Eureka! Timberline 6

The gold standard for family tents.

 Powhatan State Park March 2022

The Eureka Timberline tent is the gold standard for family camping period.  I remember using Eureka dome tents in the Marines and all the horrible experiences associated with the design in general. Poles breaking when you least expect it, lashing issues, ripped rain flys while inserting your tent poles, stuck zippers, trying to stuff the thing in your pack at 0200, you name it. The last time I used one was in Mt Fuji, Japan, in about two foot of snow and it was miserable opening the zippers in the morning and crawling out of it. 

When I left the Marine Corps I was sold on just using a bivy and tarp combo but with a large family that wasn't feasible. I started researching tents extensively and looked at everything on the market. All of them seemed to have one issue or another and all the domes/cabin variety seemed to suffer from the same issues I'd experienced.

I'd watched tons of videos on large tents and read every review possible. The more I read, the Eureka Timberline A-frame style just seemed to make sense. I figured all these Boys Scouts couldn't be wrong. Although leery of Eureka quality, I decided to buy a Timberline 6 and I'm glad I did.

This tent has been used for about 12 years throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. It's been in severe rain, wind, and snow. We have never been wet and it has never fallen down. The headroom in this tent is phenomenal. No more crawling into your clothes. The ventilation is also top flight. You have two large doors and the ability to vent both the top and bottom of each.

The setup is so simple my 5-year-old son could put it up by himself and that's why I say these are the gold standard for families. Anyone—and I mean anyone—can put these up in a few minutes. No wrestling with weird tent flys or fiberglass poles. They are just that simple and tough.

As a result, I bought a Timberline 4 and a Timberline SQ 2 as well. I have not used those as frequently but I believe they will provide just as good of service as the 6. I hope this review helps someone with small kids like myself. Nothing is worse than gear that's difficult for children to use and not reliable in the field.

Background

Best tent I've ever had or used. Would buy the SQ version tomorrow if this one failed.

i purchased my Timberline 6 tent in 2009 and have camped in it 2 weeks straight in Michigan U.P. through really heavy rain and have also camped in Wisconsin and Illinois through heavy rain.

I did not get a drop of rain inside my tent.

The only problem i have with it, the zipper gets caught and the inside door gets wet if is very hot outside.