UKC

Thinking of buying the tadpole 23. Does anybody have experience of this tent?

In reply to John Wood:

Lovely small lightweight 2 man tent. Good materials and quick pitcher

In reply to John Wood: im also thinking about buying one of these ,just a bit apprehensive about quality control from previous north face tent posts on this forum

In reply to John Wood:

I have one.

It's perfect for one and just about ok for two as long as you know each other well.

If you can pick one up for under £100 you will be getting a great deal.

Andy

In reply to John Wood:

Don't they pitch inner first so perhaps not so good for UK

I like Vaude tents, as they pitch flysheet and inner all as one so better in UK where it's likely to be raining when i go camping

In reply to Mac Ghille Aindrais: do you know anywhere that sells them for that price,,,lowest i have found is £160

In reply to John Wood:

A big problem with north face tents that are not in the 'yellow' mountain range is the level of waterproofing of the flysheets. On north face tents it is around 2.5m hydrostatic head, on terra nova, lightwave etc.. it is closer to 7m. This causes issues in high winds when rain is whipped against the side of the tent and also as the fly degrades over time and becomes less waterproof. I would always go for a silicone coated flysheet rather then PU coated as they absorb much less water (some flys absorb a lot of water in the rain and result in you carrying a lot more weight!) and retain their waterproofing much longer. Have a look at the terra nova voyager and the lightwave G1 ion (£180 in Tiso at the mo), or possibly some of the macpac range. If you're rich a, look at Hillebergs and b, give me some money!

In reply to John Wood:

Ok now also looking at the vadue tarus ultralite, a better buy than the tadpole? All opinons gratefrully recieved.

Thanks, John

In reply to John Wood: MIne leaked, badly, there were also some major condensation issues. In the end it got sent back and I got a new fly as there was a problem with the waterproofing. I still had to put up with it for a month in the Dolomites first though.

In reply to John Wood:
i have the tnf tadpole 23 and it is great for solo backpacking but its a bit of a squeeze with 2, only slight leaks in the porch but its light weight and packable, good in the wind becauss of the height and design. bought it as a first bvackpacking tent and will only change it if it tears or consistantly leaks which i doubt will happen

In reply to John Wood:

I've got one of these. The construction is robust, used it in the UK hills, Malaysian rainforest and over here in NZ. It's easy to put up, colour coding on the poles and rigging make it easier. Pretty stable in the wind too. It's lightweight and packs down pretty small. It's also mesh-lined so it breathes in the summer, with a quality down bag you could get away with cold weather camping too. As for size, it's fine with the girlfriend but would be a bit cosy sharing with a mate!

As for criticisms, I have had one problem with flooding. It was fine in the jungle in flash floods but on a trip up Mt Somers last year it got really damp inside overnight. Not sure if it was condensation, a leaking seam or water coming in over the sides (I suspect the latter as we had a dreadful storm). One slight worry is that there is a seam on the floor of the tent - best avoided if possible.

As for waterproofing, I clean it with water after use (never detergent). I've washed it successfully with Nikwax Tech Wash and reproofed it with Granger's spray-on proofing. Nikwax UV Proof also looks good.

In reply to John Wood: There's one on ebay uk in great nick at the moment.

In reply to John Wood: I've used mine in fairly heavy rain and wind and had no problems. It's quite quick to pitch and strike if you no what your doing, so the pitch inner first isn't really an issue. And ok it's small inside, but not as excessively so as some suggest. I've spent a few days with two of us in there whilst backpacking and it didn't feel too cramped - and the porch is a good size so helps alleviate that problem.

In reply to Liam M:

That's a good point, forgot to say the porch is big, enough room for 2 packs easy.

In reply to John Wood: I've got one and think it's great. It's a reasonable weight, enough space for two as long as neither of you are of the over weight persuation and lots of space in the portch. I've not had any problems with it in heavy rain and have been surprised how well it stands up to very strong winds, even without any guylines peg'd out.

All in all I'd say it's certainly as robust as most of it's competetors and a pretty good tent.

In reply to John Wood: TNF Tadpole used it twice worked well both times slight leak near the entrance nothing serious an that was only because the snow on top of the tent was melting worked extremely well in the wind while other terra novas got killed. I can't complain i won mine in a competition so it was free.

In reply to John Wood:

I hated it - felt vulnerable in high wind and rain and the elastic toggles in the porch leak severely.

I sent mine back and spent (quite) a bit more on a Mountain Equipment Dragonfly which I've used in heavy weather in Norway and in all weather in the UK this summer and which I absolutely love.

It is really light (lighter than the tadpole), totally waterproof and much better for condensation, takes about 30 seconds to erect (inner and outer are erected together) and has two options for porch size. Little details such as placing of toggles etc are well thought out and since it is a uk make long term tech support seems much more accessible.

I'd recommend it 100% over the Tadpole - it's all in the names really - tadpoles live in water - at some stage it seems you'll get wet! My Dragonfly has kept me totally dry.

In reply to Philippa:

Arghh... ... too late... ...ordered one yesterday and expecting delivery today. Will be testing in at Eskdale next week and will report back on how good it is. This tent seems to be like marmite, you either love it or hate it. If it doesn't keep me dry in the lakes then its going back.

In reply to John Wood: Don't buy it. I've had one for two years and at first it was great and was just what I needed. Then I was tightening one of the straps and it ripped. Now, I don't have a problem with it ripping cos I probably pulled it a bit tight but what I do have a problem with is this. I sent it off to a company in Scotland to repair the rip and they returned it to me saying the material had degraded too much and was not worth repairing. Now, in the two years I have owned it, I have only used it a handful of times. I have been in touch with The North Face and their parent company and all they do is say it isn't under warranty. But this tent should last for years, so I'm pretty naffed off with the whole situation to be honest. So there you go.

In reply to John Wood:
I'd be very interested to hear how you get on with this one. I just recently bought a new NF Mountain 25 and it leaked very badly - had to send it back. Still waiting to hear about replacement etc.

Hope yours is better!

In reply to John Wood:
Oh dear. Well, good luck. Personally I'm never going with a NF tent again, although their clothes are great.

Let us know how you get on