Timberline 4

I have a Eureka tent that I bought in 1988 that I still use.

RIP Eureka. I mostly car camp and have camped my whole life. I bought my first Eureka tent in 1989. The waterproofing on the fly is failing but it is still a fantastic tent. I took an inexpensive 3 person REI tent on an 8 week cross country car camping trip, and it performed better than anticipated in a variety of conditions. I currently camp with my partner and 2 Golden Retrievers in an 8 person Eureka ans it is the bomb. Plenty of room to stand in and the two dogs have plenty of room. Over time your needs might change, so buy a quality tent that meets your current needs but you don’t need to break the bank.

Sorry to see Eureka! go. They built solid tents for reasonable prices. I'd put my Timberline 4-person up anything that cost twice as much, especially in a windstorm. I happened on an REI tent-testing session at a local airport some years ago. The testers were tying various tents onto a flatbed trailer, then driving up and down the runway ar speeds varying from 20-50 mph. Testers sat inside the tents to measure deflection and wind noise. If I remember correctly, a North Face got the best score.

Closest thing you’ll find in modern offering is probably a “Eureka Timberline 4?” We used em in scouts and they’re very similar looking to this. 

You do not want all season or 4 season. You want winter or expedition. If you are doing real winter camping. Growing up I camped year round in New England. We did a trip every month for about 12 years. We used green eureka a frames. If you are not base camping in alpine areas, then the expedition tents are overkill.

You're not dramatic. I worked for an outfitter and we slept the listed capacity in the Eureka A-frames. When they call it a 6 person tent- they mean 6 bodies, there is space for 6 sleeping bags but thats it. When I guided trips the rule was you got your sleeping bags and a water bottle in the tent. Gear was stored outside under a tarp. I have an LL Bean 6 person dome tent. I take it by myself. I take a cot and sometimes if its raining ill even move my chair in there.

That reminds me of the Eureka A-Frame tents we always used in Boy Scouts. They were great. We could set them up and tear them down in no time.

If your campground camping. Walmart big, comforterable not hateful to setup. The poles won't bend if you look at them funny. It'll be fine. If it breaks just remember you saved $300 when you bought it and get yourself another 4 bedroom 2.5bath tent. Walk the couple isles over and get yourself a nice air mattress with all that money you saved. Really though, Walmart is the buy it first if it doesn't work the way you want buy something nicer when it's time. You're not worried about weight, your worried about quality. REI is great when it's time to be invested into a hobby. But Walmart will get you to enjoying it. If youre still not convinced and want to part with more of your money. Eureka makes a damn good tent for what you're trying to do. Specifically the a frame, however it doesn't have great airflow, you gotta point it towarda the wind. Read the reviews, there will be guys saying they've camped for 20 years with the first one. My dad regularly camped for 10 with his.