xesse
Helotes, Texas
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Joined: 09/16/2009
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I've narrowed my choices to these two tents; both look great & have a full rain fly. I have a Eureka tent, so I'm leaning towards Eureka, but I like that the ALPS tent is a little bigger. ALPS also costs less, but the Eureka tent has a thicker waterproof coating. Any suggestions?
Mountain Pass 3XTE
http://www.eurekatent.com/p-171-mountain-pass-3xte.aspx#
or
Taurus 4 AL Specs
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringTaurus.htm
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BENT ARROW
CO.
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Joined: 02/02/2003
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I have had 4 good tents, never an Alps but our 3 person Eureka is by far the best I have ever used.
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tplife69
SoCal
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I'd go with the Eureka! With the bottom venting, oval door and clip attachments, it has more Sierra Designs features built in than the Alps tent does. The Alps tent has dated side venting, too small of square footage for 2 and the old "D" style door, but it is using clip attachments, a plus. Most importantly, the Eureka! tent uses aluminum poles, a huge plus for a tent at this price point.
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Vapor_Trails
Yucaipa, CA
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Joined: 09/29/2004
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Between the two you're comparing I like the Alps. Especially if you can get the Scout discount. At $150 the Taurus AL 4 is a great deal. It has a little more room than the Mt. Pass 3 but is only slightly heavier. And the taped seams are a very nice feature. I own both a Eureka and an Alps (Taurus 2) and can honestly say both are fine tents. I don't think you will be disappointed with either.
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xesse
Helotes, Texas
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Vapor_Trails,
Does your ALPS tent only have 4 staking points at the corners of the tent? I can't tell by the picture on their site. I'm thinking it should have one at each corner and one in the middle on every side? (hope that makes some sense?) Don't know if that's a big deal or not with smaller tents, with my larger tent it is a big deal when the wind blows.
I like the Eureka tent, but the cost may be the deciding factor...at overstock.com the ALPS with aluminum poles is $155.00
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Vapor_Trails
Yucaipa, CA
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Joined: 09/29/2004
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xesse,
I have the Taurus 2 and it only stakes at the corners. But it's only 5'x7' so that's all it really needs. But, the fly also has four guy lines and also stakes out to make the vestibules. That's a total of 10 stakes on a small, light tent. That probably applies to the Taurus 4 as well. I can't imagine needing any more unless I was camping in hurricane force winds.
The stakes themselves are the cheapie bent metal rods, though. They do work and I use them because they are light and my Alps tent is my backpaking tent. But, if I were car camping with that tent I would upgrade the stakes.
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tplife69
SoCal
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You'll need those guy out points and upgraded stakes since this is a 2-pole design which lacks wind integrity in tents larger than 2-man. The Eureka! is $60 more, but since both are 2-pole design tents I'd go for the Alps closeout sale. If I was going to spend $210, I'd pass on them both and get a better tent new-in-box for the same money (lifetime guarantee, reinforced 3-pole, aluminum, etc.) off Ebay. However, most people don't want to watch auctions to get $450 tents for $200,or $350 tents for $125, they just want to go camping now and I say get out the marshmallows!  Go for the less expensive Alps model and use the savings for a new lantern or something!
* This post was
edited 10/28/09 05:01pm by tplife69 *
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Vapor_Trails
Yucaipa, CA
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tplife69 wrote: If I was going to spend $210, I'd pass on them both and get a better tent new-in-box for the same money (lifetime guarantee, reinforced 3-pole, aluminum, etc.) off Ebay.
Sounds like a great deal.
Make & Model? Link?
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tplife69
SoCal
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Vapor_Trails wrote:tplife69 wrote: If I was going to spend $210, I'd pass on them both and get a better tent new-in-box for the same money (lifetime guarantee, reinforced 3-pole, aluminum, etc.) off Ebay.
Sounds like a great deal.
Make & Model? Link?
I've bought 3 different models by Sierra Designs off Ebay at less than 1/2 of retail, always new-in-the-box. Due to production volumes, they are more available than tents from Marmot, REI or Northface in the high-end category of tenting. You've heard of Ebay? 
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vwGTImkv
Canada
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www.steepandcheap.com has some tent deals.
the tracker site for it is gearattack.com
I have used this site for my snowboarding and camping gear. Good site.
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