Obsession over Family Tent III

So, let's see:  So far I have mentioned that our original box-store tent did great:  Easy to open, durable, snug, big enough for 3 kids and two adults as long as you didn't mind stepping over everyone to go out and chase away racoons from your Dutch oven with leftover cobbler in it.

But, with child four coming and about 12 years on the box-store tent, we went with the Eureka Titan:  13.9 ft. by 9.5 ft, about 131 sq feet or about 40 sq ft more than our first tent.

We loved the rectangular design and the ability to now have little hallways between the air mattresses and suitcases, etc. The walls do go fairly vertical (unlike the dome tent where being 6'2" I had to stand in the middle of the round tent (usually wobbling on the air mattress) to stand up straight.  Now, the walls are not PERFECTLY vertical, but slope in a bit, but overall I felt like I was in a snug little cabin for my family.

We also wanted a tent that would be easy to set up.  If you have traveled with small children, you know there is that moment you finally get to your site and you open up the van door--packs of string cheese, water bottles, cheerios falling to the ground--an all at once you have sixty things to do--and most of those are contingent on getting that tent up: can't move suitcases or blow up mattresses or have a nice place to put the two year old who prattled the whole way to the campground only to fall asleep as you were putting the car in park at your site------until the tent goes up.

Compound that with rain, you have a disaster (as happened our last trip to Peninsula State Park, Door County Wisconsin).   

You have to get that tent up fast.

We are VERY, VERY pleased with how easily the Titan sets up.  It basically has two sets of exterior bars that form an "X" over the tent and then clip into the tent floor, making the tent self supporting. You can see the exterior suppor bars below.  Now YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU PLACE THE BARS IN OPPOSITE CORNERS ON FIRST because the bars DO take a good deal of pressure to squeeze into place.  In fact, the first time you put up the tent, you will probably say to yourself, "This CAN'T BE RIGHT!" and you'll have visions of snapping the bars and throwing your five-hundred dollar tent into the garbage bin.  But, AS LONG AS YOU PLACE THE TOP COUPLER (called a spider) CORRECTLY AND DO THE OPPOSITE BARS TOGEHTER, the tent goes up quickly and STAYS UP.

The bars are beefy, and the design is elegant in its simplicity.  As long as you have two reasonably competent adults (and practice a time or two before leaving on the trip), you can get the tent and fly up in about 15 - 20 minutes max.

So, thus far, for the floor plan and ease of set up -- we think the tent is great. More coming.