The North Face Merlin 33

Summary

Overpriced. Poor design. Terrible build quality.

I bought a Merlin 33 intending to use it as my primary home for 3 months. I was willing to pay the inflated price for a North Face tent because I thought it would be reflected in the build quality. 

On the very first use the waterproofing on the flysheet broke down into a gooey mess. The first time it rained there might as well have not been a fly sheet at all. I got soaked, as did all of my kit. Fortunately I was still in a developed country so I bought a footprint (the ground sheet also leaked terribly) and a couple of cans of waterproofing spray. The footprint made it marginally better and the spray staved off the rain for a little while provided it wasn't too hard.

After a month of stubbornly refusing to give up on my expensive new tent I finally relented and bought a $40 tent from a hardware store. It might weigh a couple of pounds more but it's far, far superiour in every other way to the North Face tent.

Don't waste your money. Don't go anywhere near this tent. Having also been very disappointed by one of their backpacks I will never again buy a North Face product.

The layout and space under the vestibules are this tent's major strength. Two people can fit with plenty of room to spare; I imagine three would fit comfortably. You could probably squeeze four small people. Gear fits easily under the vestibules, and the double doors prevent waking up your tent mates for late-night bathroom breaks.

Unfortunately, the rainfly for this tent is defective. Mine broke down after the first use, developing a sticky/tacky feeling on the underside. When I sent it back to TNF, I was told that there was some defect in the way these rainflys were made, and that breakdown is likely to occur within a few years.

Fortunately this is covered by warranty and they will send you a new rainfly, but you will probably have to get multiple replacements over the lifetime of the tent. Also, be sure to insist that the customer service rep you talk with goes and consults with the "tent guy". Not all the reps know that it is TNF policy to replace these rainflys, and they may try to tell you this is normal wear and tear breakdown that is not covered.

Hello. I used this tent into the Carpathians (Romania), between 800m and 2000m alt. It was a great product, very resistant to heavy rain, a lot of space.

The problem is that it was actually crushed by a wind blast who last no more than 6 seconds... Anyway the wind blast was quite strong I think it was around 120km/h speed. The problem was that the wind direction was straight into the weak zone of the tent, the main entrance (the part with the yellow aluminium pole).

So by by Merlin 33, I think I will not by another North Face tent so soon.

I bought this tent at a greatly reduced price after it had been on display outdoors for 3 months at a camping show. I've used it in relentless heavy rain without any leak through the fly, but the ground sheet leaked badly.

Apart from that though, a very stable and roomy tent which has proved to be very user friendly once used with a footprint to combat the dodgey groundsheet. The reflective guy lines work well and the pack size and weight is hard to beat for a tent of this size and spec.

I've had this tent for two years and have been very happy with it. I camp at least 10 times a year and to date this tent has performed very well in wind, rain and heat.

No complaints about the structure, build or roominess. This is not an ideal tent for backpacking at 6lbs, unless of course you spread the gear out with fellow hikers.

A+ so far!

This is a fantastic tent in terms of weight and space. It's easy to put up. Unfortunately in light rainfall it leaks badly and leaked in several places. This was a perfect tent till it started to rain. Hopefully The North Face will sort out this problem.

I have found another review that reports that this tent leaks. Therefore it seems to be a problem with the design which is such a shame for a tent that seemed to be perfect

Went on several day camping trips on the Appalachian Trail in Northeast Tennessee. Steady downpour almost nonstop and tent did not leak at all. Vestibules kept my and my buddies' gear dry. Tent easy to put up and rain fly color coded to ensure put on correctly. Tent pack has compression straps keeping packed tent very small and easy to attach to pack. Great tent!!! Would not trade in for anything.