Still a classic!

After lo these many years, the Eureka Timberline tent keeps showing up on catalog pages. Why? Because it is just about the best value in a two-person tent that has ever come down the pike, and savvy campers who would rather hang onto their money (at the expense of not having the latest in "cool" gear) keep snapping up these beauties by the thousands.

Once you grasp the concept that the little white plastic thingee has an arrow telling you which way to point it when you insert the aluminum poles, and you can tell the tent leg poles from the spanner pole (spanner has two stickey-inny ends), then this tent is the easiest one you will ever set up. And when properly erected, the Timberline has excellent wind and rain resistance for a three-season tent.

Spend a few extra dollars and buy the optional vestibule, which gives you some outside space for storing your wet things. It also provides a bit more warmth and protection from wind and rain when you point the front toward incoming weather.

At about seven pounds, it is light enough for backpacking, especially when shared by two.

Since this tent was introduced about a jillion years ago, Eureka has come out with several other tents based on the same design, including a four-person version, one with two doors, outfitter versions (with heavier materials and zippers), one with a hoop in the middle to make it roomier, and one that is downsized to make it lighter. All have their benefits but the plain old Timberline-2 still hangs in the product line.

We have had only one complaint about this tent, and that is that the design of the bottom door zipper puts it at risk of getting lots of soil, sand, or whatever. This means that eventually the zipper will blow out and need to be replaced. We have found Eureka customer service to be excellent, inexpensive (if out of warranty), and fairly prompt at replacing these zippers. We strongly recommend you request an OVERSIZED zipper when replacing tent zippers, and Eureka will gladly do this.