The North Face Foundation 6

It's an OK tent, but it lacks some physics research.

Overall the tent is fine, but it is not really industrial strength. The materials are lightweight and the zippers are small gauge. 

Since this is a family size tent there are a couple of things to be aware of:

Because the materials are thin and lightweight, it may be more prone to punctures. 

The tent pole sleeves require you to bend the poles a great deal to pass them through; this caused a tear in the sleeve because of the extreme pressure against it in passing. I mended the 2-inch tear with some dental floss and it was good afterward.

The zippers have 3-inch cord loops to pull instead of metal tabs. When the fly is staked taut and you try to pull the zipper down to close the door, the 3-inch cord lever is too long and puts excessive pressure on the zipper's slider body and actually pulls the component apart ruining the zipper.

The previous owner tried to wax the zipper but didn't realize the slider body was beyond repair. I replaced the slider with one that had a metal pull tab. This shortened the lever and it's fine now.

If you have kids that enjoy kinesthetic freedom, you might find that this tent won't last.

Setup: Harrowing when trying to get the cross poles through the pole sleeves. Otherwise, it's OK.

Stability: OK for state park car camping but beware of high wind.

Weather resistance: Good

Ventilation: Good

Room and storage: Plenty roomy for the family (would be tight with 6 adults). Nice tower pockets.

Packability: Normal and on the light side for a 6P.

Ease of use: Zippers can break and are made of a lesser quality and small gauge.

Features: 2 doors and good size vestibules. I think you can unzip one of  the vestibules and use it as an awning as well.

Construction and durability: Poor to average

Conditions: Bought used and used it a couple of times (once in light rain)






Traded it out.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of my new tent, there weren't many of this size available when I purchased it.

The only negative statements I could make about the Foundation 6 are about lack of windows and typical lack of space. I was aware of that when I bought the tent - it would be uncomfortable to sleep 6 people, but worked wonderfully for sleeping 3 people. Though there are only two small windows, they were sufficient for viewing scenery from inside the tent the few times I felt like doing so.

It was easy to assemble, and functioned great as our base camp tent. One person would be able to set up the tent, and with two it was incredibly quick and easy. It is very well made out of durable materials; lives up to North Face quality.