Eureka! Timberline SQ 4XT

An amazing, spacious, classic camping tent. It's not for backpackers and ultralight hikers, but for anyone else who isn't super weight-conscious but wants a great sleep and a place to stay dry in inclement weather, it's almost unbeatable.

Growing up in Scouts, I always envied the other groups who showed up to camp with a whole matching set of Eureka Timberlines, their sweet, tall A-frames and distinctive green color. A few years ago, I was in the market for a tent that was big enough for myself and my two boys, and now that I'm an adult, I was able to get the tent of my dreams—the Eureka Timberline Sequoia 4 Outfitter Edition.

The long and short of this review is: it's an amazing tent, not particularly light, but if you can divide up the weight (or don't particularly care about the weight) you will be hard pressed to find a better three-season tent. 

Setup

The tent goes up easy as pie. I love working with DAC aluminum poles vs. fiberglass, as they snap together so easily and confidently, and they are much lighter and more durable to boot. Clips and color-coordinated tabs make assembly quick and easy, though the few extra small poles, like the spreader bar or the vestibule extensions, made me pause and check the manual quickly.

As with any tent, take it for a test-drive before needing it in a mission critical situation. 

Weather Resistance & Ventilation

I've used this tent on both hot, muggy weekends and cold, drizzly rainy weekends as well. The fly is second-to-none, and reaches way down to the ground, so you're sure to stay nice and dry. The fabric in this outfitter edition is a bit heavier as well, so you're doubly sure to remain dry. The vestibules both open far enough out that you can get some reasonable cover as you're entering the tent, so no worries there.

With Eureka's V3 system, we've never had a real problem with getting sufficient ventilation through the tent, rain or shine. The huge doors and ample mesh walls keep the fresh air flowing when you want it. I also strung up a line so I can hang my UCO Original Candle Lantern, which helps promote air circulation on cold, wet nights, and also provides a nice ambiance in the tent as well. 

Room & Storage

This tent has sufficient room for four people, but in my opinion is best suited for three. Four people need to lie across the tent, so two people are blocked in the middle and need to climb over someone to get out of the tent. Three people leave room for everyone to sleep head and feet towards a door, and leave some room for a bit of gear in the tent.

The vestibules are big as well, so there's lots of room out there for packs, boots, gaiters, and whatever else you might want to leave out there. The ceiling of the tent is also quite high, which is a pleasant surprise for me. I am 6' tall and don't feel self-conscious of hitting my head when moving around inside, or when I'm sleeping. 

Packability

As I said up above, this isn't a particularly small and lightweight tent. The fabrics are high quality and durable, the poles lightweight aluminum, but it's still a big, durable tent, so unless you're able to divide it between multiple hikers, this tent might be limited to car camping, or paddling trips as well. 

Other Notes

I do have a few items that could be improved, as no tent is completely perfect.

First, is that there is no gear loft in this tent. I personally find a small gear loft inside the tent to be invaluable for storing items you might want to grab quickly on late-night emergency bathroom breaks, like flashlights or glasses.

The wire pegs included with this tent are next to useless as well; I bent at least a half dozen on my first camping trip. A tent of this quality needs good aluminum pegs, not these cheap wire pegs. Budget yourself a bit of money to get proper replacements. 

All in all, I can't recommend this tent highly enough! I look forward to years if not decades of using it with my boys as they grow older and we pursue bigger and bigger adventures outdoors. 

Best tent for scouts.

After a lot of research and finding out what other scout troops were using I decided on this tent. It is an upgrade to the four-person Timberline that has been around for decades. Like the older Timberline it is a true four-person tent with two doors, but unlike the original, one door has a large vestibule for wet boots or gear.

The inner tent has a larger bathtub floor and the outer tarp comes down farther eliminating one of the flaws of the original rain splash getting in. The newer SQ 4XT design also has a spreader pole that goes side to side in the middle of the tent opening the inner tent and creating more head space.

Both doors have a solid, water repellent door and a screen door. The sheltered top of each solid door can be unzipped a bit to allow for cross ventilation. This is very important when scouts always seem to find a way to hide in their tents and play cards.

Unlike backpacking tents that claim to be two- or three-person and could only hold that many if everyone agreed to sleep like cord wood, this old school tent can truly hold four sleepers. That doesn't leave much room for gear, but there is a vestibule off one door.

The first time I set this up, only glancing at the instructions, it took about five minutes including unpacking from the shipping box. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the poles were shock corded, which makes setup easier and reduces the chances of loss.

On the downside it weighs 10 pounds. That doesn't include a ground tarp. In a backpacking situation one person can take the inner tent, one the outer and the stakes, a third the poles, and the last the ground tarp reducing the weight to about 3 pounds each. [Remember the 10 lbs doesn't include a ground tarp and scouts save money using blue hardware store tarps.]

Overall this tent does all the types of camping that scouts do well, but nothing great.

I use this tent with my wife and 5 year old and there is plenty of room for the 3 of us. I love this tent, it is fast to set up and take down.I  have used it 4 times in the 6 mos I have had it.

It has plenty of ventilation for summer yet still warm enough for late fall. There has been no condensation inside the tent, it has gone through a heavy rain and no leaking (i sealed the seams and made a footprint). The zippers all work well and it is sturdy.

I would recommend.