Eureka Performance Spitfire 2 10-Foot by 5-Foot Two-Person Backpacking Tent

by Eureka

$139.90
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Average Rating: * * * * half star
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Label:Eureka
UPC:083826283178
Binding:Sports
Published By:Eureka
ASIN:B000EQ8VTC
Category:Sports

Eureka Performance Spitfire 2 10-Foot by 5-Foot Two-Person Backpacking Tent Features

  • Two-pole hoop tent for two sleepers (38.75 square foot area)
  • Tent body is constructed entirely of no-see-um mesh to maximize air flow
  • Full coverage fly features a poke-out vent that's closable
  • Bathtub floor with taped seams protects against splashing rain
  • Center height of 43 inches; weighs 4 pounds

Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions

Product Description

Binghamton, NY is the home of Eureka! tents. During the past 100+ years they have been in business, Eureka! was first known as the Eureka Tent & Awning Company. They started with making products out of canvas, i.e. wagon covers, horse blankets, store awnings, American flags and tents for camping. Eureka! tents have been a part of several expeditions. In 1960, the Draw-Tite tent was used on a Himalaya Expedition to Nepal. This tent was a success due to the practical, free standing external frame. In the 1970's, backpackers or family campers enjoyed the Timberline&Reg; tent made by Eureka!. This tent has the StormSheild design which is completely self-supporting and lightweight. Easy for backpackers to carry. The Eureka! K-2 XT and Kahuna tents were used by explorers in 2004 on a 3,060 mile trek of the Blue Nile. Eureka Titan 8 person tent has near vertical walls which maximize interior space in this 2 room luxury tent. Eureka Sunrise 9 is a 4 or 5 person tent. Eureka Tetragon 5 is a 2 person recreational tent. Comes with color coded webbing make set up fast and efficient!
Amazon.com Product Description

The original Eureka SpitFire gets expanded to comfortably fit two sleepers with the two-pole Spitfire 2 hoop tent. It features more headroom than most tents in its class, making it very easy and comfortable to sit up in. It's also extremely well ventilated with large mesh panels--great for stargazing during summer trips. It has a large side door that makes it easy to get in and out of the tent. The bathtub floor keeps seams taut and high off the ground for superior protection.

The full coverage fly features a poke-out vent that's closable and accessible from inside the tent. Side release buckles attach the fly to body for fast easy set up. Only two stakes are required to secure the tent's body, and post and grommet corner attachments make set up easy. Other features include:

  • 4 storm guyouts on fly
  • 9 mm DAC Featherlite 7000 series aluminum frame
  • Inside storage pocket holds essentials
  • Flashlight loop
  • Tent, pole and stake bags included.

Specifications:

  • Area: 38.75 square feet
  • Floor size: 10 feet, 9 inches by 5 feet, 10 inches by 4 feet, 4.5 inches
  • Center height: 3 feet, 7 inches
  • Wall fabrics: 1.9-ounce 70D nylon taffeta w/1200mm coating
  • Floor fabrics: 1.9-ounce 70D nylon taffeta w/1200mm coating
  • Fly fabrics: 75D Stormshield polyester
  • Pack size: 5 by 17 inches
  • Weight: 4 pounds

About Eureka
Though the exact year is unknown, Eureka’s long history begins prior to 1895 in Binghamton, New York, where the company still resides today. Then known as the Eureka Tent & Awning Company, its first wares were canvas products--most notably, Conestoga wagon covers and horse blankets for nineteenth century American frontiersmen--as well as American flags, store awnings, and camping tents.

The company increased production of its custom canvas products locally throughout the 1930s and during the 1940 and even fabricated and erected the IBM "tent cities" just outside Binghamton. The seven acres of tents housed thousands of IBM salesmen during the company’s annual stockholders meeting, which had since outgrown its previous locale. In the 1940s, with the advent of World War II and the increased demand for hospital ward tents, Eureka expanded operations and began shipping tents worldwide. Ultimately, upon the post-war return of the GIs and the resultant housing shortage, Eureka turned its attention to the home front during the 1950s by supplying awnings for the multitude of mobile homes that were purchased.

In 1960, Eureka’s new and innovative Draw-Tite tent, with its practical, free standing external frame, was used in a Himalayan Expedition to Nepal by world renowned Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person documented to summit Mt. Everest only six years earlier. In 1963, Eureka made history during its own Mt. Everest ascent, with more than 60 of its tents sheltering participants from fierce 60+ mph winds and temperatures reaching below -20°F during the first all American Mt. Everest Expedition.

For backpackers and families, Eureka introduced its legendary Timberline tent in the 1970s. Truly the first StormShield design, this completely self-supporting and lightweight backpacking tent became one of the most popular tents the entire industry with sales reaching over 1 million by its ten year anniversary.

Eureka tents have also traveled as part of several historic expeditions, including the American Women’s Himalayan Expedition to Annapurna I in 1978 and the first Mt. Everest ascents by a Canadian and American woman in 1986 and 1988. In recent history, tents specially designed and donated by Eureka sheltered Eric Simonson and his team on two historic research expeditions to Mount Everest, this time in a quest for truth regarding the 1924 attempted summit of early English explorers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. During the 1999 expedition, the team made history finding the remains of George Mallory, but the complete mystery remained unsolved. Returning in 2001 to search for more clues, the team found amazing historical artifacts which are now on display at the Smithsonian.

