Product Review: North Face Tadpole 23 Tent

A few months ago, while walking around Bass Pro Shops (www.basspro.com), I found myself in the camping section as I often do. While searching for things I didn't really need I came across the North Face Tadpole 23 tent with a big fat 20% off sticker. Bringing the price down from the original $240 to $192+tax... so I snatched it up.

The manual describes the Tadpole 23 as:

"A two person backpacking tent for three season use, The North Face Tadpole 23 is easy to pitch, lightweight, and seals out the bugs and bad weather. The freestanding, three pole design pitches quickly, even offering reflective guyline loops and color-coded flysheet attachments to aid night time set-up."

Before going any further I'm going to have to disagree with their above claims. While the tent is a good size, it would be way to crowded for two people in my opinion. I'm six feet tall and while I fit with all my gear inside, it's tight (and I'm a skinny guy). And as for the tent being "lightweight", well that's also a matter of personal opinion. I bought this tent for bicycle touring (my bicycle carries all my gear), but at 4+ pounds I would probably think twice about carrying it on my back for any long distances. In the Tadpole 23's defense, it does pack very small for a "two person tent".

The Actual Test

I took the tent out for a four night trip. The first three nights were pretty much the same, nice cool night, light breeze, no rain. The 4th night on the other hand was a strong thunderstorm.

The tent went up fast and easy. Probably faster than any other tent I have pitched. On the third night I timed myself and had it up in less than five minutes. Pretty impressive.

Having a separate rain fly was a welcomed treat on those first three nights. With lots of mesh, it was almost as if I was sleeping outside without a tent. I had no complaints at all... and then came the 4th night.