Review by Todd Shillam for lightweight tent – Eureka Apex 2XT Adventure 7′ 5″ by 4′ 11″ Two-Person Tent
Rating:
I have taken my Eureka Apex 2XT on numerous car camping trips last year, and it worked great even in the pouring rain in the Cascade Mountains of Washington (and it rains here no doubt). The tent rainfly has a nice PU (Polyurethane) coating on the underside, and a factory DWR (Durable Water Repellant) treatment on the outside surface that beads water very well. The full vestibules on both sides is a must-have feature of this tent–great for storing gear, boots, and even cooking while under protective cover (unzip rainfly a bit before starting a stove). The two large entrance doors on both sides make entry and exit from the tent easy. I also like how this tent breathes very well–very, very little condensation (none if those doors are unzipped and rolled down). I also purchased the optional gear loft, and I found this addition worth the cost. I like how I can toss my wallet, keys, flashlight, and other gear into the tent loft.

The only downsides here are the two side tent doors do not have mesh bug-screens. However I found that with the vestibules fully zipped, those little critters have a tough time finding a way inside. If they do, I just zip the tent doors shut. For backpacking, the weight is a bit on the heavy side. However if you are going on a trek with an adult partner, given them a tent pole and the rainfly, and a ground cloth. Meanwhile,you keep a tent pole, the tent itself, and the stakes–that is just over 2 pounds (nice for the ultralight packer). The tent floor fabric is a light ripstop. Make sure you get a ground cloth. I would not recommend the Eureka ground tarps–too heavy and cheap plastic. I would recommend a cloth emergency all-weather space blanket–it will reflect back heat in colder weather, and its much lighter for about the same price if not less.

Otherwise, I do not think you will find a better tent for the money. I would even go so far as to say this tent is near expedition quality and craftsmanship. In short, you won’t be dissappointed.

Review by P. Schleicher for lightweight tent – Eureka Apex 2XT Adventure 7′ 5″ by 4′ 11″ Two-Person Tent
Rating:
First, this review is for the Eureka Apex 2XT, some reviews seem to confuse which tent is being discussed. The 2XT features a full rain fly with vestibules that are enclosed. The Apex 2 has a half rain fly and open vestibules.

I had read quite a few of the reviews for this tent, here and in other areas, and thought I understood (and could live with) some of the drawbacks, but in use I could not.

The positives:

This is a very easy to setup tent, it really only takes a couple of minutes. Assemble the two poles, insert one end of each into a pocket in the corner of the tent, insert a pin from an opposing corner into the other end of the pole, then fasten the center point of the tent to the two poles (a loop of material and a dogbone shaped piece of plastic accomplishes this) and finish by attaching the clips from the edges of the tent to the poles. Beautiful.

Figure out which way the fly gets oriented, drape it over the top and secure the clips at the lower corners. Some additional velcro further secures it to the tent poles, and then stake out the vestibule. Again, very easy.

The tent is pretty roomy, and provided you are using standard sleeping pads you should have no problem being comfortable with two people and minimal gear. Use an inflatable twin size air mattresses, and it is definitely a one person tent.

I used the tent in a light rain, and left it setup in a very heavy rain, and I did not notice any leakage inside the tent.

The negatives:

As others have noted, when you are inside, the zipper for the closed vestibule is a long way off. I am average height (just under 5′10″)and I would need to lean way out or squat in the vestibule area to open the fly. Either way my back came into contact with the fly material and was soaked, either by the rain that had fallen, or by the morning dew seeping through the fly. I cannot stress enough how annoying this is. If the ground is wet or muddy due to rain, you will get wet or muddy.

Even if you are opening the vestibule from the outside and the fly is wet, water will run down the fly and into the tent unless you are extremely careful.

I suspect that every tent with an enlosed vestibule has similar issues. I have been observing different designs when I go camping, and other than having a shorter reach to the zipper, reducing the vestibule size, I have not seen any real differences. I was thinking of resigning myself to this, and perhaps attaching a mini-blind wand to the zipper to ease the reach when I noticed something else.

At the bottom of the vestibule there is a snap in addition to the zipper. After the rain, I set the tent up in my garage to dry and air out. I could not get this snap to close and noticed that it had actually rusted a bit. I am dumbfounded that they did not use a stainless steel snap. At this point I decided I would return the tent.

I really do like a lot about this tent, the ease of setup, the size, weight, and the price, but the vestibule problem is just too much. I think I will try the Apex 2 instead.