwood, on sand. Nighttime temperatures ranged down to an estimated 8 C (46 F). Levels of the sites varied from flat to somewhat sloped. And most importantly, humidity was extremely high.

Many aspects of the tent impressed me on this trek. The tent was light. It was faster to pitch than the majority of tents in the camp each night. The zippers seemed robust. The interior was tall enough to change in. The small pockets by the door proved a fine place to store my alarm clock for the mornings.

However, the tent had SEVERE problems with condensation on every night, except one. Each morning, I woke up to considerable amounts of water beaded up on the interior of the tent. If the tent was jiggled, it rained down on my sleeping bag, moistening it on a trip during which I would have no chance to dry it out. The condensation weighed the canopy of the tent down, so that it sagged low, and getting out of the sleeping bag without touching the inside of the tent provided a daily challenge. I had to pack my sleeping bag in its stuff sack each morning before I left the tent because if I opened the door zip, it would have completely soaked my bag. I had to use my Adventure Towel each morning to dry the inside walls, roof and floor of the tent of moisture, depriving me of a dry towel for the rest of the day.

Although others in the campsite also experienced challenges with condensation, they were all using tent systems that incorporated separate flies. They were able to detach the fly carefully, and shake it out with little condensation entering the tent.

In addition, since the tent was not self-supporting, I could not shake it out. Those who had self-supporting tents could pick them up and shake any stray beads of water out the door. As soon as the pegs are removed from the Eisenhower Tunnel tent, the tent collapses intoa flat bag, so shaking it out is not an option.

It didn't seem that the opening or closing of the vents, or the deployment or retraction of the wings made any difference on the condensation buildup. I had enough nights to try various combinations
of vents open and closed, and detected no difference between any of the nights.

The Eisenhower Tunnel tent made sleeping on the West Coast Trail a miserable experience, and I dearly wished for a self-supporting tent with a detachable fly, or a tarp.

In the ultimate irony, the weight savings of the single-layer tent were nearly wiped out, because I had to carry a very wet tent each day.

I do have one piece of praise for the tent. I snagged the tent-bag on a sharp point on a cable car, and although the bag ripped, the tent was well protected, and the rip-stop nylon did it's job -- the tear did not get bigger. The tear was patched with duct tape, and remains so.

Direct answers to questions posed in the initial report:
Durability of SilLite: I noticed no deterioration of the fabric. It seems strong and waterproof.

Ease of Pitch: The tent was simple to pitch in all conditions encountered.

Wind Profile: The tent has a remarkable wind profile. It did not tremble, even with stiff winds from the ocean.

Color: I grooved on the dark color. Although it looks drab from the outside, it seems bright and peaceful inside.

Bug proof: Yes! Not a single mosquito that wasn't invited.

Awnings as storage spaces: They are too small to store gear under.

Effectiveness of pegs: The Y shaped pegs were the envy of the campsite each night. They held better in sand than any other peg I have seen.

Water Resistance: The tent does not leak. Ventilation: Abysmal in humid conditions.

Weight and Bulk: The tent is light and packs well.

Summary:
The Eisenhower is an amazing, lightweight tent when used in dry conditions. If much humidity is encountered, the tent should not be considered, since it poses a very real risk of wetting sleeping bags.

Continuing Test Plan:
I may have the opportunity to go backpacking in the Rockies this fall. I hope to encounter freezing temperatures and evaluate the warmth of the tent.

If rain or humidity is predicted, I won't choose this tent. It has proven itself to be entirely inappropriate for conditions like this, and no further testing is needed to verify this.

Read more reviews of GoLite gear
Read more gear reviews by Tyler Nagel

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > Golite Eisenhower Tunnel > Tyler Nagel > Field Report

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