Bomb Shelter VS Tundra Extreme

[Water_Gremlin]

I recently sold my Cabelas 4 man guide tent in search of a larger tent with a vestibule. I liked the guide tent and it never failed me, but I never pitched the tent in extreme conditions either. There are a few aspects of the guide tent that were very annoying and now I'm thinking about trying a different tent while still considering a larger model guide tent.

The two main tents on my mind are Barney's Bomb Shelter 10x10 and the Eureka Alaskan Tundra Extreme. Also a 6 man Cabela's guide tent is still in the back of my mind. I would like a tent that I can stand up in (I'm 6'3"), has plenty of room for 3 people, a dog, gear, has a large vest., is easy to set up by myself and will stand up to elements. Weight is almost a non issue.

After many searches I could not find much information about the bomb shelter on the internet. Google and forum searches show praising posters, but no real answer as to why they love the Bomb Shelters so much. I called Barney's and received some general information about the tent. Price is around $995 and they should receive stock around July. :eek:

There is even less information on the internet about the Tundra Extreme. I called Eureka and they sent me what appears to be an old specifications sheet listing general details about this tent.

Why main question is, the Tundra Extreme is half the price but is almost an identical tent - visually atleast. Is the bomb shelter twice as better, and what exactly makes it twice as expensive?

[Water_Gremlin]

I just found out the price of the Tundra Extreme has been increased to $650 :mad:

[Water_Gremlin]

BUMP

Anyone, that I havn't already talked to, have any thoughts or comments about either tent?

[Snowwolfe]

I can not be of much help but I did spend a couple of days inside a bombshelter once. Very well built, strong, sturdy. No where to install a wood stove and using any source of propane heat inside resulted in so much condensation everything was soaked in short order. My short stay in the bombshelter is what prompted me to buy my first Arctic Oven years ago.
I've been told the Bombshelter is made by Eureka for Barneys but do not know if this is a rumor or not.

[Water_Gremlin]

Thanks Randy.

Barney's told me Eureka used to make the BS for them to their specifications but due to bad quality control they took the design to another company. Which company that may be I don't know.

I considered the AO, but that tent is a bit rich for my blood. I doubt I'll ever use a stove in a tent so that feature would be useless to me. But before I go and buy the Tundra Extreme tomorrow let me ask this. What makes the AO better than other tents of similar design?

[LuJon]

The AO's have a unique material for the inner tent. It does a great job of holding warmth and allows the moisture to pass through. I think it is Bibler that uses a similar material on a few of their tents. The stitching and construction of the AO tents is also second to none. Just a well made 4 season tent. The AO is on my mandatory winter camping gear list, I have spent -40 nights in other tents before I did it in the AO and I am not going back!

I see both these tents as 3 season tents, The tundra is spring/summer/fall, and the AO is fall/winter/spring.

[tjm]

I think it is Bibler that uses a similar material on a few of their tents. The stitching and construction of the AO tents is also second to none. Just a well made 4 season tent. The AO is on my mandatory winter camping gear list, I have spent -40 nights in other tents before I did it in the AO and I am not goin

the interior is quite nice on the biblers....you won't have any condensation issues for sure......add a heater to the mix and I can't ever see an issue...I've heard the stuff called Todd-tex....kinda like a thin, soft material

[Snowwolfe]

Thanks Randy.

Barney's told me Eureka used to make the BS for them to their specifications but due to bad quality control they took the design to another company. Which company that may be I don't know.

I considered the AO, but that tent is a bit rich for my blood. I doubt I'll ever use a stove in a tent so that feature would be useless to me. But before I go and buy the Tundra Extreme tomorrow let me ask this. What makes the AO better than other tents of similar design?

The inner layer/liner of polyproplene (sp?) is what sets apart the AO from the rest. For the 10x10 version, a gas/propane latern will keep the interior of the tent warm (60F) when the outside temperatures are close to 0F. And the inner layer wicks away all the moisture. Even without a heat source the tent stays dry inside even when it is closed up and raining outside.

[trapperbob]

Cabelas XWT

I bought a cabelas XWT and have been very satisfied with this tent and it can handle the wind much better than the guide models which I also own. Plus I could buy two of them for the price of some of the others that have been mentioned in this thread. I used this tent next to my guide model on kodiak and it performed great in the wind and rain. I have the 10 x10 because the footprint is huge I didn't get the 12 x 12.