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98 of 100 found the following review helpful:
 Early Review: Good quality May 12, 2007
By Kent Vaughn
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.
57 of 59 found the following review helpful:
 Happy Camper ! May 31, 2007
By T. Cline
Howdy! I purchased this tent as a replacement for my old 16x9 tent.Being a camper for over 40 years,I wanted time proven design, along with functionality and newer lightweight materials. I had the same issues as everyone else finding a review for this tent as none were available at the time of my purchase. After many hours,I decided on the Copper Canyon because of the weight, seperate doors for each room, and the footprint was a little more managable than the Columbia everyone likes. Also Eurika has a good reputation for quality and design.
The craftmanship and materials are top notch.All seams are double stitched and many are taped.
Setup was a breeze with my 11 year old daughter(about 20 mins first time)Takes about 15 mins myself now.
I was very pleased with the vertical walls. Being 6'5" it was great being able to walk corner to corner without having to duck!
I almost could'nt beleive how high the tub floor seams were above the ground.
I love the sweep out feature at the doors,this makes clean out easy because you dont have to broom out over a seam!
The rain fly protects well without obstructing window view and at 150 square feet this is very roomy for me and my three daughters.
It goes back in the bag easily and is easy to carry.
Now the meat.
This tent was field tested in the back yard.I set it up and let it up for 4 days for seam sealing. The first day a violent thunderstorm rolled through(40mph winds and walls of rain).This was before I had applied seam seal.I was totaly surprised this tent held its own. The walls stayed rigid and kept there form. After several hours of pounding rain I was quite relieved to see only a small wet spot(about 3") where the drivin rain was forced up under the fly(my fault I left the fly unattached to the center post). All the door and window seams were dry.
The self healing zippers are good with reinforced fabric seams.As with all tent and sleeping bag zippers,they should still be handled with care.
I was very pleased with the "no see-um" mesh in the windows and doors. After 3 days not a single bug got in untill I left the door open on day 4. The awning works well for sun and rain.
All this said I am very pleased with this tent.It is a great buy, with great features and I can and will recommend it to all.I gave this tent a 5 because the craftmanship and materials are very good with no defects anywhere,it survived that wicked storm unscaved, and it sets up and down easily.It has a great size to weight ratio and I had no trouble getting it back in the bag. Its also easy on the eyes and looks great in the woods(No red!).I hope this helps and I wish you all the best on your next camping trip....Enjoy it out there folks!!
49 of 51 found the following review helpful:
A Great Choice! Sep 16, 2007
By David J. Adams
"Docksider 1"
Eureka! Copper Canyon 1312 Eight-Person 13- by 12-Foot Family Tent
For more than two months we searched for a new large family tent. We looked at several "name" brands and studied, studied, and studied some more. We had our previous Eureka tent for 30 (yes 30!) years and it finally got a bit worn. We settled on this tent for it's size, features, feedback from current owners, and previous experience with Eureka. And we liked the way it looked! What a great choice! First let me offer a rebuttal to some of the more common concerns I read about this tent:
1/ The shock corded poles are EASY to put together and understand. As with anything, being careful helps. Take them apart and put them together carefully.
2/ My dad once said "When all else fails, read the directions". I did that before beginning and it really made assembly easy.
3/ Lay everything out carefully before beginning, and it's easy to figure all the parts out.
4/ Don't do ANYTHING before the directions tell you to. That's how things get ripped, broken etc. Don't force anything. You don't have to with this tent. If you are forcing something, you're doing it wrong!
5/ It's a BIG tent. Have someone help you set it up. If you want a big tent, expect it to take some extra effort and time to set it up.
6/ DON'T set it up for the first time in the dark. Practice before you go on your first trip with it. It's fun!
7/ Notice how it comes out of the bag and refold it carefully. We got it back in the bag with no problem....poles and all!
8/ Drop the awning and angle it away from the tent when it rains and there is absolutely no problem.
9/ Zippers worked just fine. Again....Be careful! Don't rush. With proper care they work just fine. For us they didn't hang up at all.
This is an AWESOME tent! With proper preparation, it went up easily and staked out perfectly. We went to a state park for the first outing and had several heavy rains and some pretty fair winds. It didn't leak and it didn't budge. It is great fun and plenty large enough to hang out in during inclement weather. We liked the fact that the floor was flat throughout the entire tent. It gives such a look of roominess. And I'm 6'0 tall. The height througout is amazing. You will love this tent. If you take care of it, it will take care of you!
29 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Great tent for family camping May 03, 2008
By my5kidsdad
I have 5 kids ranging from ages 7 to 20 (3 boys and two girls) and we took this tent camping over a 3 day weekend. It was extremely spacious and easily accommodated everyone plus our gear. Just like a traditional cabin tent, the tall sides make it very roomy, plus you have the easy convenience of setting it up as you would a dome tent. Two of my sons are over 6" and had no trouble at all in this tent. Don't put too much stock in the room divider for any sort of privacy though. If you are hoping to have any real privacy while tent camping, you're kidding yourself. That's just not going to happen.
The tent actually holds the heat in quite well. At night, the outside temperature was down to about 40 degrees. A small tent heater, plus the heat from 6 bodies was enough to keep us cozy. Normally, I would not even take a tent heater when we camp, but the power port made it a very convenient option. It was very warm (85 degrees) during the day and the very large zippered windows made it easy to let the breeze flow through and keep it comfortable inside without the flying insects coming in through the screens.
The stakes, as have been reviewed earlier, are not worth the metal used to create them, but I had heavy duty stakes ready for the task. We had some strong (30-35 mph) winds on the second day, which really whipped through the canyon we were in, and the tent stood up to them very well. The guy lines are conveniently stored in pockets attached to the tent and work very well. We did not use the awning. That just seemed kind of silly to me.
All of the window and door covers are reinforced and the zippers are very good quality. The poles are simple to understand and the tent is easy to assemble. The floor is a little thin considering the very good quality of the overall tent, but if you take an appropriately sized heavy duty tarp along as a ground cover, its just fine.
A couple bits of advice: First of all, while this tent comes with a bag, it is not going to last through a lot of use. Get yourself a golf bag which can be zipped closed to carry this tent. Not only will you have better straps for carrying the tent (37 lbs), but additionally you can now easily carry a hammer and the tarp. Second, set the tent up in the backyard before you go camping with it. Once you understand how to set it up it's a breeze, but you don't want to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what goes where when you open tent up. It is so big, that it could seem overwhelming to assemble for the first time. (it's not tough when you have no pressure to figure it out.)
I also have to note that I am a scoutmaster for a local Boy Scout troop and camp an average of 20 nights per year. Our troop uses tents by this same company and I have watched Eureka tents stand up to some very serious abuse for years. Not only has inclement weather played a role in that abuse, but boys can be a pretty hard on the gear. This company has admirably withstood the test. That played a big role in my decision to purchase this tent for my family. Buy this one with confidence!
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Can't believe it all fits back in the bag! Jun 11, 2007
By B. Smith
I bought the 10 X 10, great, but too small, this one was perfect size, still able to put it up myself (I am 5'8" female). It was roomy and held up well to the wind. I shopped around for a long time before buying the copper canyons, I practically need a mobile hotel room and that is what I got. Everything works well, zippers, rainfly, etc., no problems and I highly recommend this tent. I did look at the Cougar Flats set up at a store and didn't like that the room divider is built in and you had to step over a riser even if you didn't want a second room so it cuts down on how you can lay out the room. Also, I sincerely doubted being able to fit everything back in the bag, but sure enough, got it all back in. Great tent, love it.
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