This tent is fabulous. We have had ours for approximately 15 years or even longer. It is still in great shape. It withstands extreme temperature changes and we have been toasty warm and dry in torrential downpours of rain and snow! One trip snow camping we forgot the tent poles and we were able to prop it up in a makeshift snow cave and we were still quite content after the initial shock of no poles! I highly recommend this tent. The price is well worth the dependability and endurance of the material and workmanship. As the family has grown, the size is not accurate for more than 2 adults comfortably. However, now the kids have a tent and we have our own!

Similar Products Used:

None

Grrrrrrrrrr8! This tent preformed te best for me. Ive had this tent for years and it is still new. I once bent all the poles and North Face replaced them for free no questions.

Customer Service

Great also.The bestive seen.

Similar Products Used:

None

Where to start? North Face makes great tents. Maybe this is part of the current customer service problem. I own 3 North Face tents. I borrowed a VE-25 to compare to my VE-24. My VE-24, after many dedicated years in the field, leaks. After I sent the tent to San Leandro CA to see if there was any way to improve the performance of my befriended tent, they said no. Okay. So started the search for a replacement. It started at the Seattle North Face store where they didn't have any expedition tents to review. Okay, how about a catalog? They didn't have any available. How about a North Face web page with tent information? Not available yet. Okay. So I called the Company @ (800) 719-NORTH. The menu-driven prompt took me to the technical support department where the recording said ""the line is busy"" at which point there was silence followed by a dial tone. Okay disconnected, I'll try the warranty department. I found someone in warranty who said she knows nothing of the tent I am interested in but if I call her tomarrow she will find out for me. Okay. Tomarrow cames and I called her extension and she says she still didn't know anything more but the customer service department should know. And before I utter a word, I'm listening to recording from some customer service rep who isn't available at the moment. Okay. I left a message. I never got a return call. So at this point my mellow nature is eroding and I call California information to get the main company telephone number. I call the number and civilly ask for the manager of the customer service department. He said he isn't aware of any manager for the department but could transfer me to a customer service rep which he did without me answering. I got a recording for another unavailable person. Okay, so now I'm mad and frustrated. I own 3 North Face tents plus miscellaneous gear bags and I can't get basic information locally or at the company in California. I'm thinking I should be an ideal customer, a satisfied returning one. And I'm sitting in Seattle with my mouth open in disbelief. I try the Seattle store again to get information. The sales person I got told me two basic dimensionally inaccurate things right off the bat and then said he's confusing the Expedition 25 tent with the VE-25 and Expedition Guide tents. I told him he is my last recourse for basic information. He says I should contact technical support in California because they don't train him properly. So, I say this to my fellow comsumers - If this is the direction of the company, think very hard if this is where you want to place your money and your customer service faith. I did ultimately borrow a VE-25 and found it very solid but the footprint was a bit large with the vestibule even for the base camping in snow. The interior space was terrific as usual and great for waiting out weather. With a total weight over 10 pound, most of us will split up the tent between a number of packs. Accordingly, I wish they would address what I feel is a substandard floor fabric for extended use. I have found this true on all my North Face tents which would have much longer lives if we just had the option to increase the floor fabric weight and durability.

Customer Service

Customer service, meaning discussing an issue with a reasonably informed company employee (not merely automatic part replacement), is sadly a joke.

Similar Products Used:

Sierra Designs Wild Country Hyperspace Garuda Sahi North Face Mountain

Great Tent. Used on Mt. Shasta for the past 5 years. Spent many nights through storms over 10,000' with no problems (one night with out the rain fly)! Great tent. Can sleep 4 if necessary--not recomended.

Similar Products Used:

None

I've always liked this tent - seems well made. I had a chance to use one on a week long mountaineering trip last summer. We camped above 10,000' all week on various glaciers. Tent held up well during some serious wind storms (although there were times it went flat into our faces). Found it fit 3 people well. My only compliant relates to the internal guy out points (which we didn't use hence the tent in the face effect) - during one very wind evening that included heavy rainall the guy points dripped water into the tent and onto our faces or feet. Very annoying! Chatted with others who have owned this tent and they have had the same problem. Other than that tent was great. Weighs more than they say though.

Similar Products Used:

MEC Snowfield
North Face Tadpole
Sierra Designs Stretch Dome

Great tent for winter use. A little on the heavy side. If you can squeeze three then the weight is no problem.

Customer Service

On a trip last winter I bent the poles. It was so windy, I had to line the inside of the tent with boulders. Anyway, I sent them in and they sent me a new set, no questions asked!

Similar Products Used:

Black Diamond Mega Mid North Face Assault 22 single wall North Face Tempest 23 single wall Bibler Todd Tex Bivy

The ve-25 is a great tent. I've used it in conditions ranging from gorgeous colorado summer days to 60 mph winds staked out above 13,000. The tent has excellent support whether it be high winds or heavy snow. Also the amount of head room is great for those guys over 6 feet tall. The tent is a bit small for three large guys allowing too much bag to touch the walls which in turn allows them to get wet. Other than that I have no problems with it. The true test will be this summer in Alaska's Denali National Park. If it stands up to this I'll be back with a screaming review.

This tent is fantastic! Fairly easy set up. Haven't had it that long, but already put it through the ringer on the trails, no problem!
Best to split up between two, or three packs because of weight, but for a great shelter who cares? Got mine through campmore for $250 because a salesman cut a one inch gash in the floor w/ his knife. I bought it after they had returned it to N.F. for a full repair. Still carries the lifetime warranty. Check around for deals like this! They're out there!

I spent 25 days in this tent in Nepal in 1994 with my wife on a trek. It was actually the Guide tent, which is this tent fortified a bit for trekking companies.I loved the tent. it was roomy, easy to get in and out, and warm. I've always wanted to buy one, but I already have a good tent I had bought prior to going to Nepal.

Similar Products Used:

My personal tent is A Moss Olympic, which I also recommend.

The VE-25 is a pig. It's heavy and cumbersome to set up. The foam spacers are lame. The color is obnoxious. It's too small for three people and too big for two people.

I LOVE IT!! BEST tent I've ever had. I bought an Oval Intention in 1974. Lived in it every day for nine months straight. Beat it up but it treated me right.

After ten years it blew into a lake and sank while I was airing it out. Went diving three months later and pulled it out (it was set up on the bottom just waiting for some mermaid to take up residence). Tent was ok but all the plastic waterproofing peeled off the floor.

Sent it to NF for repairs (with a note explaining what happened). They sent me a VE-25 to replace it since the Intention was out of production.

The VE-25 has been sterling. Lived in it on the coast of Alaska for 4 months. It has been buried under five feet of heavy snow. It has been run over and dropped out of a helicopter. It is a survivor.

Customer Service

North Face gave me the VE25 to replace a tent that dissolved under abuse. How can you get better than that?

Similar Products Used:

Bibler, Eureka, Sierra Designs, and several Walrus Swifts (great tents).