I am new to tent camping, so I cannot speak as an expert. I did do a great deal of internet based research to try to find the right test for our family of 6. Like the other reviewer, the Cougar Flats also looked like a good option, but I ultimately choose the Eureka due to the Eureka brand name and it's reputation for quality. We did have a backyard campout with the tent which at least gave me the opportunity to run it through a basic checkout. My impressions:
1) It's big! Great height. I'm short (5'6") and I can't even reach the top of the tent without a stool to hang the tent divider. We had three queen air mattresses in and that still left us with a reasonable spot for gear. There are two doors, one at opposing corners (to match with the divider when it is in use)
2) Divider: It is not a zipper, but it hangs on hooks. Because it is not a zipper based divider, it simply hangs over the floor and there is a gap all around (maybe an 1"?). So it provides some division, but not "real" privacy if you were concerned about that aspect. ( But if you have it up and "fold it back" the tent looks very "fancy". My kids got a big kick out of it.)
3) Very easy setup. Due to my height, I'm not sure I could put it up by myself, in particular the fly. Although I was embarrassed trying to put up the awning. Instructions are not terribly clear on that point. (There are extra guy lines for the awning poles to latch them to the ground.)
4)Seams: Most seams are tape sealed, but you will need to seal up the others. No experience in rain.
5) Door Zippers: The flap which protects the zippers from the rain sure seems to get caught very easy in the zipper. I'm not sure there is much that can be done about that other than use care when getting zipping the door closed.
6) Awning: Nice touch, not terribly wide but would provide coverage in the case of rain when getting in/out of the tent. (see my comments about setup) It does look quite nice and could get you somewhat out of the sun.
7) Other: Nice touches with the partitions in the roof to be able to zip in a small screen to block the sun during the day and open them at night. Lots of small latches for things. Zipper on both sides for power cords (great addition). Top is totally open and would be quite dramatic without the fly cover IF you could trust it wouldn't rain. Fly Cover is not that easy to just "throw on". I'm not sure what you would do if it started to rain with the rain fly on. Comes in a bag with cloth handles that seems reasonably robust. And yes, we did get the tent back in the original bag, although I kept the poles and stakes separate.
I'll post up additional comments once we've used the tent a few times more.
Edit: June 8th, 2007
We've done a number of "backyard" trips, and finally went to the wilderness to briefly try it out. I think most of my original comments are still accurate. Here's some updates:
1) The stakes are junk! We had some serious winds and the stakes would simply not hold the tent down. Fortunately I had purchased some Colman stakes (Coleman Tent Kit) for backup and at 2:00am I was out using them to get the guy lines to stay down. Having said that, the tent did ultimately hold up well in some very serious winds. (Hint: buy some good stakes and take a hammer)
2) Setup was as easy as ever. Tent fit well into our spot with no problems. Lots of room with 3 queen air mattresses.
3) Didn't use the awning. This seems to be a weak part of the setup. In a few nights in the backyard it simply can't hold up to any wind at all.
4)Tent fits nicely back into the original back and is light-weight (minus poles) I carry the pole bag separate but put everything else into the tent back. Not a big challenge, which is nice.
5) Continued issues with the zippers. I'm tempted to cut the black flap and Velcro it back when it isn't raining. You have to be very careful not to zipper the flap into the zipper. We've done this a number of times and you can fix it, but not a good thing during a middle of the night bathroom break.
6.) We used a combination of overhead lighting (Coleman Tent Light)and a small florescent lantern (Coleman 4D Pack-Away Lantern) and the combination worked out well.
Additional Feedback, June 23, 2007: All still accurate, a few more trips completed. The one issue I am starting to have is corner poles collapsing under very strong wind gusts. I'm no expert, so I'm not sure if this is a design defect or my inability to correctly put up the tent. See discussion below.
August 2010: The tent is still holding up quite well. We use it a few times each summer, nothing too rough. The overall quality is still there, no major issues. I still think you run a risk in high winds due to the high sided design, not sure there is much that can be done about that. I'm now back in the midwest, so no more strong canyon winds to worry about. But overall, good quality after 3 years of use. Eureka! Copper Canyon 1312 Eight-Person 13-Foot by 12-Foot Family Tent - Cabin Tent - Great Family Tent - Camping - Large Tent'
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