3 Room Tent: Eureka! Copper Canyon 10 Five- to Six-Person 10-Foot by 10-Foot Family Tent Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We bought this tent for our kids (who are way too cool to sleep in the RV with Mom and Dad) based partly on Eureka's reputation, but also on its unique design. We were looking to replace our old Coleman Sundome with something a little bigger and to get away from the pole-bending dome style tents. The Copper Canyon series is new to the market and is untried in large quantity by the general public. So we were a bit hesitant to get one. But, after a call to Eureka's Customer Service Dept we decided to give it a shot. If you're like me you find user reviews to be very valuable while researching products, so I thought I'd give my two cents about the Copper Canyon 10. This is my experience and opinion, your mileage may vary. Here goes:

CHEERS: Very roomy. The kids had two cots, a small table and all their clothes with plenty of room left inside. The near vertical walls and seven foot roof allow my 6'2" self to walk around with ease. Though it's only a 10x10 the cabin design makes it seem larger than it is. The door is large enough to assemble cots outside and carry them into the tent. And the large zippered windows on each of the three remaining walls keep the air moving when it's warm out. The roof is all mesh so there's no worry about oxygen depletion when running a catalytic propane heater. However, we've only used it once out in the desert where it barely dipped below 70 degrees at night. I would not recommend this tent for really cold weather, though. The rainfly sits a few inches above the tent and gives adequate coverage. I suspect the interior would stay pretty dry during summer showers but windblown rain would easily soak the inside. Eureka says it's a 3-season tent, but I think it's more of a 2.5 season tent. Used as intended it's very comfortable. And easy to set up; even with one person. After many years of breaking fiberglass poles on dome tents I really appreciate the non-bending design of the frame. The roof frame consists of two fiberglass poles crossed like a dome tent but fit into heavy plastic elbows sewn into each corner. Steel poles are then inserted into the other end of the elbows to support the walls. This design puts very little stress on the tent poles and I expect the shock cords will wear out before the poles break. Finally, the `E! Port' is a cool idea. It's a small flap-covered zipper that is designed to run an extension cord through. We ran a cord from our travel trailer into the tent so the girls could watch the little DVD player they brought. Neat!

JEERS: There are a few, which is why I only gave this tent four stars instead of five. I know this is a 3-season tent, and a cabin design, but even the slightest gusts of wind pushed in the walls quite a bit. There are only four built-in guy lines. One at the top of each corner of the rainfly. And there are four more cordura loops sewn into the rainfly a couple of feet below the built-in guy lines. We used all eight available guy line points and this did a pretty good job of keeping the structure's shape. But the large vertical walls of the tent really blew in with the stronger gusts. Having stake points in the middle of the each wall and guy out points at the top of the walls in addition to the rainfly corners would have made the tent much more stable in the wind. Which leads me to the worthless stakes. You know the kind, basically a thick piece of coat hanger wire with a bend at one end. Jeez! Why do tent makers think anyone would actually use those. Raise the price of the tent by five or ten bucks if you must but please include real stakes! We bought ten good stakes from Cabelas and a plastic container to keep them in and they worked great. Do not try to use the junk that comes with the tent. Another niggle is the two zipper door design. Some may like it but I prefer one zipper that goes all the way from the top of the ""D" to the bottom. The Copper Canyon has one zipper along the bottom and another that goes from the top left down to the end of the bottom zipper. You need to open both in order enter the tent safely. The last is the full mesh roof.While good in warm, dry weather I can think of few places that don't get thunder showers anytime throughout theyear. I don't think the fly provides enough coverage to keep rain out of the roof if the wind picks up. It rains often in our local mountains where we summer camp. And it can get pretty chilly in many places where I suspect this tent will be used, even in the summer. The roof just doesn't seem like it will hold in much heat. We'll find out soon, though if it will stay warm and dry during summer storms and chilly nights.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would I buy this tent again? Yes! I really like the roominess and the ease of setup. If used in mild weather, like we did recently, this is a great tent. It is solidly constructed and while it uses lightweight materials it seems to be pretty strong. Even though it got a little "bent out of shape" when the wind picked up to 15-20 mph nothing ripped, tore or broke. It has a unique design and is huge for 10x10 standards. If you are looking for a big tent with a small footprint and want to stand up in, a dome is out of the question. This tent is a good alternative to the cheapie cabin style department store specials. I would definatley recommend the Copper Canyon for anyone who wants a quality tent and would use it as intended.

