Eureka! Timberline SQ Outfitter 6

My third Timberline in progression, 2 to 4 to 6 person. Only one tent in the world I like better and it costs 3x more. This is the tent I have always wanted.

Bought my first Timberline, a two-person, in 1983 at LL Bean when a Maine Nor'easter smashed our dome tent. Used it for 19 years, including 4 years of volunteer tail patrol in the Adirondacks  and an epic bikepacking trip across NW Russia (my granddaughters still borrow it on occasion).

So to upgrade to a 4-person in 2002 was a no-brainer. My wife and I still use the 4 on solo trips and canoe camping. All along I've drooled over the Outfitter 6, and in 2021 my wife gave me one for Father's Day. Now that we're in our 60s, we do a modified form of "glamping," and the Outfitter Timberline is fantastic. We can fit two cots, a small table, and two chairs inside the tent with no problems.

With some practice (and 40 years of setting up Timberlines) it can be set up by one person, although it goes a lot faster with a helper. It's also easier to get and keep the walls taut with a helper, and important if it might rain. We've used the tent in three seasons, but it would easily withstand winter use, particularly with the addition of the available vestibule on one or both ends. The heavier-duty floor material in the Outfitter 6 is really nice and resists scuffing and cot and chair legs well. 

We use this tent on our vacations, and as a basecamp for flyfishing in northern Minnesota, NW Wisconsin, and the U.P. of Michigan. The one thing I would advise when setting it up is to set up the rear door facing the prevailing wind to aid in ventilation.

This is a great tent for the price, which is not cheap. But it is well worth it.

Background

Have used Eureka Timberline tents in spring, summer, and fall, almost exclusively since 1983. (We have a winter "hot tent" also.) I am a wilderness guide, backcountry angler, and retired park ranger and have been actively camping since I was a scout in the mid-1960s. As a ranger I've helped many campers with their tents well enough to know what works and what to avoid.

I have purchased (and returned) an (Eddie Bauer family dome tent—flimsy zippers, and weak floor) and a (Coleman family 3 room—everyone tripping over the lines and not easy to set up).

The Eureka Timberline Outfitter 6 took me 10 minutes to set up (I'm 5'5") and held up well to 6 kids (5-10 years old) romping around inside even if the inflatable mattress did not--the 6 1/2 foot ceiling encourages jumping.

When one of the kids fell on the tent—full weight (60 pounds) to my horror—against the wall from the outside, it held up without any problem with the rainfly staked down and prevented injury--A new use for a tent, however not recommended. The floor, albeit taped instead of tub and with a tarp underneath, held up well to gravel and hiking boots (for 15 minutes) before we told the first time lil campers to take their shoes off first.

Despite the kid's best attempts, the zippers stayed intact and were easy to unjam. (Kids seem to know just how to jam the zippers every time, despite often catching on the covering flaps which did not fray or tear.)

Warm soapy water took out chocolate fingerprints and marshmallow that was melted to the front door screen. There was no condensation within the tent when all flaps were closed when the external ambient temperature went down to 34 degrees.

The only issue I had with the tent was that the stakes provided were hard to pound into a gravel base campsite. I used some metal stakes instead and everything was fine.

Takedown time from pulling the first stake to getting it neatly in the bag—7 minutes. Good materials, easy setup, durable, sturdy and well worth the money.

I bought this tent to take along on an Alaska moose hunt. I found out a lot about it during those two weeks on the Tundra.

The tent was very roomy with only three of us in it on cots. It was very easy to set up, even the first time. The height was very nice for dressing and getting gear together. The two doors ventilated very well when the weather cooperated. I found the tent well constructed with one exception, which I will explain shortly.

The zippers are first class and never seemed to catch or stick. I had sealed the seams before I left the lower 48, even though the tent documentation said that it had been factory sealed, and even though it rained (mostly horizontally) about 2/3rds of the time we were in camp the tent never leaked, either from a seam, a zipper, or door. It sheds water like a duck. All in all, it was a nice base camp tent...

However, with the wind blowing steadily between 15 and 25 mph in rain or shine, the seamless aluminum poles were crushed in no time. The first night's wind bent the A-poles so severely that they were permanently flexed—in spite of the fact that I had parachute cord double connected to every guy point on the tent and aircraft screw-in stakes at each corner.

By day three the frame was completely destroyed, even though we constantly reoriented the tent to shed the wind. I finally was able to tape trekking poles and wooden poles to the tent frame poles to stiffen them up enough to endure the wind. Not a good experience.

Afterward Eureka was good enough to mostly replace the destroyed frame, but their "R&D department" cautioned me about pitching the tent in wind.

The next year (last) I took the refurbished Outfitter along on another two-week hunting trip to timbered mountain forest (lower 48). This time, protected from the wind, it was a sterling performer. It is still a good quality tent, with plenty of room. And even though it was a lot colder this past year (low of 16 degrees F) than the September trip to Alaska the preceeding year we found the Outfitter easy to warm up and comfortable.

I really like this tent, and will continue to use it at base camp in all conditions except moderate to high winds. The high profile just provides too much surface area to withstand steady winds.

What can you say about this tent? It looks perfect when you take it out of the car, and when you set it up at a car camping spot—I think the other ones give you respect what do you think?

