Gear Reviews: Tent

Minibus 23

Manufacturer: The North Face

Reviewed by: BigfootYancey

It's a lil on the heavy side, but then again, not really considering all that this offers. There is generous headroom (more than footprint) thanks to the smart engineering of the two small orange poles and the C-Clips. Pitchin' and strikin' is easy as pie- just set up once before you head anywhere. I'm diggin' the Twist-Clips and The hub system allows for a nice distribution of wind stress on the DAC poles, allowing the tent to hold up really well in higher wind. This system I believe also contributes to the condensation control. I've had this tent in a couple rain situations. One was three days of non-stop rain with one solid hour of blinding down poor. I was camped next to a slope that fed ALOT of rain our way and did dig a very small trench around one side of it. No leaks (tarp under floor). No condensation, either. At night with the rain, it would get muggy with my girlfriend and I in it, however, I just pulled back the sleeping bag, and could actually feel cool, clean air- so I believe the low-high vent system is smart and works really well. A cool feature I liked is the inside-outside pockets. And the glow-n-dark zipper pull tabs glowed fairly bright all night on a night darker than a black steer's derrière. Don't really have any complaints, and actually LOVE this tent. I always looked away from The North Face for It seemed they were more into the outdoor chic business. Maybe he company spreads itself a little too thin because of this - some stuff is made poorly, some good. The Minibus 23 Is made GREAT.