The North Face

Stormbreak 1 Tent: 1-Person 3-Season

Great quality, poor design

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

1 man

Weight:

268

I've had the two-man version of this tent for 12 years and it's still going strong. I camp at least 45 days a year. I loved the two man tent so much that I bought the one man tent for backpacking. Here's the good and bad: Good: excellent quality as you would expect from a North face product. Very lightweight for this price point. A 3 lb something ounce tent for under $200 made at this quality can't be found elsewhere. Very compact when in the stuff sack. It was the smallest item In my backpack. Very quick and easy to set up buy one person. Very waterproof. Bad: It does not vent well. The vestibule zips open in a straight line from the Apex of the tent down to the ground. Even when you try to crack the vestibule open The draft flap keeps the zippered portion closed. I had a major buildup of condensation on the inside of the tent. The tent walls pitch inward as they approach the apex of the tent. This might not seem like a big deal but when you have condensation on the inside of your fly, it gets your gear wet because you're brushing up against it. Also the shape of the tent means that when you have the fly open, any moisture rolling off the top of the rain fly falls directly inside your tent since the top of the tent is narrower than the bottom. Conclusion: If this tent had a cross beam on top like the two man does and the walls of the tent pitched straight up instead of inward like a pyramid, this would be the perfect sub $200 backpacking tent. Unfortunately I woke up in 26° weather, a soaked down bag and the entire inside of my rainfly frozen with condensation That dripped all over my gear inside the tent as it defrosted. I'm looking at the MSR Elixir 1 tent. It has all of the suggested features above and you only sacrifice about 3/4 of a pound to get it. If North face fixes the design on their one-man stormbreak tent, I'll buy it immediately. In fact I'm going to retire my 12-year-old two men tent and buy another two-man storm break tent from North face. Best value in tents that can be found

Great for solo hiking, no footprint though?

I've used this a dozen times and I love it, big door and roomy as a 5'8" person. But it did not come with a footprint like it said it does. I use a piece of tyvek but would much rather one that came with the tent. It's supposed to come with one no?

Great tent for the right sized person

Just returned from hiking the Teton Crest Trail with this tent. The good part is this tent is light, packs small, and is really easy to set up. Staking it out, I have no doubt this tent would stand up to bad weather. Getting in and out of the single door is easy and the vestibule provides just enough space to drop your boots, not much else. The not so good. I'm 6 foot, 185 lbs and felt I was sleeping in a coffin! Head to toe, there wasn't much room. My sleeping pad filled the floor space. When laying down, the interior of the tent was pressing/touching my head. My feet were pushing on the other end. Sitting up, I had no head room, just had to push into the interior of the tent. If you're a bit claustrophobic, this may invoke a few emotions! In the end, I was tired enough and just closed my eyes and went to sleep. In short, this is a great tent for shorter people or those that don't mind small spaces.

Not durable

Used for about 2 years. Camping and pole broke. No clear cause, no wind, gave way at junction.

A storm breaker indeed

I bought this tent for more than year and I am still impressed by it. First time using it, I got caught in a thunderstorm and I was blown away by how well it stoop up. My 2nd year, just some heavy rain and no problems. Easy to take down and packed away. Very lightweight. I'll definitely buy again.

I wouldnt buy anything else !

High Tech and well crafted peice of essential outdoor gear ! I have taken this tent to the highest and lowest points of Africa and it has never let me down. i love how it leaves an almost non-existent footprint and it very easy to pack.

Great tent!

Nice, compact, lightweight single person tent. I'm only 5'4 so I have space for my pack at my feet which is a great option.

I would definitely recommend this to a friend

My wife just got back from Havasupi and love the ease of use with the Stormbreak 1. It was very nice to set up, 2 poles, and clip on tent. Easy peasy.

Yes

Great, light, and fits well only problem is that it's a bit too small for me.

I highly recommend this product !!

Purchased to use for motorcycle adventure riding. 1,000 miles in 5 days off-road in Colorado. The light weight and small packed size was a major advantage! I'm 6'3", 235lbs and was comfortable inside. Fast set up and take down is super convenient.