My Mountain Hardwear Airjet 3 has three types of seams: stitched, welded and glued. I received mine in December of 2003 and have used it extensively and carefully on many campouts. It serves me well with one exception—some of the glued seams have had the adhesive turn crumbly and I am returning it for warranty service.
Of course, that happened a few days before I was to use it on our August OA campout and I needed a tent. My nearly ten year-old daughter graciously offered me hers, a small, 2-man
Eureka Tetragon 5, a tent she received as a gift in December 2008.
I was extremely grateful because staying in the cabin was going to cost a bit more. I was also grateful that we'd bought her such a sensible tent (and that it wasn't pink).
The Tetragon 5 may be small but it is sufficient—I had plenty of room for my sleeping bag and my gear. But first, the basics.
It sets up well, quickly and easily. We replaced upgraded the original stakes with some MSR GroundHog tent stakes and made sure the loops were reflective. We were expecting rain the next day so I made sure to get the tent set up tightly an a flat site with an ever-so-slightly slope. I was assigned Camp Beaumont's Ermer and while there is plenty of flat site, much of it leaves little scope to the imagination. However, I found a delightful spot with tall trees on one side and a little meadow on the other.
The evening started out warm with Beaumont's traditional mosquitoes begging to get in. The Tetragon 5's extensive mesh kept them at bay and still allowed the cooling breeze to get in. By morning, the breeze was quite cool but I didn't have the condensation problems I sometimes do with the Airjet 3's single wall design. There is plenty of room to sit up and change one's clothes. I'm not sure how I'd feel with a second person, though—we'd probably need to take turns.
The tent has two diagonal poles and two eyebrow poles for the fly. When properly staked out, there's a small vestibule for the front and a bit of an overhang for the back. The vestibule might be a misnomer since Eureka! calls it a "protected front entry". Suffice it to say that there's enough space for your boots to stay dry. Certainly not enough space for gear (backpack, etc.) outside.
Final thoughts
This seems to be a great tent for one person plus gear or two people whose gear is in the car (or, if camping in the back yard, in the house). I don't see two adults and their gear fitting in this tent. It seems to confirm my calculus that if you want a tent with room for gear, add one or two to the number of expected occupants to get the right fit.
Eureka! makes a great tent and I'm very glad my daughter is using this one. She is well-situated for family campouts with the Pack!
