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RIP 1984 Eureka Halfdome: A tent of valor, where can one find it?

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So, incredibly, it's time to toss my beloved and much-abused Eureka Halfdome into the dumpster. It makes me tear up just to say it!! :( I bought it while I was at SUNY Binghamton, and it's served me well, but at Arches a few weeks ago I found that the waterproofing has broken down, which, as it turns out, makes it smell like vomit even after two weeks airing out in the living room. Sure, I could take drastic measures, like spraying waterproofing on the whole floor and fly, but it would still stink, and the truth is that it's stained and homely and frayed and it's time to let go. I'm heartbroken. :Cry:

But before I give in, let me sing its praises:

It's been a true freestanding 4-season tent. The entire front door and back window could be opened for no-see-um mesh ventilation or have the fabric be zipped up, or left a little open for privacy. Staked down with the fly it was bombproof. It had a 50" peak height and was spacious for me; I've spent many long winter evenings with a few candle lanterns or even my propane lamp keeping it cozy with the mercury below 10 degrees outside.

Here are some of the places this tent has been:

My first backpacking trip, in the high peaks of the Adirondacks (thundrous storms for 4 out of 7 days); looping through Fish and Owl Canyons on Cedar Mesa north of the San Juan River; River trips on the San Juan and Green Rivers and in Ruby/Horsethief and Cataract Canyons; a week on the Tonto Trail in mid-December; a bear-season trip to Yellowstone NP with flaky hippy friends; a February trip to Yosemite with a bunch of other rangers, in which we camped on ice in driving rain in the valley and snowshoed in the high country; all-season camping excursions in the Canyonlands Needles District, Arches NP, etc; and a mosquito-ridden bivouac outside the Okefenokee Swamp.

Just to add insult to injury, the only affordable replacements I've found are the REI Cirque or Arete. Both are at least as nice, though their rainflies include vestibules that require stakes. :mad: Aside from expensive lightweight mountaineering tents and Springbar's siliconized canvas behemoths, I haven't found other tents with less than 1/3 mesh bodies, which couldn't possibly stay cozy in a shoulder-season storm, even with a great fly design. And privacy without the fly on? Hah!

OK, I've been through a few of the stages of grief here (anger and bargaining), and I still have the mostly-mesh REI Quarterdome I bought for next to nothing a few years ago, so I'm not completely tent-less. Once I've saved enough for a new apartment and my 2011-2012 season pass I can start saving for a new tent for the other three seasons. Meanwhile I'll set it up once again in the living room, take a few pictures, and then, without much ceremony, carry it to the trash room.
 

mtngirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
tents are sentimental, aren't they? I have a Mountain hardware tent that this hippy boyfriend I had when I was on my early 20's bought at a pawn shop, but gave to me for my birthday because he didn't want more "stuff" and I love that tent!

I have loved in it, cried in it, shivered in it, sweated in it.. laughed in it! its the best.. it has panels to cover the mesh windows..

Are you looking for a light weight tent? I have been eyeing some of the big agnes tents lately, and SAC has a lot of tent deals often...
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
tents are sentimental, aren't they? I have a Mountain hardware tent that this hippy boyfriend I had when I was on my early 20's bought at a pawn shop, but gave to me for my birthday because he didn't want more "stuff" and I love that tent!

I have loved in it, cried in it, shivered in it, sweated in it.. laughed in it! its the best.. it has panels to cover the mesh windows..

Are you looking for a light weight tent? I have been eyeing some of the big agnes tents lately, and SAC has a lot of tent deals often...

It's nice to know others get so attached to their temporary outdoors housing! I need it for solo car camping, which almost by definition means backpacking tents (except for the 20# Springbar); if I were to start backpacking again I think a screen tent would be fine, and if I start winter backpacking it'll be time to invest in a $500 or $600 tent anyways.

I have one more peculiar desire that others don't seem to share (at least not enough for the tent manufacturers to accommodate it in non-mountaineering tents): the ability to open the fly from the top to see what's going on in a campground without opening up the whole vestibule and exposing myself half-dressed. My REI half dome's vestibule has to be unzipped from the bottom, which means having no view without opening up the whole tent to the weather and the view of anyone hanging around. It's just hard for me to believe that campers are happy with a tent that doesn't button up tight with or without the fly.

