Protex Summit 6 vs Eureka Bella Coola 6

[tentmonkey]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with these tents. We're looking for a versatile mainly car camping 5 or 6 man tent but want to keep open to the possibility of using it for canoe trips. The Protex is on for $199 at Sail, regular $399. It's larger, with two large vestibules, but also heavy at 32 lbs. http://www.sail.ca/uploads/files/sit...te-2012_en.pdf
The Eureka is regular priced at Le Baron for $239. It is smaller but nice and light at 12 lbs. http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_sp13...ella_coola.pdf

I'm leaning towards the Eureka only because it's a good size for family canoe trips. Any opinions? I have found a bit on the Eureka but no reviews and absolutely nothing on the Protex. Thanks in advance.

[tplife]

Re: Protex Summit 6 vs Eureka Bella Coola 6

The Protex is an unknown here. The big discount sounds purposely deceiving considering the fiberglass poles and dated design. The Eureka! has a similar dated design (features cost $ due to patent protection, cutting corners in design, poles too few and too thin, etc.) but at least represents an entry-level tent that delivers needed features at a lower price than the "big boys" (NorthFace, Big Agnes, Sierra Designs, etc.). One thing that is a must is seeing both of these tents in person for these reasons. At 12 pounds the Eureka! is a throw-away tent that won't have rain or wind integrity. It looks like an updated version of the old pin-and-ring Tetragon series (I have one). The Protex is maybe 20% overweight, but likely a better design that needs hands-on inspection to compare as most fiberglas poles are poorly made. I would pass on either of these tents and go back to a quality name off Ebay purchased at a big discount. That website shows them from MSR, Mountain HardWear, MSR, and Big Agnes. Buy one of those instead of the Eureka! or just pick up something really cheap at a big box retailer, the outcome will be the same as the Protex or the bottom-end Eureka! This website has all MSRP pricing. A quality tent runs around $500 in a 6-man design and you can get around 60% off using sites like ebay. That will get you quality at your price point - I think the two you are looking at will be disappointing.

[tentmonkey]

Re: Protex Summit 6 vs Eureka Bella Coola 6

Thanks for the advice hog snapper and tplife. I will definitely take into consideration before making my purchase. Much appreciated.