Which North Face Tents
Are The Best?

Getting the best North Face tents for camping or backpacking depends on what is important to you, this information will make your choice easier.

The North Face tents below are some of the best tents you can find. Some companies with a great reputation know they can sell their product by their name alone, but these guys go further because they have a lifetime guarantee.

Like any tent company take the 'person capacity' they suggest with a grain of salt, unless you're backpacking and need to cut weight or don't mind getting close to your partner. If you subtract one or two people from their recommendations you'll have more room to move and for your camping equipment. Also like almost any company, some of their camping tents and products are better than others. While I feel comfortable with the recommendations below, I haven't found any larger NF tents for family use that I can whole-heartedly recommend yet, but I'll keep my eyes open.

The North Face Slickrock 2-Person 3-Season tent is easy to put up and has a lifetime warranty but it appears to have been discontinued (you might be able to find one if you look around). Because this tent is designed to keep weight to a minimum, and at 4 lbs 9 oz it's doing pretty well, there isn't much of a vestibule. So you'll want to keep your gear inside if you're backpacking or camping solo or in a water resistant bag outside if you're sharing your tent with a partner. The Slickrock has a taped bathtub floor and partial-rainfly to help reduce the weight for backpacking. Most of the tent surface underneath the rainfly is lightweight mesh, but it does a good job of keeping you dry unless there's a very nasty wind-driven rain.

The poles are made of tough DAC (Dongah Aluminum Corporation) 7001-T6 aluminum to increase the strength and durability, and to minimize weight. But don't let it's weight fool you it's been tested at altitude. And you don't have to worry about fitting the tent into its stuff sack because it's bigger than average for an easy fit but has compression straps so it takes up as little room as possible in your backpack. I like well thought-out gear. :-)

The North Face Rock 22 (links open new windows) 2-Person 3-Season tent offers serious rain protection if you backpack or camp in rainy areas (and BackCountry, one of the best outdoor stores, has it, click on the link above). It has a taped bathtub floor too but the full-rainfly does a better job of keeping the wet drippy stuff off your gear. :-) Even though the dimensions are the same as the Slickrock it's a little heavier at 6 lbs 11 oz and it has the same great aluminum poles. So think of the Rock 22 as a tent for wetter climates while the Slick Rock is lighter and good for drier climates and light to moderate rain.

The North Face VE-25 is my top recommendation, especially for 4-season weather.

If you're looking for North Face tents that can handle extremely nasty weather from wind-driven rain, to sleet, to snow the 4 season VE-25 North Face tent is your answer. With a 5 layer waterproof barrier, 5 DAC Featherlite SL poles, bathtub floor, and full-rainfly this is the tent you want if you want to stay dry and warm. Whether you're camping during the rainy season or looking for a winter shelter this is the North Face's most popular three-person expedition tent. The polyurethane windows have even been cold-crack tested to -60°F.

The VE-25 weighs in at 11 lb 1 oz but can be whittled down to 9 lb 13 oz, which isn't bad for a serious tent especially if you use it for car camping or even split it up between 2 backpackers. When you consider a tent serves as 'life-support' at times, you'll be happy with this choice if you're ever caught off-guard unexpectedly. If you only camp in dry hot areas though, this tent will be over-kill and you'll most likely want something with more ventilation (see above).

The 1-Person 3-Season North Face Canyonlands Tent (also discontinued, but again you might still be able to track one down) is a nice alternative if a bivy seems too small, and at 3lb 14oz it's not much heavier. If you like the idea of being able to sit up inside your shelter, have lots of ventilation when the weather is hot, and a full-rainfly when it rains this is the solution for solo backpackers insisting on lightweight North Face tents. The vestibule adds 9 square feet of storage and the tent is actually big enough for tall people. A small drawback is you'll want to seal the seams before you use it the first time, but that's not a big deal. It's a minimal tent that offers more room for a small increase in weight.

Sorry about the discontinued models but what can I say... Please have a look at my MSR tents page as they make some of the best tents too.

Also, if you're open to another lightweight solo backpacking shelter besides North Face tents, the camping hammock is a great, and I mean great idea.

With all North Face tents you're going to want to protect your investment from sharp rocks and sticks by getting a "footprint" or ground cover. If the footprint saves your floor from one rip it's more than paid for itself, plus it will extend the life of your tent just because it's not in constant contact with abrasive grit. Besides, stuffing a dirty messy tent back into a stuff sack isn't my idea of a good time.

Another handy thing to have is a gear loft. They're great for drying socks or just getting gear out of the way so you can sleep without rolling over on your keys. BackCountry has the footprints and lofts.

I hope my North Face tents page makes your next trip a better one.