Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent by Eurohike – Review

The time had come for a new replacement tent to last a few years after borrowing and buying cheaper festival tents for the last few trips away. After lots of research, I opted for the Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent by Eurohike.

Campsite Sunrise in shadow 35 Nightfall Tent

Originally, I had planned to buy a tent to take on a fortnight camping trip to the Algarve. This morphed into a camping holiday between Barcelona and Valencia because of the COVID Air Bridge to Portugal never opening. Anyway, the Spain trip never happened for the same reason when the government slammed the door. After giving up on flying out of the UK, I considered Interrail, but I plumped for Cornwall.

Prerequisites

After researching for a tent suitable for the above options, one of the key options was for it to be dark inside. Nightfall Bedrooms on the Shadow 350 tent filled this need. They designed this with integrated curtains to keep the dark out or let the light in.

Carrying tent

The tent needed to be carryable on a backpack eventually, but if I was flying it needs to fit inside the rucksack I had chosen for this trip. Weight was a consideration, but ultra-lightweight was not a requirement. This tent weighs 5.5kg, slightly heavy but within my range.

Room is a big consideration for a 2-week stay with the dog. He needs space to move around at night, rather than climb over me. They advertise as sleeping 3-4 people, so very much fit the bill.

Camping Cornwall - Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent

After a camping trip in the Forest of Dean in a tiny “festival tent” without a porch, I now insist on a porch to keep boots and cooking essentials in.

Price was also a consideration. This one was on special offer on Go Outdoors, costing only £65.

Review of Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent

A summary of my experiences camping with the Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent made by Eurohike.

Pitching

One claim on the specification was that it was easy to pitch. Well, after ignoring the instructions that were in the bag, I pushed the poles through the loops as usual but got stuck. They would not fit. Taking a step back, I quickly realised there were 3 poles, one was longer than the rest. Eureka, this must be the middle pole and hey presto, they all fit.

This then led me to put pegs through the rear poles loops, then the tent took shape, putting the pegs in from rear to front. Within minutes, the outer tent was up. The backpacks could go inside to keep dry pretty quickly.

The inner room just clipped onto loops inside, the rear first, then the front. Wow, this was easy. Next was the groundsheet for the porch area. This clipped in too. Within 10 minutes, we built my new temporary home ready to make comfy while the dog had a nap.

Darkness while camping

Inside Tent

The inside of the tent was pretty dark when curtains closed, meaning not being awakened by the early sun or lights on the campsite. The dark area has a mesh section to open to allow air in while keeping insects out. A pleasant touch. It was darker than many tents I’ve used but not blacked out dark.

Capacity for a couple and dog

Dog Camping

The porch served us well, sorting cooking things, boots and even hanging towels or wet clothes overnight on the clips. Inside the sleeping area was ample room for three people or a two and the dog with space for backpacks. For taller people, there is more space for sleeping widthways, with bags stored in the sloped area at the rear.

Waterproof review

This camping trip in Cornwall had typical Cornish weather of sun, mist, and rain, including a few thunderstorms. The inside stayed completely dry inside.

Packing after camping

The tent went down pretty easily in reverse of assembly, meaning backpacks keep dry until the last steps if it is raining. It, to my surprise, fit back into the bag easily. The bag has a bit of slack for rushed packing; it seems.

Weight

Tent on Backpack

The tent is quite big, and I attached it to the upper part of my backpack. It was a bit clumsy getting about, especially on trains, and slightly heavier than I’d like. I’m thinking of replacing the metal pegs with plastic versions for my next trip out.

Overview

Eurohike Tent Review

I’m very impressed with this purchase, despite it being the upper end of the weight I wanted. It is ideal for longer trips with a base camp for a few days. I am not convinced I would hike for long distances with this on my back. Time will tell how long this one will last, I will keep this post updated. It is currently dry and clean, ready for the Forest of Dean for the next adventure.

Buy an Eurohike Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent

I purchased my tent from GoOutdoors.com on their website. I was happy with the service and delivered within the timescale they gave me.

5 thoughts on “Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent by Eurohike – Review”

  1. I’ve just bought this tent and I can see the curtains on the door section to the blackout area, and can zip those up easily, but at the back of the blackout area (opposite side to the door) there is a mesh that is uncovered. It lets a fair bit of light in. Is there a way to cover this that I just haven’t figured out?!

    1. LJ, This seems to be a common problem with these darkened bedroom tents. It would appear that in order to provide adequate ventilation, preventing, or at least minimising condensation these mesh areas are provided within the bedroom material. Problem is that these let in so much light that it makes the darkened bedroom feature almost irrelevant. Add to that the current trend with many of the mid to large tents of having a white ‘roof’ & it seems that all but the Coleman Blackout tents are a waste of time. Most tent sellers will tell you to the contrary, but I bought one earlier this year and can confidently tell you they’re talking rubbish. Slept in one for one night then sold it. I must add, I have no connection whatsoever with Coleman tents.

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