Is SAC short for Sacramento Outdoor Gear? Or do you mean Sports Authority?
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
It's nice to know others get so attached to their temporary outdoors housing! I need it for solo car camping, which almost by definition means backpacking tents (except for the 20# Springbar); if I were to start backpacking again I think a screen tent would be fine, and if I start winter backpacking it'll be time to invest in a $500 or $600 tent anyways.

I have one more peculiar desire that others don't seem to share (at least not enough for the tent manufacturers to accommodate it in non-mountaineering tents): the ability to open the fly from the top to see what's going on in a campground without opening up the whole vestibule and exposing myself half-dressed. My REI half dome's vestibule has to be unzipped from the bottom, which means having no view without opening up the whole tent to the weather and the view of anyone hanging around. It's just hard for me to believe that campers are happy with a tent that doesn't button up tight with or without the fly.

Is SAC short for Sacramento Outdoor Gear? Or do you mean Sports Authority?

OMG, you don't know about www.steepandcheap.com? Seriously?

Personally, I'd never buy (keep) a tent that I couldn't check out the features personally on. We were tent shopping last summer and went through 4 that we brought home and set up before we found the one that met our needs.

As a repair person, I really get the whole emotional attachment to gear thing. I've experienced it myself, and have heard lot a great stories from customers.

Zipper sliders can be installed reverse. It may be possible to reconfigure sliders to get your door to function the way you want it to.
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I knew about steepandcheap; I just didn't catch what its acronym might be. :embarrassed:

I never thought about re-configuring the zipper! Kirkhams does all kinds of repairs (they replaced the zipper and patched one of the mesh panels years ago), so that'd be easy and cheap. I may just do that with my REI half dome (or maybe it's a quarter dome? who knows); a triple zipper so it could be opened at the top to peek out or ventilate and from the bottom to actually open the vestibules!
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh, and tracking SAC is a pain. I tried their widget but got distracted by the window popping up at the bottom of my browser. Also, at least a few months ago, absolutely nothing of interest ever came up, so it wasn't worth it.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I know REI staff is pretty hit or miss regarding expertise, but you might head down tell them what you had, what you loved about it and ask their advice. And I agree with geargrrl about setting up the tents and really seeing what they are like.

I can't deal with SAC either. It takes way too much effort.

exposing myself half-dressed.

So, are you really camping where campsites are situated so tightly and without any privacy vegetation/rocks inbetween sites that others are going to get a glimpse at your goodies if you are just peeking out? I think I've always had vestibules that zip from the bottom and I've never felt exposed.
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
hmm, I don't use a sac widget, I just check the site numerous times a day. We've really scored on socks, soft shells, life jackets, lanterns and a few other things.

When we were tent shopping last year for a three person backpacking tent that was big enough to be comfortable for car/river camping, I used a spreadsheet to consolidate info. Once you know what square footage you want, and how high you want the high point, it's really easy to start ruling out things that just won't work.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
hmm, I don't use a sac widget, I just check the site numerous times a day. We've really scored on socks, soft shells, life jackets, lanterns and a few other things.


I rarely bother with steepandcheap unless I'm looking for something like a tent, but check bonktown and chainlove several times a day.

But I can totally relate to the privacy thing. It's extremely rare for us to have a campsite to ourselves, it's usually got at least 3+ tents full of friends. (Not much vegetation in Moab to hide behind). And my husband won't even consider putting the rain fly on unless it's actually raining or the evening temperature will be below about 40. The top of our tent is just mesh on two sides (you can zip up the "windows" on the doors) so you just have to hide in the right corner to change. :laugh: But we just have an REI 4 person tent, which has worked really well for car camping for us +2 dogs.
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I know REI staff is pretty hit or miss regarding expertise, but you might head down tell them what you had, what you loved about it and ask their advice. And I agree with geargrrl about setting up the tents and really seeing what they are like.

