Eureka! Copper Canyon 10 Five- to Six-Person 10-Foot by 10-Foot Family Tent

We bought this tent for our kids (who are way too cool to sleep in the RV with Mom and Dad) based partly on Eureka’s reputation, but also on its unique design. We were looking to replace our old Coleman Sundome with something a little bigger and to get away from the pole-bending dome style tents. The Copper Canyon series is new to the market and is untried in large quantity by the general public. So we were a bit hesitant to get one. But, after a call to Eureka’s Customer Service Dept we decided to give it a shot. If you’re like me you find user reviews to be very valuable while researching products, so I thought I’d give my two cents about the Copper Canyon 10. This is my experience and opinion, your mileage may vary. Here goes:

CHEERS: Very roomy. The kids had two cots, a small table and all their clothes with plenty of room left inside. The near vertical walls and seven foot roof allow my 6′2″ self to walk around with ease. Though it’s only a 10×10 the cabin design makes it seem larger than it is. The door is large enough to assemble cots outside and carry them into the tent. And the large zippered windows on each of the three remaining walls keep the air moving when it’s warm out. The roof is all mesh so there’s no worry about oxygen depletion when running a catalytic propane heater. However, we’ve only used it once out in the desert where it barely dipped below 70 degrees at night. I would not recommend this tent for really cold weather, though. The rainfly sits a few inches above the tent and gives adequate coverage. I suspect the interior would stay pretty dry during summer showers but windblown rain would easily soak the inside. Eureka says it’s a 3-season tent, but I think it’s more of a 2.5 season tent. Used as intended it’s very comfortable. And easy to set up; even with one person. After many years of breaking fiberglass poles on dome tents I really appreciate the non-bending design of the frame. The roof frame consists of two fiberglass poles crossed like a dome tent but fit into heavy plastic elbows sewn into each corner. Steel poles are then inserted into the other end of the elbows to support the walls. This design puts very little stress on the tent poles and I expect the shock cords will wear out before the poles break. Finally, the `E! Port’ is a cool idea. It’s a small flap-covered zipper that is designed to run an extension cord through. We ran a cord from our travel trailer into the tent so the girls could watch the little DVD player they brought. Neat!

JEERS: There are a few, which is why I only gave this tent four stars instead of five. I know this is a 3-season tent, and a cabin design, but even the slightest gusts of wind pushed in the walls quite a bit. There are only four built-in guy lines. One at the top of each corner of the rainfly. And there are four more cordura loops sewn into the rainfly a couple of feet below the built-in guy lines. We used all eight available guy line points and this did a pretty good job of keeping the structure’s shape. But the large vertical walls of the tent really blew in with the stronger gusts. Having stake points in the middle of the each wall and guy out points at the top of the walls in addition to the rainfly corners would have made the tent much more stable in the wind. Which leads me to the worthless stakes. You know the kind, basically a thick piece of coat hanger wire with a bend at one end. Jeez! Why do tent makers think anyone would actually use those. Raise the price of the tent by five or ten bucks if you must but please include real stakes! We bought ten good stakes from Cabelas and a plastic container to keep them in and they worked great. Do not try to use the junk that comes with the tent. Another niggle is the two zipper door design. Some may like it but I prefer one zipper that goes all the way from the top of the “”D” to the bottom. The Copper Canyon has one zipper along the bottom and another that goes from the top left down to the end of the bottom zipper. You need to open both in order enter the tent safely. The last is the full mesh roof. While good in warm, dry weather I can think of few places that don’t get thunder showers anytime throughout the year. I don’t think the fly provides enough coverage to keep rain out of the roof if the wind picks up. It rains often in our local mountains where we summer camp. And it can get pretty chilly in many places where I suspect this tent will be used, even in the summer. The roof just doesn’t seem like it will hold in much heat. We’ll find out soon, though if it will stay warm and dry during summer storms and chilly nights.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would I buy this tent again? Yes! I really like the roominess and the ease of setup. If used in mild weather, like we did recently, this is a great tent. It is solidly constructed and while it uses lightweight materials it seems to be pretty strong. Even though it got a little “bent out of shape” when the wind picked up to 15-20 mph nothing ripped, tore or broke. It has a unique design and is huge for 10×10 standards. If you are looking for a big tent with a small footprint and want to stand up in, a dome is out of the question. This tent is a good alternative to the cheapie cabin style department store specials. I would definatley recommend the Copper Canyon for anyone who wants a quality tent and would use it as intended.
Rating: 4 / 5

This tent exceeded every expectation I had. I was skeptical of only having a stake at each corner, but when properly set up the tent is extremely stable. The steel and fiberglass poles are all heavy duty and the set up is easy with 2 people (only took 10-15 min. without instructions). The rainfly is easily assembled and appears to cover all the mesh. It did not rain on our trip. The nylon seems to be of good quality and the stitching is heavy duty and taped.

The interior is very efficient thanks to the near vertical walls. I would expect to be comfortable with up to 4 people (we were only 2). We really liked the all mesh roof which is great for stargazing and ventilation. We also liked the large mesh windows that can be zipped for privacy. There are large windows on each wall. Everyone else in our group seemed to admire this tent and a few expressed interest in getting one.

The weather was dry and windy the first day. We had gusts up to about 30 mph. and the tent never budged. I suspect the rainfly had a lot to do for the stability as the guy wires anchor close to the support poles.

Overall I love this tent and find it hard to believe that anyone would dislike it. This tent is not designed to handle extreme wind, but anyone with common sense knows you shouldn’t use a cabin tent if you expect violent weather.

Tips: 1)Always place a waterproof tarp under your tent.

2)The stakes that come with this tent are subpar. Get some inexpensive steel stakes.
Rating: 5 / 5

I like this tent so much, I’m actually taking the time to write this review (which I never do for anything). I’d call this the Toyota of tents (well built, reliable, inexpensive). First the setup was incredibly easy. I did it myself, and it took me about 10 minutes for the tent itself, maybe another 5 for the fly, and 5 more for the guyout lines. We set up the inside with a queen air mattress and two single air mattresses and there was still about a 6 x 6 foot area for our gear. It was windy, and rained a bit on our trip, but the tent held up quite well. It stayed completely dry. The winds were about 20-30 mph, and the walls did move in and out maybe about 6 inches each way, which is pretty darn good for a straight wall tent. Here’s a few pros and cons:

Pros: Easy setup, easy takedown (fits easily back into the bag), good ventilation (completely mesh screened roof and 4 huge closeable windows), all vital seams are taped. The metal poles are steel cable corded (not chain like the tent description says) which I think is good.

Cons: The bag it comes in is made of the same material as the tent. I wish they had used something a little thicker and stronger because I’m not sure how long the bag will hold up. There are no side pockets inside the tent, only the gear loft that hangs up top. As most other reviews have said, the door zipper gets stuck on the waterproofing flap. This makes it almost impossible to open with just one hand. The stakes that come with the tent are pretty much useless.

Tips: When setting up and taking down the tent, the stakes should be the first and last thing installed and removed. I learned the hard way taking it down, I took the stakes out before the poles, and wound up chasing the tent through the forest when I light breeze picked it up and tossed it. Also buy some real stakes for the tent and ALWAYS use the guyout lines, they are a necessity with this tent even in light winds.

Conclusion: Buy it! You can’t do any better for this size in this price range.
Rating: 5 / 5