Eureka! Zephyr

I have used the Zephyr for two years in conditions ranging from high summer to moderate winter weather in New York and New England. It is a roomy, self-supporting, well ventilated one-person tent.

Floor area is about 3'x 8' and the sides rise steeply, making the whole floor area useful. You can put yourself and a 5000 cu. in. internal frame pack (or a small external) inside if you're an average (5'9") man.

There is no vestibule, but I rig a poncho over the door and under the little rooflet if needed. In less than howling conditions the rooflet shelters the area immediately in front of the door, where you can either sit or lie on your left side inside with your stove outside to cook. There is plenty of sitting headroom in the tent for a person of, I think, over six feet tall.

I have found that it is too well ventilated in cold conditions (less than 20 degrees) and that in cool, damp conditions there is some condensation in the morning. As far as the first complaint, this is a three-season tent. As for the second, it occured in 36 degree weather, on six inches of snow, in a heavy fog, and I kept the tent zipped up tight.

My only real unhappiness with the tent is the weight, which at 4lbs 1oz. (my scale) is a lot for a one-person tent. That, and the kind of dark green color sorta gets to you after a while. The color is good for stealth camping, however.

For average three-season weather it's a nice tent. No stakes are needed in moderate weather, two if it's hot (to help ventilation), six if really windy (the tent makes a lousy hang glider). Eureka offers an optional gear loft for ten bucks, which might be handy, but I rig a bandana on the installed loops and save an ounce. I just wish it were about a pound lighter.

A note to the 14% of people out there who are perfect (ie: left-handed): the tent's configuration is a little inconvenient because it forces you on your left side when facing the door, but I have found that perfect people can cope with this as they cope with the many indignities of an imperfect (ie: right-handed) world.

Tall and roomy for one.

 A great one-man tent

I bought this tent some 20 years ago and still use it on solo trips. The main reason I still use this tent is at my age it's easier to get in and out of at a 36" ceiling height rather than a bivy.

I really have put this tent to the test in high winds at Guadalupe National Park and it did well considering. I'm glad I bought this tent when it was available. Too bad it was discontinued.

Background

Years of use. Seam sealed four times since new.

Adequate space for one person, with room at end for some gear. Definitely not enough room for a pack and all your gear, as you would have if you used a two-person tent for one person.

Room for a 6-footer to sit upright in the middle. Enough room to get dressed without contortions.

Weight makes it attractive for a trip of several days when total pack weight is a big concern and you are loaded down with food.

Easy to set up. It is free-standing. Just slide in a couple of shock-corded poles for the tent. Another short one for the fly. There are six stakes.

I haven't been out in the rain yet, but I am a little concerned that the fly does not provide enough coverage. A friend who has been out in the rain says not to worry. It comes with seam sealer.

I bought this tent with two things (only) in mind:

1. it was the lightest-weight freestanding solo tent I could find

2. I can sit upright in it (I'm 6'2")

I have not been disappointed with these two critical (for me) features.

Other handy feature:

1. Door is on the side; easy entry/exit

Caveats:

1. Ventilation is most unsatisfactory, even with the flyscreen fully open. The tent needs more ventilation mesh, even though this could compromise windy, wet-weather performance. (Some prospective purchasers could consider this to be a killing deficiency.)

2. Vestibule area on the side is long and narrow. It'll keep your boots dry but little else.

3. As supplied, the tent comes with no pole sleeve. If you break a pole, you're utterly stuffed. Buy a sleeve before your first use.

4. The fly attaches to the tent body with four male/female clasps. As supplied, the male clasps are not secured to the webbing. Secure the clasps by hand stitching or machine sewing before your first use.

5. The toggle on the stuffsack draw cord is cheap-jack. It snagged the draw cord, which has now ruptured. (It's amazing how the mind can focus on the minutiae. I am annoyed twice daily by this foolish economy but I haven't the energy to replace the toggle and draw cord.)

Tent comes with optional extras:

1. Footprint ground cloth. Definitely consider this.

2. Gear loft. Don't bother.

(Someone please email me when Eureka solves the ventilation problems of this tent. I'd definitely buy the new model; the positive features of the tent outweigh this deficiency.)

I like this little tent. Set up is a breeze. It's big enough to sit-up in, change clothes and have bit of "elbow room."

It has 5 gear loops on the top and a fair amount of mesh for adequate ventilation. I've found that sleeping with my head at the door helps keep condensation down quite a bit. I cut off the storage pockets that are on either end of the tent and strung one up with fishing line for a gear loft. The stakes are kind of cheesy and bend very easily. The downside to this tent is that there isn't and support for the material along the long axis of the tent. So, I try to set it up behind a wind break and point a corner into the wind. But, if the wind changes, well there may be some problems. This is a good tent for 3+ seasons below the treeline. I like the colors too, it's kind of a mellow purple and slate gray combo. If Eureka! made this a three pole design, added some more mesh and a full rain fly this tent would be great.

The best reasonably priced one-person, freestanding tent I could find that was under 4 pounds and $100. I'm 6' and find that I easlily fit and so does my Jansport 7000 cu ft internal frame pack (on its side). May not fit an external frame easily though. Plus, I can sit up with room to spare.

The new red and gold colors are bright and easy to spot from the air and the narrow/long footprint makes the tent fit easily in tight spaces. My hat has a neck cord and hanging it upside down through the inside roof loops serves as a handy cargo pouch. A small flashlight with belt loop also hangs comfortably for night time.

Holds up well in the wind with optional ties.

No complaints.

This is a good tent for solo hikers who want something larger than a bivy. Big enough to change clothes inside, though not exactly roomy—3 x 8 feet, 35" tall (enough for me to sit up in, I am 6 feet tall).

Freestanding design allows you to slip the two poles in the sleeves and *pronto* the tent is basically up. Pound in a couple of stakes to anchor it if necessary, and pop the fly on with the quick-release buckles and that's about it.

My only concern is the vented window on the top. It allows good ventilation but also makes things a little colder in winter. Also, I bent up a couple of the light aluminum stakes it came with in frozen ground last January.

Have spent many nights in this tent—hot and cold. I am a large 6' man and I have room for my pack (4500cu.in. internal frame) in the the tent. Once also had a 90 lb. Chesapeake Bay Retriever in there too (but no pack). Plenty of room to change or hide from the rain.

Pockets at ends are great for flashlights, glasses, etc. Ventilation is fine if you leave the door open or partially open. In hard rain when the door is closed, it will get some moisture on the walls.

Very durable, but recommend heavier stakes for the fly.

I used this tent in Joshua Tree and several other places. Never had condensation in it. It is easy to set up. But when there are high winds it is a terrible tent. In Joshua Tree two of the poles snapped because of wind.