The North Face Tadpole Review

"Wow, I'm the only person who has used this tent? Its light, stable, well built, and has good ventilation - what more could you ask for in a 2 person tent? Bought mine when it first came out and still using it today. I take it on group trips, sometime on shorter solo trips. Easy to sit up in at night. Has a lot of screening in the body which gives great ventillation in the summer, and its full coverage flysheet makes it a good choice for mild winter conditions. Three poles make it almost free standing (the fly needs staking in front). Great all around tent."

"I use this tent in UK. North of England. I use it as a one man tent. With our climate rainy days are many. You can be as untidy as you like and drag all your gear inside. Ample room inside to sort your kit out. Sleep beside your kit, sort it next day when you feel better."

"I purchased my tadpole 17 years ago & it's still going strong after extensive use. It is light enough for me to pack for a luxurious 1 person tent or my hubby & I fit easily in it when we pack together. Love my antique tadpole! It's never failed me in snow or wind or rain!"

"I purchased this tent from a friend who needed more room a year ago for $100. What a deal! Since then I've saved weight and stayed dry. The tent sets up with ease and the large tooth zippers ensure that I won't have one of those trips with a broken zipper with lots of bugs.

There is plenty of room for me and my gear making a dry pack up on a rainy morning possible."

"I've used this tent in Rumney NH over July 4th 2006, and in The Gunks in New Paltz NY 3 times and in Yosemite over Thanksgiving 2005 and have not had any real problems. Overall, i like the tent but have a few gripes about it. Read on:

Pros:
1) Easy to set up
2) strong construction
3) lightweight
4) glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls
5) Great Vestibule space
6) fly/footprint only option
7) Tent did very well in HEAVY rain and did not leak.
8) Condensation is nowhere to be found.


Cons:
1) Tent could be taller - I'm 6 foot and can only sit up in this if i am against the door and my head still presses against the roof)
2) Tent could be longer - When sleeping 2 peeps and i can't lay across the tent, my head and feet are pushing the material against both ends of tent
3) More like a 1.5 person tent. Great for 1 person.
4) Guy lines are black - not reflective.
5) footprint stake-out-tabs are SLIGHTLY larger than the tent stake-out-tabs, so staking it out means the footprint isn't taut. (this is not a big deal tho)
6) Footprint MAY not be waterproof. I'm pretty sure that it soaked through, but it's possible that it was run off, so i'm not entirely sure.
7) Tent stuff-sack and bag that holds the stakes are WAY too flimsy. I know this was done to save weight but i think this is a bad idea to use such lightweight material for the bag that protects the tent. Somehow I've gotten several holes in the stuff sack however i've treated the tent gingerly, always packing it carefully, keeping it away from any heat source, etc. The ONLY think i can think of is that since the bag that holds the stakes is kinda weak, the stakes must have made the holes by causing stress points in the stuff sack when this is packed."