Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
Frosty and I just purchased a couple of Eureka Midori 4 tents. They were normally $250 retail but REI was blowing them out for $150 delivered to your door. I have a Midori 3 which I like very much but the 4 has a measured interior center height of over 60 inches, which is nice for dressing, especially if you have a bad back. Two well aquainted people could share a Midori 4. You?d better be lovers if you are gonna share a 3.
This all got me to thinking about all the tents I have owned over the last 50 years . I have 14 I have kept. I don?t need 14 even though I camp out 25-30 days a year but they are there none the less.
Specifically, what does one really need for motorcycle touring? Many are happy with a tent that is just big enough that you can lay down in and that?s about it. I?m not. I want to be able to bring in my stuff, including a small chair, and still have room for a twin sized air bed. Even cook a small meal inside if the weather outside is wet.
If you are tall, and you like simplicity, then that means a dome tent at least a 7x7, 7x8, or an 8x8. The first thing you learn when you go tent shopping is that those four and three and five occupancy numbers are a cruel joke, but most motorcyclists have just themselves to worry about, so such numbers may be ignored. The second thing you learn is that those 7x7 numbers mostly mean from outside pole grommet to grommet, and the real interior numbers are about a half foot smaller. And of course the tent walls slope. I have found that the given interior height numbers are pretty close.
If funds are an issue, one can go to Dicks or Big5 or Ebay and purchase a fiberglass pole tent for $30 to $50 that will serve well. I have an 10 x 8 with 77 nights on it, with a few repairs?and while its not fun to replace a split pole, it can be done and if it splits on a trip, a little tape will fix it till you get home.
Lately, I have been purchasing more expensive tents with some nifty features and testing them out.
Here are my thoughts on three of them.
1. The Kelty Grand Mesa 4, $160, 7 lbs, measured inside dimensions 6? 3? x 7? 7? x 56 in.
2. The Eureka Midori 3, $200, 6.5 lbs, 6? x7? x 52?
3. The Eureka Midori 4 , 9 lbs. Normally $250, paid $150, 7? x 8? x 60 in
All three have aluminum poles, full flys with vestibules, and snap connectors for the flys. The Eurekas have two doors and two vestibules. I don?t use vestibules but the nifty thing about them is you can lift up the fly over to the side of the tent and let air in. With two doors, both flaps up means way more ventilation. Anyone who has camped out in the windless summer Wisconsin sun will appreciate that.
The pack size of a tent is quite subjective. Look in the first two pics. The Grand Mesa comes in an odd shaped bag, but if you pack it up like you would most tents, and put on compression straps, it is almost the size of the Midori 3. The Midoris in turn can be made much smaller with compression straps.
Here in the west, many campsites are rocky and you may want to lay a small tarp under the tent bottom to protect it. The fancy name for these tarps is ?footprints?. You can pay $35 for a factory footprint for the Grand Mesa. Many tarps and footprints are advertised as ?Waterproof?. The last thing you want is a tarp that extends past the bottom of the tent so that rain comes off the fly and hits the tarp and is funneled under your tent. Just tuck the tarp under the tent edge.
Here is my conclusions about these three tents. All three are quality. Unless you do something stupid, the poles should last a very long time.
If I could only have one tent, it would be the Grand Mesa 4. Despite having only one door, it is a good size and compromise between the Midori 3 and 4.
If I was riding and just stopping for the night at a camp ground, the Midori 3 is fine. Less is more.
If I was staying at a place for a day or two or there was a chance I had to hole up for a day due to rain, sickness, etc, I would want the Midori 4. The Grand Mesa 4 is almost as good but not quite as convienient to cook in or sit in the chair in, with the airbed, and get dressed. It would help if the door was on the long side like the Keltys, but then again it is only a half pound more than the Midori 3. At $250 retail, I would have never bought the Midori 4, already having the Grand Mesa 4, but at $150, it?s a steal. Should YOU pay $250 for the Midori 4? You get a lot of tent for the money and if you plan on doing a lot of camping, I wouldn?t dismiss it outright.
I am sure there are lots of other tents that are very good. These are just three which I chose for their price and features. Just remember, If you chose one with over two poles, you will have to live with its difficulty of assembly. I like simple.
If you don?t do a lot of camping, even if you have the money, I personally would cruise ebay and research the under $60 tents. Big 5 has lots of sales on tents. You probably won?t bend the metal couplings on the fiberglass poles in 10 or 20 nights and I have used them for 50 years, many lasting scores of nights before a zipper goes or a pole channel rips. In the pics you will see the Quest Eagles Peak, which I like. I have good luck with the Coleman Sundomes although the design has changed over the decades?.
