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Snake Farm
01-11-2011, 19:34
Hey all,

I have been planning to do an AT NoBo thru hike. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the Eureka Solitaire Tent along the trail or otherwise. I hear many people complaining about the poles snapping so im a little cautious about that. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks all!


Oh, and also, can a veteran thru-hiker give me a rough approximation of how often you will be using a tent vs the hiker shelters?

Yahtzee
01-11-2011, 19:53
I can't speak the your first question. I have a Eureka Spitfire that I think is a great tent. I use it with more frequency than my TT Rainbow.

As to your second question, the number of days you spend in shelters is entirely up to your desire to stay in them. It really is as simple as that. If you wanted to, you could stay in a shelter on probably 90% of the nights. However, after staying in them for a while, you might come to consider the 5 minutes you spend setting up your tent a small price to pay for not having to worry about bugs, snoring, headlamps or mice.

My rule of thumb is that I only stay in shelters if there is rain. No sense in carrying around a wet tent. Beyond that, I always chose to stay in my tent. The benefits of tenting far outweigh the drawback of having to set up/take down a tent. That's what I have found. When you get out there, you might find different. But I'd wait til I got out there to see the pros/cons of your sleep choices.

enurdat1
01-11-2011, 20:20
I've got a Solitaire, and love it. I did have the front pole snap when taking it down this past fall. I ordered a new pole (Eureka offered to evaluate the tent to see if the pocket was too short, but it would have taken about 2 months total, and then I would be responsible for the $$ if the pocket wasn't the problem), and trimmed it down about an inch. Works great. Can't help you on the second Q.

Snake Farm
01-11-2011, 21:53
Thanks guys. Im planning to do most of my sleeping in the shelters and only use my tent if shelters are full or in the case of inclement weather, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I wont need to rely on it too heavily.

Phreak
01-11-2011, 22:19
I wasn't impressed with the Solitaire. On the heavy side for a single person shelter.

Snake Farm
01-11-2011, 22:51
I wasn't impressed with the Solitaire. On the heavy side for a single person shelter.


Have any recommendations for lighter ones?

WI_Mike
01-11-2011, 23:26
I have the Spitfire too. Check it out and the comments in this thread. http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10495

I'm not sure where you get the Solitare from, but the Spitfire seems to only be available by mail order really. But I like it. Also note there is also a Spitfire UL (ultralight). Apparently the UL has been discontinued though and it sounds like it (the UL model) got some negative reviews. See the above thread - one of the posters toward the end distinguishes between the Spitfire 1 and Spitfire Solo. I don't know what the difference between those two is and I'm not sure which one I have. But got mine this spring via mail order from some web site.

See also the reviews here.

http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Spitfire-Tent-1-Person-3-Season/dp/B002OJBRS4

Newb
01-12-2011, 09:53
I have the Spitfire UL. Hiked with it quite a bit but was disappointed that it would never stake out as advertised. The support posts at the foot end (replaced the hoop on the original Spitfire) just didn't do the trick.

So I go the Big Agness Seedhouse 1. Love it. Sorry Eureka, you almost had me.

Mrs Baggins
01-12-2011, 10:30
We own 3 of them. We started hiking with these in 2003 and learned our lesson fast. They are heavy and the poles do snap fast. And when you're cold and tired it's a huge pain in the a** to get those poles through the sleeves and get it all staked out. We use MSR Hubbas now and love them - freestanding, no shoving poles thru sleeves, simple hub and click one-pole system. There's no sit up room in the Solitaire (and I'm only 4' 10" and can't sit up at all) and very little room for anything but your prone body. But they were cheap so that's why we bought them. Now they sit on a shelf in the gear room.

Big Dawg
01-12-2011, 10:35
Have any recommendations for lighter ones?

Tarptent Moment (http://tarptent.com/moment.html)

mister krabs
01-12-2011, 10:52
The spitfire is more popular than the solitaire, it's 20$ more, has aluminum clip on poles instead of fiberglass in sleeves and you can sit up in it. Kittery trading post near your posted location carry's them so you can see one in person.

Grampie
01-12-2011, 12:12
I used a Eureka Solitaire tent for 1/2 of my thru. I had no problems with the tent or poles breaking. I found that it's light weight, easy to put up and cheap to buy. The only thing I don't like about it is that to enter it you have to sit on the ground first. Then slide in from the sitting position. I soon carryed a piece of plastic that I could place on the ground to sit on. I would then take into the tent. There isn't enough room inside to keep your pack in with you.

Snake Farm
01-12-2011, 14:46
The spitfire is more popular than the solitaire, it's 20$ more, has aluminum clip on poles instead of fiberglass in sleeves and you can sit up in it. Kittery trading post near your posted location carry's them so you can see one in person.

Yeah, I saw them there, thats where I got my solitaire but the spitfire weighed 3 oz more and I was going as light as possible.

I think i'll just stick with the solitaire and hope for the best. I dont plan on using it too much and if anything happens i'll just buy a new one along the way.

jersey joe
01-12-2011, 16:11
I thru hiked with this tent. I also mostly stayed in shelters and found this an adequate tent. It kept me dry, warm and bug free when I did use it. I will say that I had both sets of poles break during my thru hike. I believe the issue with poles breaking was with the aluminum poles. they have since gone back to the fiberglass poles.

bigmac_in
01-12-2011, 16:19
If you aren't going to use it much, the Solitare should work for you. I had one and didn't like it because you can't sit up in it. It's really only good for sleeping. I bought the Spitfire and like it much more - bought it on clearance at MC sports for less than I paid for the Solitare.

Of course, I don't know why you'd want to stay in a shelter, but that's a whole other argument, isn't it?

daddytwosticks
01-12-2011, 17:14
I love my old Spitfire 1 man tent. I've raved about it before on many threads. It's not perfect (is anything). Wish the poles broke-down into shorter lengths. :)