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Product Description:
Featuring vertical walls for maximal internal space, this 10-foot x 10-foot (100 square feet) freestanding cabin-style tent accommodates 5-6 campers on cots. A D-shaped door with side flaps has a large #8 zipper with cover for durability and rain protection. Four large zippered mesh windows open for visibility and four-way airflow and close for privacy. Toggles keep window flaps off the floor and out of the way. A fly with clear-panel skylights permits stargazing, includes pockets for storing storm guyouts when not in use, and features brims over front and rear windows to protect against elements. A port allows an extension cord (not included) to be run into the tent. A sweep-out point facilitates housekeeping. A hanging gear-loft supplies convenient storage.
Made of 1200mm, 75D polyester, the tent has six steel and fiberglass poles that slip into sleeves during setup. Frame clips and ring-and-pin assemblies also facilitate setup. Mesh screens out insects as small as no-see-ums. The tent weighs 23 pounds, 6 ounces and has a center height of 7 feet.
Eureka! tents' standard design features include bathtub-style floors that wrap up the sides to keep water out; nickel sliders and self-healing zippers; and factory-taped major seams to seal out weather.
About Eureka!
Though the exact year is unknown, Eureka's long history begins prior to 1895 in Binghamton, New York, where the company still resides today. Then known as the Eureka Tent & Awning Company, its first wares were canvas products--most notably, Conestoga wagon covers and horse blankets for nineteenth century American frontiersmen--as well as American flags, store awnings, and camping tents.
The company increased production of its custom canvas products locally throughout the 1930s and during the 1940 and even fabricated and erected the IBM "tent cities" just outside Binghamton. The seven acres of tents housed thousands of IBM salesmen during the company's annual stockholders meeting, which had since outgrown its previous locale. In the 1940s, with the advent of World War II and the increased demand for hospital ward tents, Eureka expanded operations and began shipping tents worldwide. Ultimately, upon the post-war return of the GIs and the resultant housing shortage, Eureka turned its attention to the home front during the 1950s by supplying awnings for the multitude of mobile homes that were purchased.
In 1960, Eureka's new and innovative Draw-Tite tent, with its practical, free standing external frame, was used in a Himalayan Expedition to Nepal by world renowned Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person documented to summit Mt. Everest only six years earlier. In 1963, Eureka made history during its own Mt. Everest ascent, with more than 60 of its tents sheltering participants from fierce 60+ mph winds and temperatures reaching below -20°F during the first all American Mt. Everest Expedition.
For backpackers and families, Eureka introduced its legendary Timberline tent in the 1970s. Truly the first StormShield design, this completely self-supporting and lightweight backpacking tent became one of the most popular tents the entire industry with sales reaching over 1 million by its ten year anniversary.
Eureka tents have also traveled as part of several historic expeditions, including the American Women's Himalayan Expedition to Annapurna I in 1978 and the first Mt. Everest ascents by a Canadian and American woman in 1986 and 1988. In recent history, tents specially designed and donated by Eureka sheltered Eric Simonson and his team on two historic research expeditions to Mount Everest, this time in a quest for truth regarding the 1924 attempted summit of early English explorers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. During the 1999 expedition, the team made history finding the remains of George Mallory, but the complete mystery remained unsolved. Returning in 2001 to search for more clues, the team found amazing historical artifacts which are now on display at the Smithsonian.
Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.
Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.
For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.
Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.
Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.
Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.