User Review: Eureka! Apex 2XT

Eureka! Apex 2XT
Above: The current Apex 2XT, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed April 27, 2007 by Arnold Markowitz

Rating:
Design: 3-season freestanding dome
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: easy for one person. 2 are better in a wind.
Weight: I don't know; pretty light for its size.
Price Paid: can't recall

I bought the tent in 1997 for a run on the Tatshenshini-Alsek and have never had much of an urge to replace it. It's lasted longer than any other heavy-use camping gear I own.

It goes up and comes down pretty quickly. It serves me just as well on whitewater rafting trips in Yukon and Alaska as it does at home in Florida. I pitch it very tight to prevent rain pooling, and I think that also helps it to withstand a stiff wind. A few years ago one of the original fiberglass poles split; I replaced those with the lightweight aluminum poles and Ol' Man Tent just keeps rollin' along.

It's never leaked, probably because I re-seal the seams, all of them, at least once a year. After every trip I use a flashlight to check for small holes; I think there are maybe two small patches in the floor. I also always protect the floor with a blue tarp ground cloth, which is almost weightless. I like stuff that lasts a long time, and I've no doubt those precautions help a lot.

I especially like the door arrangement, with an inner door of nylon behind the mesh door on each side. I tie it back, open, in warm weather and close when cold/windy.

One squawk: the fly zippers require me to wiggle halfway out and reach far to unzip them from inside. I was one of (probably) many who asked Eureka for a better way, and I guess the curved zipper is the result--although I could have predicted some leakage there. A wider eyebrow over it might solve that.
Eureka's Pinnacle Pass tent is a virtual twin of the Apex, except that the PP has a 3-person model.
The difference between Apex and PP is about like that between a Ford and the equivalent Mazda, which Ford used to build.