The North Face  Mountain 25 Tent

Worth the price, acceptance of the additional weight for secure protection from the elements, looking forward to several years of year round use based on quality of structure and build.

This is the second TNF Mountain 25 tent I've owned. Owned others; used many more; committed to this tent after many, many years of satisfied use. Built to take the elements and keeps on sheltering.

Great structure - easy set-up - folds/rolls up nicely and fits back into the bag like a glove every time with no hassle or struggle. Guy lines are robust and east to secure. Love the bright color, not in your face obnoxious but cheery and light. Great purchase for feeling comfortable and secure while not breaking the bank.

I've had this tent for about 2 months now and have used it almost every weekend. It was out Friday and Saturday night in rain the whole time and I stayed dry and warm the entire time while some others around me woke up with pools of water inside and condensation inside. The one downside I found was that if you don't have a little wind, it can get warm.

In short, I was disappointed with this tent and cannot recommend it. I will be returning it. My chief complaints are as follows, in order of severity: • No part of this tent seems waterproof. On the third use of this brand new tent (December 2016 version), we were just below 8,000 feet in 4’ of snow. At 31 degrees F and subsequently 20 degrees F, it rained and then snowed on us for 15 hours. The rain fly stuck to the tent body. Water poured through the rain fly and then through the tent body and side walls. Water poured through the floor despite the fact we used a footprint which was smaller than the tent perimeter. Water was dripping from the ceiling vents all night as the vent poles really just push the rainfly down instead of the vent out. Condensation was an issue even with all the vents and doors open. • The listed/specified length dimension is 86”. However, we measured 78” at the very most. This difference and discrepancy of 8” is a big deal for someone who is 6’-2” with gear. • Vestibules are somewhat small. • Doors are somewhat small and challenging to get in/out of for taller folk (other reviewers have mentioned this also). • The rain fly is not quite taught even when staked/guyed out completely. • Pole sleeves are difficult to work with IMO, especially in wind (other reviewers have mentioned this also). • The tent materials to not seem as durable as other expedition tents I have owned. The few clips the tent does use feel like they are going to tear through the tent body. • The yellow/black color scheme of the rain fly makes it look like a big bumblebee. Not a big deal if you are not allergic to bees. The features of this tent I DID like are as follows: • Interior gear pockets are quite nice. • Interior gear hanging loops are plentiful (I think I counted 22 total). • The tent comes with 4 snow stakes (bags) as well as a handful of aluminum non-snow stakes (but not enough for all stake/guy points). Not a big deal as most will want to do their own thing for snow staking. • Due to the pole sleeves, the tent body/canopy is VERY taught (although as mentioned, the rain fly is a little less so). • The reflective guy lines are awesome. • The included snow skirts/flaps on BOTH vestibules are great.

I finally got to use this beast of a tent after getting a killer deal on it this summer. We took it up to roughly 11,200ft to set up camp for our summit attempt the next morning. That night a storm blew in and temps dropped well below zero with winds in excess of 50mph. The tent was solid. You could hear the winds absolutely roaring and the tent hardly flinched. Absolutely incredible and worth every penny.

I wonder if it will ever occur to REI and their band of colorful manufacturers that a lot of people might prefer a tent that looks a bit more conservative instead of looking like an inflated pumpkin or orange & black helicopter landing pad? I understand some people WANT to be spotted on the snow-blown hill side. Most of us don't. Just saying . . . .