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~ Leesa
I camp with 3 teenagers – the tallest being 6′ 4″ and the shortest 5′ 7″. Head and body room makes for a much more pleasant experience all around. We’ve camped since they were babies. As they have grown, we have worked out different sleeping arrangements. Having one tent that is tall enough, and large enough for the four of us sounded like a great idea. We get to check out the new Eureka! Suite V Tent and will be writing about our findings.
Product Information from Eureka!
Eureka!’s Suite V Tent has a unique pole structure that provides maximum headroom at the front of the tent, enabling campers over six feet tall to walk upright into the front door through the front vestibule area. These three-pole V-shaped dome tents offer expanded living space and a smaller
V– shaped footprint. They feature two large D-style doors with mesh roof and four windows for airflow, and a fly that can be configured in multiple ways including use as an awning. A removable curtain divider creates two separate rooms for privacy.
- Suite V6 - Dimensions: 14’ 3” x 9’ and is 6’ 9” high. Weight: 26 lbs 12 oz. Retail: $299.90.
- Suite V4 – Dimensions: 9’ 6” x 7’ 3” and is 6’ 2” high. Weight: 20 lbs 8 oz. Retail: $219.90.
Initial Thoughts
The tent arrived in a ‘BIG’ box and I was a bit surprised at the weight. Not at the actual weight, which is accurate as advertised, but at the ‘feel’ of the box. I have been using smaller, two -person tents or hammocks lately, and wondered how this would work out. Taking the Suite V would mean only taking one tent though, which had its benefits.
Set up was a little bit more complicated the first time than some of my 2 person tents, but nothing too bad. Once we figured out which pole went in which way, we had it up in no time. I’d say the first set up took about 20 minutes, including the unpacking, unrolling, rearranging, checking out the poles and lining everything up. There are three main poles that hold up the V-shaped dome. The poles are shock corded. The doors are placed on opposite sides of the practically straight sided tent.
During following uses we could set it up within 10 minutes at the most. My son can set it up himself easily, but I find it much easier with another person. All the poles and fabric are well constructed, with no visible flaws. The doors and windows open and close easily.
Mike at 6' can easily stand up and have plenty of headroom.
Our first use of the tent was at a base camp during a Boy Scout camp out. The tent worked out well, and on major plus became apparent – an adult could easily stand and change clothes. This came in handy so many times during the weekend, I wanted to charge everyone $1 and use the money to buy tents for the whole troop!
The four windows provide great ventilation – especially when camping in humid areas. There was no condensation build up even with four people sleeping in the tent, and only two of the windows open a little. The two doors allow for easy entrance and exit. The fly is a bit different, as it can be set up in different ways. I like the configuration that provides a vestibule. That way we can take off muddy shoes outside the tent, or have a place to make coffee early in the morning.
Closed up with maximum protection from the weather.
We’ve also taken the tent on a canoeing trip, where it worked out extremely well. We put the tent in a dry sack, and one of the boys carried it in his canoe. When we reached our camping spot, we set it up and were able to all change clothes before dinner. I know that at least one of us will manage to get wet when paddling, sometimes accidently, and sometimes not. Being able to put on dry clothes and let the wet clothes dry for the next day is a great benefit.
The dividing curtain comes in handy for our family, since it is myself and my daughter, and my two sons. It gives us a bit of privacy. Its also nice when a few people want to stay up and read or play a game with a light on, and others want to sleep.
Check back in about a month, and I’ll let you know how its working out, and holding up. We may even see some rain by then.
Update 8/2010
What do you do with 4 adults who want to camp out at the spur of the moment? Well, if its your class reunion weekend, and everyone is having so much fun they don’t want to leave, you open up the Suite V and give everyone a sleeping bag. A couple of the guys were a bit skeptical… They’d grown over the years, and one said that tents don’t hold 6’5″, 300 lb men. I really enjoyed proving them wrong. By morning, everyone was talking about my tent! I think it got more tours than the local museums. We were camped by the Grand River in Ohio, and it was a warm, still, humid night. There was some condensation by morning, but not enough to drip on the sleeping bags, or cause any puddles. I felt the dampness when I ran my hand across the inside wall of the tent, far from the windows. I was looking for it, had I not been, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.
Other trips involved myself and my kids, camping in Northern New England. The night temperatures ranged from 45 to 68 degrees F, and involved about every type of weather except snow. Hot, humid, rain, wind, drizzle, dry, etc. We never experienced any water inside the tent from leaks or standing water under the tent seeping in. I am so impressed with the quality of this tent. It has held up very well to lots of use, that wasn’t always very gentle. We’ve packed it wet and waited to return home to set it back up to dry – sometimes 2-3 days later. It always dried without developing a musty smell. Set up and taking down are simple, and with just a few attempts, I could do it myself in minimal time. The tie outs, zippers and poles all are still in great condition.
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