The rain fly has an additional tent pole, too, to support the vestibule. Overall, these poles—all of them aluminum—contribute to a particularly sturdy structure, with or without the rain fly. During our testing, our Base Camp shrugged off both a rainstorm and a desert windstorm as if they were nothing. Despite losing some headroom in comparison with the Kelty Wireless 6 and The North Face Wawona 6, both of which measure six-foot-four in height, the Base Camp 6 offers a substantial six-foot-two.
This dome-style tent has nearly vertical walls, high ceilings, and a single vestibule the size of an actual mudroom. It’s also straightforward to set up, and it is made with sturdy, light materials. We’ve tested (and recommended) Eureka tents in past versions of this guide. In October 2023, Eureka’s parent company, Johnson Outdoors, announced that it was discontinuing the Eureka brand. The product line, including its tents, should remain available through the end of 2024. But it’s one of the least expensive tents we found that had no significant drawbacks and will truly cover your bases for three-season camping.
From a negative perspective, the weight is indicative of a lack of high quality material and components used throughout the shelter. The included carrying bag does not have wheels to aid in transportation, but at only 29 lbs. We don’t find that to be a noteworthy drawback as the nylon handles and shoulder strap work just fine in carrying the tent. The legs are locked into place with old school metal push button locks, something you won’t see on many modern pop up tents now-a-days.
However, the Wireless 6’s poles were the best fiberglass ones we tested—they left no splinters, unlike those on the Camp Creek 6 or the Copper Canyon LX 6. To compare tent fabrics, you also need to know their overall rip strength. For most fabrics, rip strength is expressed as a measurement of the diameter of the fibers in their thread, or a denier—the higher the denier, the stronger the fabric. We found 40 denier up to 150 denier to be typical for car-camping tents; you can read more about these measurements in gear manufacturer MSR’s blog post and in this Outside article.
Adding weight does affect the board’s maneuverability, but not as much as you’d think. Properly balancing weight on either end preserves ozark trail instant cabin much of the Switch Pro’s svelte handling. More importantly, the extra capacity doesn’t make the board itself heavier.
The Switch Pro backpack is larger and fits more gear, with a more rigid design and wheels on the bottom (not the lightest or best for portages). About an hour later, I was just chilling in the river at the same exit when an elderly fisherman lost his footing and suddenly found himself swept away by the current. In the space of probably 10 seconds, I told him to throw me his rod, then I hopped off my 11-foot board and pushed it out to him, which he managed to grab just in time for me to pull him back to shore. But when I decided to go river camping with a friend, I didn’t have camping gear for two people (I do most things solo). So I bought a $90, 6-pound Kelty Tanglewood 2, an $18 Ozark Trail sleeping bag from Walmart, and some cheap sleeping pads. The Switch Pro’s advantages over comparable options quickly became clear when I capped off my testing with a camping trip down the Etowah River.