This all got me to thinking about all the tents I have owned over the last 50 years . I have 14 I have kept. I don?t need 14 even though I camp out 25-30 days a year but they are there none the less.
Specifically, what does one really need for motorcycle touring? Many are happy with a tent that is just big enough that you can lay down in and that?s about it. I?m not. I want to be able to bring in my stuff, including a small chair, and still have room for a twin sized air bed. Even cook a small meal inside if the weather outside is wet.
If you are tall, and you like simplicity, then that means a dome tent at least a 7x7, 7x8, or an 8x8. The first thing you learn when you go tent shopping is that those four and three and five occupancy numbers are a cruel joke, but most motorcyclists have just themselves to worry about, so such numbers may be ignored. The second thing you learn is that those 7x7 numbers mostly mean from outside pole grommet to grommet, and the real interior numbers are about a half foot smaller. And of course the tent walls slope. I have found that the given interior height numbers are pretty close.
If funds are an issue, one can go to Dicks or Big5 or Ebay and purchase a fiberglass pole tent for $30 to $50 that will serve well. I have an 10 x 8 with 77 nights on it, with a few repairs?and while its not fun to replace a split pole, it can be done and if it splits on a trip, a little tape will fix it till you get home.
Lately, I have been purchasing more expensive tents with some nifty features and testing them out.
Here are my thoughts on three of them.
1. The Kelty Grand Mesa 4, $160, 7 lbs, measured inside dimensions 6? 3? x 7? 7? x 56 in.
2. The Eureka Midori 3, $200, 6.5 lbs, 6? x7? x 52?
3. The Eureka Midori 4 , 9 lbs. Normally $250, paid $150, 7? x 8? x 60 in
All three have aluminum poles, full flys with vestibules, and snap connectors for the flys. The Eurekas have two doors and two vestibules. I don?t use vestibules but the nifty thing about them is you can lift up the fly over to the side of the tent and let air in. With two doors, both flaps up means way more ventilation. Anyone who has camped out in the windless summer Wisconsin sun will appreciate that.
The pack size of a tent is quite subjective. Look in the first two pics. The Grand Mesa comes in an odd shaped bag, but if you pack it up like you would most tents, and put on compression straps, it is almost the size of the Midori 3. The Midoris in turn can be made much smaller with compression straps.
Here in the west, many campsites are rocky and you may want to lay a small tarp under the tent bottom to protect it. The fancy name for these tarps is ?footprints?. You can pay $35 for a factory footprint for the Grand Mesa. Many tarps and footprints are advertised as ?Waterproof?. The last thing you want is a tarp that extends past the bottom of the tent so that rain comes off the fly and hits the tarp and is funneled under your tent. Just tuck the tarp under the tent edge.
Here is my conclusions about these three tents. All three are quality. Unless you do something stupid, the poles should last a very long time.
If I could only have one tent, it would be the Grand Mesa 4. Despite having only one door, it is a good size and compromise between the Midori 3 and 4.
If I was riding and just stopping for the night at a camp ground, the Midori 3 is fine. Less is more.
If I was staying at a place for a day or two or there was a chance I had to hole up for a day due to rain, sickness, etc, I would want the Midori 4. The Grand Mesa 4 is almost as good but not quite as convienient to cook in or sit in the chair in, with the airbed, and get dressed. It would help if the door was on the long side like the Keltys, but then again it is only a half pound more than the Midori 3. At $250 retail, I would have never bought the Midori 4, already having the Grand Mesa 4, but at $150, it?s a steal. Should YOU pay $250 for the Midori 4? You get a lot of tent for the money and if you plan on doing a lot of camping, I wouldn?t dismiss it outright.
I am sure there are lots of other tents that are very good. These are just three which I chose for their price and features. Just remember, If you chose one with over two poles, you will have to live with its difficulty of assembly. I like simple.
If you don?t do a lot of camping, even if you have the money, I personally would cruise ebay and research the under $60 tents. Big 5 has lots of sales on tents. You probably won?t bend the metal couplings on the fiberglass poles in 10 or 20 nights and I have used them for 50 years, many lasting scores of nights before a zipper goes or a pole channel rips. In the pics you will see the Quest Eagles Peak, which I like. I have good luck with the Coleman Sundomes although the design has changed over the decades?.