The North Face  Bastion 4 Tent

Bought tent and used to camp around Crater Lake and Lakeview, OR in cold weather. Slept first night with 3 of my kids and closed up everything to maintain warmth. Condensation wasn't too bad and everyone was cozy but not cramped. Used small vents on top while using the tent by myself. Fairly decent headroom for a backpacking tent. Provided stakes were of a higher quality than lower priced TNF products

This is the 1st TNF tent I purchased on my own without it being a gift. I own 2 other TNF tents 1 being the Assault 2 which I pair with my Assault bivy & I love it! This tent however is a true BOMB SHELTER in any elements wether it be wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail, anything imaginable. I've used this bad boy in the worst of the worst summer storms while fishing and Myself & my GEAR MOST IMPORTANTLY always stayed dry & COMFORTABLE! You can truly see that TNF just continues to evolve with products like these. The North Face is the ONLY brand of tents I own and will continue too I refuse to switch!

best tent that I have ever bought.....

I needed a base camp on Kodiak Island for my mountian hunts. Something amazing. After reading reviews and research the bastion 4 Came home with me. On the second trip into the mountains we had winds in excess of 100mph, several of the guy lines snapped (need sturdier lines) and four of the poles bent in the three days storm. We had no rain just wind, but the tent stayed standing. The noise was deafening, my client got knocked flat by the wind when he went outside to stretch his legs. We ended up building a two foot rock wall around the upwind half of the tent to help disturb the wind current before they slammed the tent. The bent pole in the vestibule created a cup like effect that the wind grabbed on to. As a result it's almost impossible to zip the fly shut now. We splinted one of the other poles in the hopes that it would not snap and bust thru the fly. But. The tent stayed standing, several times when guy lines snapped the tent folded in on us, we added more guy lines and heavier rope and eliminated that problem. Will be contacting north face for pole warranty. I don't think any other tent this size would have made it thru. The extra guy lines we used came off a hilleberg tent that had been shredded by a storm and left on the mountian as someone's trash. Ended up being our treasure.

Don't know that "best use" is backpacking. That's what we use it for. Bought knowing that my bride has no interest in winter camping; but the kids do. So I shopped specifically for a 4-season model. Given the choice, you can have the snow cave, I'll keep my Bastion4. I've used it less than a year and have about 20 nights in it. I've stayed above treeline in the Rockies in wind; rain; also in heavy, wet snowfall. It hasn't disappointed, yet. More than half of the time, I set it up myself. It's definitely quicker with two people, but is easily doable by oneself. The only word of caution I offer is make sure you set this up once or twice at home before you actually go to use it. This was my first NorthFace, and I had a few ah-ha moments.

my wife and i aren't great mountain climbers or anything like that. we just like to camp out in really bad weather. the more wind, rain or snow the better we like it. we are both 70 years old and have been married for 51 years. we have done a lot of camping in all sorts of places here in the states and have gone through a lot of equipment. our bastion 4 is the most solid, strongest tent we have ever owned. i can't think of any weather that it could not hold up well in for us. the bastion 4 makes you feel so safe in the worst of weather. we never go to camp grounds or such. we always camp primitive. as i said we look for really bad weather to camp in. sounds weird huh? but to us it's all fun..give it a try.you'll never regret getting a bastion 4. it really gives you a lot of security and protection.

I live in Kansas' "tornado alley". I needed a tent that could stand up to torrential rains and high wind. This tent fits the bill. I opted for the Bastion 4 because I like to have plenty of room for "stuff", an air mattress, and I like the headroom. It's nice to be able to sit in a camp chair without my head hitting the top while weathering out a storm. I've only had my B4 tent and footprint (sold separately) for less than a month and have weathered a massive storm with 50 - 60 MPH winds. I felt safe, was dry, and I slept like a baby in a tent that shrugged off that storm like it was nothing. I always stake down both the footprint and tent as well as use all support lines just in case. All I had to do was close the vents, which by the way do a pretty good job. I can see why expeditions and adverturers use this tent and why people have sworn by North Face tents for 20 years.

Since last fall I have spent roughly 35 days in this tent. I have seen thunderstorms, wind, rain, sleet and both warm and cold. It is absolutely terrific and I believe the reports that it may be bullet proof. As the old saying goes when you buy quality you only cry once. This tent even at what seems a lot of money is a bargain. It is not light but I use it mostly for car camping in the back country.

I have owed a lot of North face gear over the decades and this product truly showcases what TNF has learned over the years in tent building. I can take it into any situation in any weather and never once have to worry or think about the tent failing. It is a little heavy but incredibly stable incredibly waterproof while all at the same time super breathable and functional.

First off, this tent is well made. The fabric is so much better than the cheaper tents that I have purchased in the past. Those tents served me well in warmer weather, but I needed a tent for the colder seasons, and the Bastion fits the bill. I have set this tent up by myself many times, first time was not the easiest, because of the weight of the material itself, not a bad thing to keep the cold out, just made it more difficult to set up by myself. Two people or more would not be a problem. I did put difficult to setup, because it is not the easiest to set up. I have been around tents all my life, this being my first North Face, so those of you that use North Face tents should have no problem. The only downfall I would say is the weight. During a backpacking trip, you would want to distribute the weight between the hikers using the tent, each one carrying either the fly, the poles, or the tent. You would not want to carry this yourself.