It doesn't look like any new-fangold dome tents. It's like when Snoopy went to take a ride on the river and put inner tubes under his raft, and then he used an A-frame tent.

But then you hear about how this thing holds up to nature and the elements. Then you also understand this thing being under 18 lbs for a six-person tent is also very sturdy and can hold up to things the other tents in this category can't.

Background

We camped with it five times this summer on the shores of Lake Michigan. Held up amazingly. No problems. Looks like it's going to last as long as my last one did. I had a used Timberland floor in Oregon for over 10 years

The tent was spacious, fairly easily too set up by one person with practice. Fairly waterproof and windproof except the last trip elk hunting. It lasted through one major wind and rain storm followed by two 6-inch snow falls which melted.

The last wind storm was the doozy which started about 9 p.m. and lasted through about 7 a.m. the next morning. We were camped on a ridge top and the winds according to the Forest Service were gusting up to 82 miles throughout the night. Hundreds of trees came down, many in the 40-inch plus range. Massive amount of damage.

The rainfly eventually completely shredded even though it was ripstop nylon. The poles bent but held. The tent itself did tear, only because the guy next to me pushed his cot into the side of the tent to keep it from heaving in and out so violently causing the tent to tear because of the cot end protruding. If that had not happened I could have straightened the poles out and bought another rainfly.

That was the most vicious windy rainy and snowy {more rainy} elk season we have had in the central Oregon Cascades. Yeah, I love the tent. Just didn't expect that kind of wind.

I bought my Eureka Timberline 6 base camp tent in the early 1980s, and have used it for about three weeks every year since throughout the American West.

I attached four guy lines to the rainfly to use when I camp in the open where wind can blow hard. It has withstood every three-season weather and storm from the Grand Canyon of the Arizona to the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park on mule pack trips. I have had to repair it by reinforcing two weak sections, and I am on the third rainfly (which I made out of heavy nylon)—but, after all, it is thirty years old!

It is well designed, tall enough to stand in, is roomy, ventilates well, and sets up relatively quickly. I will buy another one when I need to. Great value for the money.

In campgrounds I have yet to see another tent this big that could stand up as well. My friend bought a big, tall dome tent, but the first strong winds blew it in.

Sincerely, Lee Silliman, Deer Lodge, Montana

I traded a two-man Timberline tent, a compact fridge, and an ice axe for a 6-man Timberline Tent in 1987. I still have the tent and have never been able to find anything comparable.

It is easy to set up with just one person. The rain fly works great. Being able to stand up to dress and pack is more important the ever now that I'm getting older.

I have taken the tent to the desert, the rain forest on the Pacific coast, to the sand hills of North Carolina and everywhere in between. It has stood the test of time and I'm finally trying to convince myself that it is time to buy another.

The only issue I have ever had with this tent was a broken zipper due to an overly excited hound dog on a 4th of July camping trip.

Great product. Great value. Perfect for car camping, ATV camping, canoeing. A little heavy for backpacking, though I have done it.

I bought the Timberline 6 25 years ago from Barney's in Alaska. Every year this tent has been taken on journeys over rough, wet, hot, windy, cold trips, starting with our three kids ages 5, 6, and 7. Now, my grandkids are sleeping in it.

It is roomy, tougher than buffalo hide, and has been forgiving when the maintenance wasn't quite as good as it should have been (our teenagers taking it on a trip to the Pacific coast). The zippers are still good. Unfortunately, it got left in the sun for two months in Texas and UV damage.

I AM GETTING A NEW ONE!!!

I exchanged my Eureka Lodge for the Timberline 6 Base Camp Outfitter due to the light weight. I purchased the Timberline 6 at the Eureka factory store in N.Y.

I set it up at home and camped out in it. I put my folding Slumberjack cot and a 40 inch folding table in it. I felt very secure in it. I had brought a Timberline 2 and a Timberline 4, over the years. I never got wet in either of my smaller Timberlines before.

It has more room than my small truck camper. I can place a padlock thru the zippers to lock my tent up to protect my belongings. You will never get wet in a Timberline, regular or Outfitter. I like the new lower vents in the bottom of the doors for ventilation.

The folks at the Eureka camping center are second to none. Just use ground cloths to keep your tents clean.

Eureka quality just can't be beat! This is the second expensive Eureka tent I have bought and it's worth every penny. Easy to set up, easy to take down. Fits nicely into the tent bags. Weather is never a problem. The big zippers even foiled a six-year-old's attempt to get them jammed.

My other Eureka tent is a 24 year old 10x14 Canvas Riverside Lodge. It is as good as the day I bought it. But since I'm becoming an old f--t I needed to move to a lighter tent and the Timberline Outfitter 6 was the perfect choice.

If you want to get wet, buy something else. If you want to stay dry and buy a quality piece of camping equipment than buy a Eureka.

At nearly 20 pounds it isn't for backpacking, but I very much enjoy having it for canoe-camp, car camp, etc.

Tough tent, I trust it to stand up to weather, young boys (6, 9, 10). I typically take lighter tents mountaineering so this is a luxury to have a larger yet every bit as protective tent for trips when weight isn't critical.

Our Scout troop has nine Timberline Outfitter 4s and two Outfitter 6s. We use the 6 for adult leaders. Have slept five before, works great for two with cots for a week at camp.

Tents are great. The boys have not damaged any. Wind has bent some poles.