User Review: Eureka! Blue Mesa 1610

Eureka! Blue Mesa 1610
Above: The current Blue Mesa 1610, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 8, 2004 by GFS

Rating:
Design: three season family
Sleeps: 6+
Ease of Setup: Moderate, easy with practice. Two people needed to avoid bending poles.
Weight: 25
Price Paid: $285

This was our first tent purchase for our family of five. There are two adults and three children. We reasearched extensively and decided on this tent. We had considered the Titan, but this tent (with almost equal SPACE) was on sale. It also had three rooms. My wife and I fit our queen mattress comfortably in the large center area leaving a 5 x 9 area for dressing etc. You could fit another full size matress here as well. One child lives in one end with a divider, and the other two in the other end. There is ample space in this tent.

I seam sealed the tent prior to its first use; however we took on some water. When I returned home I applied some waterproofing to the lower half and resealed all seams. On our next weeklong trip we took on no water even though it rained 5 of 7 days.

Part of the issue is that the rainfly needs to extend farther over the edges. I believe the manufacturers decided against a larger fly in an effort to allow more airflow. On each side of the tent there is a mesh screen roof. Without the fly there is good circulation; however with the fly the circulation is reduced, again by what I belive to be an error in design. The rainfly is attached in a way which creates a seal over the mesh roof when the rainfly contacts the tent poles on each end. All that is left are two inch openings at the spot where the fly meets the lower edge of the arch formed by the tent. The fly should rest higher off the tent poles simliar to the Titan and other luxury tents Eureka makes.

I overcame this by placing a small piece of plastic tubing about an inch in diamter which raises the fly off the tent somewhat allowing air to flow through the roof. This made a much more comfortable interior and all but eliminated condensation inside.

The tent fits nicely in almost any campsite and we recommend this tent for a family. Have a large tarp ready in case of severe weather.

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