Snow Peak Amenity Dome Medium

Two openings in the vestibule

Now that I am retired, I will finally be able to join the RICKA Adirondacks trip. I’ll be canoe-camping for 3 nights with Aaron on the Oswegatchie River, and then join Bill and the RICKA crew for day-trips based out of Lake Eaton Campground.

I dug out the old Eureka Mountain Pass 3XTE that I usually use for base-camping and found that the plastic windows in the fly had degraded and cracked. It's nothing that can't be fixed with duck tape, but it wasn’t quite as big as I wanted, so I decided to look for a new base-camping tent.

View from the front

I wanted a tent with a full fly, plenty of interior room for a cot or large air mattress and a large vestibule to get out of the rain. I ended up with the Snow Peak Amenity Dome Medium. Since it was a discontinued model the price was right.

The Snow Peak Amenity Dome Medium is a 3-season, 4-person, Japanese-style tent that trades some interior standing room for durability in challenging weather. Spec’s are:

• Fly including Vestibule: 16.6' x 9.2’
• Sleeping Tent: 8.8’ x 8.8’
• Peak Height: 4.9’

Front flap set up as an awning

The packed size is 29" x 9.8" x 8.7" in its carrying case with a total weight of 19.6 lbs. It’s a big tent that takes up a lot of room in the canoe and the campsite.

While most car-camping tents prioritize stand-up ceiling height, this Japanese-style tent is intentionally built low to the ground to survive severe wind and heavy rain. The tent is divided into two distinct zones – a sleeping area and a front vestibule or “porch”. The front vestibule extends the length of the fly by 7.8 ft and can be used as an outdoor kitchen, lounge, gear garage, or a dry entryway during downpours.

All closed up

The front vestibule can be opened from a large front flap or zippered side panel. This allows you to close off the side facing the wind or rain while keeping the other side open for ventilation. The front flap can also be set up with poles to become an awning.

I also bought an 8’ x 8’ ground cloth, a cot and small folding table to put inside. I think it is going to work out fine.

Plenty of room inside with a twin-size air mattress

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Snow Peak Amenity Dome

My Tents

Eureka Expedition Sentinel

Eureka Expedition Sentinel
on the Connecticut River

I finally found some information on my father’s old tent. It’s a Eureka Expedition Sentinel 2-person, four-season mountaineering tent. Spec’s are:

Size – 6’ x 8’ (but tapers down to 4’ at the ends)
Height – 3’ 10” in middle
Weight – 7 lbs. 6 oz.
Fold Size – 6’ x 20”

Inside view

It is a symmetrical tent with screened doors at both ends for easy entry/exit and good ventilation. The middle of the tent has a hoop allowing for more head and shoulder room. From this center hoop the body of the tent tapers down to Timberline style A-frames. The aluminum poles are shock-corded and break down to 20”.

The full fly is slightly hooded at both ends. It creates the second layer of the tent’s double wall construction. Air circulates freely in the space between the tent and the fly minimizing condensation and increasing insulation. There are 2 hooks on each side connecting the fly to the tent that pull out the side walls creating additional room inside. 

Under a tarp on the Moose River Bow

The tent is held down with 6 stakes, and the fly is held down with 4 S-hooks at the corners and 6 stakes along the sides. There are also 10 D-rings on the fly to attach guy lines. The tent is pretty bomb-proof in the wind without guy lines, so I've never used them.

With its hybrid hoop/A-frame design, the Sentinel was similar to the three-season Alpine Meadows, but with lower ends and heavier materials. The Alpenlite might be seen as its successor.

Eureka advertisement from the 1980's featuring a Sentinel like mine

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Video from WisconsinEric

Eureka Shuts Down by the OutdoorGearReview

My Tents