The SLC store has some dough-heads and some real sharp staff. The guy I talked to most recently about tents does a lot of what I do-- 4 season car camping, usually in campgrounds or with other friends in their own tents, except that he also does some backpacking. Citing the same requirements as mine, he recommended the Cirque, but for some reason the Arete appeals to me too--no doubt because it's a 2-poler, which reminds me of my old--<sob!> They're half the price of similar tents in other brands. Then again, I do very little mid-summer camping in the low country because I can't physically tolerate heat, so there you go.

So, are you really camping where campsites are situated so tightly and without any privacy vegetation/rocks inbetween sites that others are going to get a glimpse at your goodies if you are just peeking out? I think I've always had vestibules that zip from the bottom and I've never felt exposed.

Desert campgrounds might have a tree or a little scrub between campsites but with some exceptions (Arches, for instance) the sites are usually right on the campground road. Mountain campgrounds usually mean completely cleared campground space, and camping off of roads in the woods or desert means bikers or other recreationists walking rolling past now and then. I'm rarely nekked when camping; it's just a privacy thing. Also, because I usually travel alone, I don't necessarily want to reveal the gender of the weirdo in a tent in the middle of the stinking desert.*

* "Stinking desert" generally refers to low featureless greyish-brown country stretched out as far as the eye can see, covered with 6-8" high blackbrush, snakeweed, or other alkali-tolerant scrub, and populated by virtually nothing. See, for example, the Cisco Desert:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gafoto/5053277162/
https://www.jk-forum.com/showthread.php?127691-Top-of-the-World-amp-The-Cisco-Desert
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Oooh yeah when I was imagining Utah camping I was thinking Arches or Squaw Flat or Dead Horse Pt or those campsites by the CO River near Moab. With really cool nooks in the rocks or other screening that make it really private and cozy. I wasn't imagining a scene like the Cisco Desert picture, lol!
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Actually, Squaw Flat and even Arches have a couple of shallow ones facing the road; one facing North at Squaw Flat consists of a 20 foot wide strip of sandy ground between the road and a slickrock hump, and several on the SW side are only a little deeper with little vegetation. Most are much nicer and have at least a few trees, but I seem to end up in the teeny ones these days.

Sadly, my favorite Moab-area campsite is no longer accessible--it's in Seven Mile Canyon on the road to the Island in the Sky, far from the road and sheltered by big cottonwoods. Ahh, how I loved lying there listening to the soft clatter of the leaves in the hot summer breeze ... but then the BLM started taking responsibility for concentrating camping, etc., which is a good thing but inconvenient for those of us with our own favorite little-used spots.

The Cisco and Green River deserts, on the other hand, require no such 'concentration', and if you can find a little hillock high enough to screen you from traffic you're golden. You'll get full sun at dawn but it's dead quiet at night.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Actually, Squaw Flat and even Arches have a couple of shallow ones facing the road; one facing North at Squaw Flat consists of a 20 foot wide strip of sandy ground between the road and a slickrock hump, and several on the SW side are only a little deeper with little vegetation. Most are much nicer and have at least a few trees, but I seem to end up in the teeny ones these days.

Just finding any open/legal spot at all this spring is a challenge in Moab.... if you want vegetation and/or privacy, you would need some serious luck.
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had hoped to get down there either this coming weekend or next, but I just found out that my canceled May 18th hearing has been resurrected, so no go, and then it's going to be awful close to Memorial Day. I'll have to start thinking about alternatives--maybe somewhere deep in the Swell.
 

mtngirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
my tent, and a lot of others have windows in the rainfly. It lines up with a mesh panel, but has a deal that you can put in to cover it, out of regular tent material, it goes in with those loop with the long, oval button thing.
 

whitewater girl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just saw this!

You know, the Eureka outlet has an online store: https://www.eurekacampingctr.com/eureka/ ...they got pretty much wiped out by flooding last fall (and also back in '06), so their stock is not what it usually is, (and I'm not sure if any of their current offerings match your "lost" half-dome, but)...needless to say, with the store 3 miles away, they're my go-to place for camping gear...
 

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