User Review: The North Face Kestrel

Reviewed January 22, 2008 by Jason Littrell

Rating: rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Design: 3 season freestanding dome
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: easy and fast because of the pole sleeves
Weight: a bit over 5.5
Price Paid: $285-ish

I used the tent for my last trek out at Philmont scout ranch for Rayado in 1997 (20 days and nights and 175 miles). The tent preformed well. Solid freestanding design in high winds. The pole sleeves made pitching the tent a breeze and can even be done in a storm with the fly on top keeping the tent dry the whole time.

I didn't buy the foot print and elected to use a clear heavy mylar ground fly cut a little larger then the tent so I can roll the extra up under the rain fly. The fly goes all the way down to the ground keeping those inside dry even when it rains sideways.

I only have a few problems that I experienced with the tent. At 6'1" I'm pushing the limits of the tent on the inside. Also on cold nights with the roof vents open, we still experienced condensation build up which required me to use my waterproof sleeping bag stuff sack around the feet of my sleeping bag to keep from absorbing the wet.

Another issue was the headroom inside the tent. I have the gear loft which is nice but takes away valuable head room inside. I'm guessing this is due to the basic cross design of the poles. Having the poles cross twice would create less peak hight but more head room side to side.

Finally the angle of the rain fly over the doors means if it is raining heavily when you crawl in, it requires great care and speed to not get much water inside the tent.

My brother has also used the tent at a 3 day music festival in AR where it rained for the whole time and stated that he was the only one there that stayed dry because of the solid tent design.

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