User Review: Bibler Eldorado

Bibler Eldorado
Above: The current Eldorado, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 28, 1996 by TAKIFFL@...

Rating:
Design: small 2-person single wall
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: harder than you would think, especially the vestibule
Weight: 5.7 lbs w/ vestibule
Price Paid: $720 w/vestibule

The Eldorado is a single wall (Gore-Tex type fabric) tent that has gotten good reviews and is lighter than most four-season winter tents. The poles go inside the tent and are secured by 13 velcro tabs. The tent has no integral vestibule, but Bibler offers two add-on vestibules, the 1 lb. zip on and the 1.5 lb 'original'. Based on what I had heard about and thought of the design, I thought it would be a good light, strong, easy to set up winter tent for mountaineering use (albeit a bit expensive).

I was wrong, and would not buy the tent again. Here is why:

Weight: The tent is advertized as 4.2 lbs, but that does not include the vestibule, which in my opinion is highly necessary for winter use with a liquid fuel stove (those who use gas cartridge stoves would want a second door on the tent instead for cooking inside, which adds weight and cost itself). The lighter, cheaper zip-on vestibule is very poorly designed and HAS NO DOOR so is unusable unless you get the optional two door model of the tent for more money and weight. The 'original' vestibule adds 1.5 lbs so the total weight of the tent is only 2-3 lbs lighter than, say, a North Face Mountain 24 or a Sierra Designs Tiros Expedition. And even this weight savings is obtained at a great sacrifice of . . . Strength: The Eldorado has only two poles (plus one more for the vestibule), compared to four for most winter tents. The result is the tent has very little resistance to lateral winds. I spent half a night awake on Mt. Rainier last summer holding the side of the tent up to keep it from being completely squashed by only moderately strong winds above treeline. The tent has two guy attachments on the sides which are necessary to increase the interior space but are too low to provide much strength. As a result I cannot recommend the tent for use above treeline. Snow walls help of course, but the very reason for using a tent is to avoid having to spend hours with a shovel. This lack of wind resistance is not really a fault of the tent, just a consequence of the design which trades strength for weight. Four pole tents are inherently MUCH stronger.

Ease of Setup: It is much harder than I expected to set up, with 13 little velcro tabs used to secure the poles inside the tent. The velcro is really needed when there is any kind of wind at all, but just try messing with them before you have removed your boots (i.e. with your feet sticking out the tent door) and with cold or gloved hands. the vestibule is a real pain in the butt too, with a narrow, sticky pole sleeve, grommets, and yes, more velcro. Overall, I think even with no fly to put on, setting up the Eldorado is harder than a similarly sized clip or even pole sleeve tent (I prefer clips, myself).

So sorry, Todd, I don't know how you get those great testamonials from people who used the Eldorado for three months in the Himalayas, but you won't be getting one from me.

Incidently, Bibler makes a larger four pole model called the Fitzroy, but not only is it 7.5 lbs with the vestibule, and costs about $900, but also it has even MORE Velcro tabs!