I must say that years ago I thought all tents where the same. However, a couple years ago I bought a Wal-Mart cheapy tent for a quick camping trip that was planned at the last moment. I will admit that it has provided me with a nice place to sleep. However last summer while camping at Beaver Lake it started to rain and wouldn't you know it. The rain leaked right through the rain fly. I suppose a light trickle and it wouldn't have had this problem but we all know we can do nothing about the weather.

So I decided that over the course of the winter I would start looking for a new tent. After browsing the internet and reading reviews and long discussions with fellow kayakers, climbing, and hikers I made my decision.

I purchased a Eureka Apex 3XTA light weight tent. Imediately after returning home with my new purchase I just had to open the box. My first response even before setting it up was that this tent was going to be something that would last me years to come. The quality of the workmanship showed the second I pulled it from the box. The rainfly is diffinately much thicker and so are all of the other materials. There is plenty of room for two large individuals or three normal sized persons. Also on each side of the tent there is a place to store your gear out of the way without bringing it all the way into the tent. Very nice. One other thing that I love about this product is the weight. The three person version (3XTA) weighs in about 7 pounds and the (2XTA) is around 6 pounds fully equipped, even less if you dont need the rain fly.

This product is diffinately worth the purchase. I know it will not let me down whether I am hiking the trails or floating in the rivers. The compact and light weight design will suit me for kayaking, camping, or backwoods hiking.