CATOMA Eagle Tent Review – Instant Setup

This CATOMA Eagle Tent review is about a fully freestanding instant setup and hubbed tent which you can have ready in under 2 minutes, very tall and pleasant structure for a 3-season camping.

Key features

Where to buy

This tent is available on Amazon and the price is lower than on the site of the manufacturer. So follow the link and benefit from their efficient shipping service.

What is Eagle tent about

This Eagle Tent has been known earlier as the Wind Creek tent (still available at some sellers). And this is the largest in their series of SpeeDome tents. The series also includes also the Raven and Falcon tents (you will see them on the bottom of the text).

The term SpeeDome implies that this is an instant setup tent with the frame preattached to the tent body, and it remains so when the tent is packed. They claim that you can set it up in 2 minutes and this is absolutely so, you will see in the video below how this is done.

This is a dome style tent with a partial coverage fly and it is also very tall with a peak height of 76 inches (193 cm). The structure is a single room, with one door on the front and one window on the back, see the picture below which shows the back window.

Who is it for

Capacity: The declared capacity is 4 people and the picture below shows the main dimensions and what the manufacturer suggests for using the floor. So the area is 78.6 ft² (7.3 m²) and in the case of 4 users this would give 19.6 ft² (1.8 m²) per person.

There is no doubt that this is enough space for 4 people, note that the length is 2.9 meters so you would still have some space in the area above the heads in the picture for your gear.

Weight: With its 15 lb 6 oz (7 kg), this is quite a heavy tent, but you will see below how it compares with some of its competitors. The reason for such weight is its fiberglass poles and also the height.

Note that the packed size 38 x 9 x 9 inches (96 cm x 23 cm x 23 cm) is not so great, so the only way is to transport it in a car. But this tent packs nicely just like an umbrella, with all the frame inside. I have included it in my list of best 4-person tents for car camping.

How many seasons & what climate? In fact, this is difficult to say because they do not provide any data about the waterproof rating. The tent is very tall and the fly does not go all the way to the ground, so I do not think this is the best option in a very windy environment.

Regarding the climate, note that the door and the window can be completely closed which is good if you use it in a cold climate. There are two mesh areas on the ceiling which cannot be closed (one is visible in the picture below).

On the other hand, there are no floor vents here, and this is not great if you have to keep the door and the window closed when it is raining. So it looks better suited for a cooler climate than for summer camping, but all in all this is a 3-season tent.

Materials

The poles & stakes

There are 6 fiberglass poles that converge to the top hub elements, and this frame is attached to the tent. Each of those poles has two folding elements, one is shown in the picture below. There is also one extra aluminum ridge pole that is added under the fly so that it pulls the fly up in the area above the door and above the back window. You also have eight X3 9-inch composite stakes included in the package.

The fabric

The floor material is 70D what they call Hybri-lite ripstop, it is not clear what type of material this is but most likely this is nylon. The fly is a polyester taffeta and the body seems to be the same material in the lower sections. The fly clips to the base of the tent and this is what makes the structure completely freestanding, you can move it around and rotate.

There is no indication of the waterproof rating for any of the elements. So this is quite disappointing. I asked and got a reply that it is “100% waterproof.” Such an answer cannot be taken seriously.

Other features

• There are several mesh pockets around.
• A great gear loft is included (see the picture above).
• The fly bag doubles as a storage element on the wall.
• Carry bag is nicely designed, see the picture:

Please see more in this video, all three tents in the series are shown:

Catoma brand

Catoma started building tents in 1993, and their first tents were for the USDI Wilderness Firefighters. The name comes from the place where the facility is located, on the banks of the Catoma Creek. They continued to build tents for the U.S.D.I. Forest Service and tactical customers.

They use permethrin for the fabric treatment, SpeeDome structures, and also Ribcage and Backbone frames.

Specifications

• Declared capacity: 4 people.
• Weight: 15 lb 6 oz (7 kg).
• Dimensions: 132 x 114 in (335 x 290 cm).
• Area: 78.6 ft² (7.3 m²).
• Area per person: 19.6 ft² (1.8 m²).
• Peak height: 76 in (193 cm).
• Packed size: 38 x 9 x 9 in (96 cm x 23 cm x 23 cm).

CATOMA Eagle Tent vs Competitors

I show this Eagle tent side by side with two other 4-person tents. The Coleman tent is also instant type but a cabin tent, and the Kelty tent is a dome that looks almost like a cabin tent.

As you see the Eagle is larger but its packed size is not so great. Believe it or not, it is around 5 times more expensive than Coleman’s tent.

Summary, rating, pros & cons

Please see how I rate this tent for several parameters used for all the tents here in the site:

CATOMA Eagle Tent

$340.47

8.4

Area per person

8.1/10

Weight

8.1/10

Packed size

7.6/10

Protection

8.5/10

Features

9.7/10

Pros

• Incredibly easy setup.
• Very tall ten
• Freestanding.
• Gear loft bonus.

Cons

• Not so great packed size.
• Single door.
• Expensive.

Check on Amazon

Please note that this is not a sponsored text and I have no relation with the manufacturer. There is a comment box below so do use it in the case of questions or comments.