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Customer Reviews

Light Weight, Decent Tent - Reviewed on 2008-09-01
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2 customers found this review helpful.

This tent is extremely light (just under a pound heavier than the ultra-light model) and is perfect for long back-packing trips. The bathtub floor and rainfly do everything possible to keep the water out. If staked down properly, water wont ever get in. I didnt even use the guy outs on the fly and water STILL didnt get in. On a clear night, the fly can be taken off completely or rolled up on the sides. If taken off, the entire night sky is avaiable for your perusal. Essentially, the tent without the fly is nothing but bug screening. It's the fly that actually gives the tent some privacy walls.

Now for the skinny:

I took this tent out on a camping trip and found the second day to be nothing short of a torrential downpour. It was then that I noticed the short side of owning this particular tent. Having NO VESTIBULE makes for a very wet entry into your tent. With his vestibule, my friend was able to have a place to shelter him from the water and take off/store his muddy boots where they woudlnt get rained on all night. The Spitfire doesnt have that ability, so you'll be forced to drag your muddy boots into the tent with you along with all the water that you wont be able to shake off.

For back-packing, this tent is hands down terriffic, but I am still going to look for another Eureka model that has a vestibule for those trips that last longer than any weather report.

One other thing to consider is that this tent is not free-standing, so you'll want to purchase some Groundhog Tent Stakes MSR Ground Hog Stake Kit or something equivalent that will do the job in rocky terrain (better to buy for rocky than to be without when the time is needed). The tent and fly can be put up with only 4 stakes, but a better idea would be to use 6 so the tent can be pulled out to its full width.

Lastly, unless you and the person you are sharing this tent with are on a romantic level, then I would suggest purchasing another tent for two. The only way it could work is for head to toe sleeping, but warm weather causes a bag to be thrown back and this creates a recipe for feet in the face. This tent is great for one person and some gear, but definitely not suited for two. Even if it had a vestibule for gear and boots, this tent would be ill suited for two people.
Fine tent but get some serious stakes - Reviewed on 2008-06-08
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1 customer found this review helpful.

Let me first say I have only used this tent twice, neither time in the rain. I once found that the ground I was camping on was very rocky and hard, making it impossible to plant the company-supplied stakes. I would highly recommend getting some heavy-duty stakes when you go camping with this tent. It is not a free-standing tent. It is a tension tent. You need to be able to drive in the stakes to get the tent to stand right (not to mention the rain fly).

Otherwise, I love the mesh top. I like the dual doors. It is very light-weight and doesn't take up much space. But get some better stakes. The ones that come with this tent will bend if you try to set them in hard ground.
great light-weight 2-person tent - Reviewed on 2007-12-24
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5 customers found this review helpful.

I've done quite a bit of searching around, and this is by far the lightest 2-person tent I've found... well, aside from a couple ultra-lite specialty companies... but they're harder to find, and MUCH more expensive. Plenty of room inside for two people and quite a bit of gear (depending on how tall you are) as there is a good sized area at the head end that, because of the way the tent tapers, isn't much use for adult people... but you can store a couple mid-sized packs there... or if you're camping with the pooch, it can curl up in that spot nicely. I like the layout with the 2-door design. Makes night-time "nature calls" much easier on your tent-mate. One can get up and exit the tent without worrying about kicking the other. Also, if it's a clear night, the fly ties up over each door to give you a pretty good view of the sky through the HUGE mesh panels. Actually, pretty much the whole upper section is mesh which is great for ventilation on warm nights, as well as keeping down the condensation on cooler nights. The only thing I would suggest is getting a better set of stakes for it. The ones it comes with are the basic steel wire hook type. Fine for plain-ol dirt, but not so good if it's a bit rocky or root-laden. Plus, they tend to bend a bit easily. I'd recommend a set of either the "MSR Ground Hog" aluminum stakes, or a titanium stake of similar design (angle or tri-leg... not the wire type). The alum and titanium are both lighter, the angle or tri-leg will be stronger. Other than the stakes (which are perfectly usable, though they won't last long), this is a great tent package... right around 4 lbs complete, straps nicely to a pack, and unlike other tents I've had in the past, it's actually pretty easy to get back into the bag if you're careful to roll most of the air out (I've had many tents where the bag was just too tight and made repacking a chore). Happy camping.
Make Sure to Pull it Nice & Tight - Reviewed on 2007-10-17
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10 customers found this review helpful.

I bought this tent when I was in the Montana Conservation Corps. I carried it on several long backpacking trips. It is a very nice tent, high quality materials, but there are two things that I wish I'd have known before ordering it.
The first is that the tent is not free standing. You have to stake the tent to the ground at five points for it to stand upright. You also have to stake the fly. It's hard to set up at night or on a tough surface because it's not free standing. Make sure to buy plenty of replacement stakes, because with this tent, you'll need 'em.
The second is that if you don't stake the fly tight enough, it has a flat surface on the top where water can pool and drip into the tent during the night, getting your down sleeping bag nice and wet for the 5 days ahead of you. When you stake the fly very very tightly, this can be avoided.
Beyond that, It is very lightweight and roomy for its weight, I'd reccomend it if you know what you're getting into.
Great Value - Reviewed on 2007-09-21
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1 customer found this review helpful.

I've used this tent on numerous trips. It's light considering it's size, great in all types of weather, and it sets up easily. There's not much more to say it's great. It's my favorite three seasons tent.
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