User Review: The North Face VE 25

The North Face VE 25
Above: The current VE 25, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed October 14, 2008 by GaryPalmer

Rating:
Design: Four season free standing dome
Sleeps: 3
Ease of Setup: Takes about 5 minutes to set up
Weight: Weighs about 12 pounds, packs to 12x9 inches.
Price Paid: $499

I have been a backpacker/camper for over 30 years. I have camped in most conditions/seasons. I hike/camp about 240 days a year. I also do bicycle touring crosscountry USA. I have used many tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, stoves, boots, shoes, sandals, lights, etc.

I used one tent for 28 years, the North Face VE-24 from 1978 to 2003 and took good care of it. While on a trip into the Gros Ventre Wilderness here in northwest Wyoming a young Grizzly bear literally destroyed the tent while I was on a dayhike away. I came back to it collapsed, torn into thru the door and a new door out the back. I could barely use the tent again.

I replaced it with the VE-25 tent. Basically the same tent, has a back door, bigger vestibule. Stronger 10mm floor. Cost was only 200 dollars more than I paid for my VE-24 in 1978.

The rainfly can be used by itself and I use the footprint floor saver when I do. Great for light weight summer hiking/biking.

It has a lifetime warranty. North Face replaced the poles/rainfly after my VE-24 tent collapsed under 4 feet of snow in the Sierras back in the early 1980's. They replaced the floor after I accidentally burnt a hole in it in 1979 for a minimal fee.

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