The North Face Spectrum 33

I would highly recommend this tent if you are looking for a roomy, dependable, easy to use lightweight tent.

I recently used the Spectrum 33 above 10,000 feet during a very raining/hail filled week in Colorado and it preformed better than I expected for a single wall tent. Plus hiking around with such a lightweight tent was a real joy.

The setup was easy and quick, and I even did it once during a hailstorm. It has three poles, eight stakes and no guidelines. The first two poles are a snap to put in, but the third pole with the cross connects can be a bit of a challenge for one person in a hurry, but do not worry, the tent can easy be put up by a single person. The third pole is also a bit awkward to get back into the pole bag.

Without the guidelines the tent did fine in the high winds and I liked the fact the guidelines where not strung around to be tripped on.

I liked the roominess of the tent, as two of us were very comfortable with great headspace for sitting up and moving around. A third person would have been a bit tight though.

The inner door and fly zippers were easy to use and I liked the glow in the dark zipper handles, and inside of the outside fly gave us a great place to keep our dirty boots.

They say single wall tents are much colder but in our zero degree lightweight down sleeping bags we never got cold despite rain, hail, and 10,000+ feet altitudes in June. In the morning sun the tent warmed very quickly which was great but in the afternoon it could get too hot unless a breeze was allowed to through the front door. If the breeze hit the backside of the tent towards the two vents it was not enough to cool the tent off in a warm afternoon.

The vents did do a great job of keeping the dew point low in the tent at night and we never had a problem sweating in our bags despite the high humidity from daily rains.

The biggest problem was the moisture, as anything that touched the floor or sidewalls got wet. I would highly recommend the footprint to help with the floor moisture and we used plastic bags and rain gear to help keep things dry where the sidewalls and floor meet. We did have a few drips during the hail and heavy rain but it was not a big deal. The hail did collect near the pole sleeves where there was additional dripping until we knocked the hail off.

Overall this tent is great with its light weight, ease of use, roominess, and dependability.

This tent is fairly roomy for two larger than average men but I find it hard to believe that it will fit 3 people. It fits two 4-long Therm-a-rests well and allows for plenty of headroom.

I recently used the Spectrum 33 on a four-day Boundary Waters trip. We had a fair amount of rain and the tent performed well. The pack size is small it ensure that the number of Duluth packs could easily be carried for single portages. The setup was easy and quick. The color coded three pole design is very helpful as well as the glow in the dark zippers on the D-style door.

However, the tent is a swamp. Overnight the moisture from exhalation would condense on the sides of the tent. In some cases would drip down and moisten our sleeping bags (nothing 15 mins in the sun wouldn’t fix). I would wake up each morning and wipe the sides of the tent down with a t-shirt. Upon talking to others with single walled backpacking tents this is a common problem. I’ll test it out on future backpacking trips and see if it was worth the money spent on it. As of now I am disappointed.

The North Face Spectrum 33 is a single wall ultralight three-person tent that's just right for two people and gear with plenty of headroom. It's fast and very easy to set up and the quality materials, design, and workmanship of this tent is impeccable. My girlfriend and I took this tent out for an overnight test drive and were very pleased. The ventilation in this tent is great and it is easy to get in and out of and very comfortable to sleep in.

I highly recommend The North Face Spectrum 33 for anyone who wants a roomy, single wall ultralight tent for two at a bargain price. I purchased this tent at The North Face store in Boston. They carry the full line of the Flight Series products including, tents, packs, and sleeping bags along with an extensive line of outdoor clothing.

Spectrum 33 used by my son and I on a trip to Denali National Park, Alaska. Unfortunately summer 2008 has been an unusually wet summer in Alaska. My son and I spent 4 nights backpacking in Denali with 3 of them raining day and night. Though we ended our trip a day early, as we had no more dry clothing, this tent performed exceptionally well.

As a single wall tent it did perspire quite a bit. I keep a small microfiber cloth in the tent to wipe down the condensation when we wake in the morning.

Other than this it was great. Through an almost constant 3 days of rain it kept us dry and warm while providing an acceptable amount of ventilation. At 4 lb 10 oz, or so, it performed quite well.

Great lightweight tent for backpacking. I've used it in the summer as well as winter. Nice and fast, easy set up. Used it winter camping in 12 degree weather. Had zero degree bags and I was comfortable. Fit two people comfortably. Not sure how you would fit three people.

The biggest drawback on this tent is the condensation that accumulates as you sleep. Every time I have woken up I have been getting wet. If you bump the tent it causes a rain shower inside. I've tried leaving the front vestibule open and still get quite a bit of condensation.

It's a good single wall tent but I have found that I can't afford to be getting wet in the morning from the condensation.

I bought this at the LL Bean factory outlet and it was returned item. I chose this tent for its lightness and wind-resistance. The tent is very sturdy, wind resistant, and fast and easy to set up which comes in handy if you are setting up in low light and darkness. It is easier for two to set up as the poles need to be arced to get them into the slots.

The tent would be a tight fit for three especially in warm weather. The single wall tent does accumulate condensation.

Just got back from Mount Rainier National Park and used the Spectrum 33. Held up to full night of rain. I did have a little condensation, but wiped it up with one of my backpacking towels. I like how it goes up pretty quick if you do need immediate shelter.

I used it along with the North Face Hightail 900 fill goose down bag, stayed pretty snug, outside temperature was around 30 degrees. Pretty happy with this product even with a little condensation. Even tho this is a three person tent, it only sleeps 2 comfortably.