Originally Posted by
njkayaker
If you can get something "way better" for $100, the $20 tent is not a "great deal". It's just cheap.
Why quibble about the definition of "great deal"? I agree, it's cheap.
Regarding the Eureka Backcountry 1. I bought one but it didn't work for me. It had some great features - it's long, light, I like how you can look outside from in your sleeping bag without getting wet, and it's free-standing. What didn't work for me was the narrowness. It was okay for sleeping, but I like to read in my tent. I spend a lot of time on tour doing that - in the afternoon, at night, even in the mornings sometime. I like to lie on my side and read. There wasn't enough room to do that. With the book against the side of the tent it was only a few inches away from my face.
I bought an LL Bean Microlite 2 that worked great for me. It is long enough (I'm 6'4".) It is roomier than my Clip Flashlight 2, I can sit up and get dressed better. The body is all bug screen, so it's much more comfortable to hide out from bugs in the afternoon than my Clip Flashlight, which became a sauna. And it's light - about the same as my Clip Flashlight, which I thought was a light tent. The only downside is that it's not free-standing, but neither was the Clip Flashlight. So far, on three multi-week tours, that has yet to pose a problem. I don't think it cost much more than $100.