This tent is just simply awesome. I have owned this tent for almost two years and have very little to complain about. It provides plenty of room for me at 5'5" tall and it only gets slightly cozier with a bunk mate of similar size. The set up is quick and easy and takes about 4-5 minutes to pitch even after a long tiring trek. The break down is even quicker at about 2 to three minutes. Furthermore, the Tadpole has a very low profile and as a result, it is very stable even when the wind is really blowing. However, the tent did have a shortcoming. Well, more of an annoyance than really a shortcoming. The U-shaped stakes that came with my tent were easily deformed and I consistently had to straighten them out. After the first few months, I finally just gave up and replaced the original stakes with right-angle stakes which hold there shape much better.
With the exception of the stakes, the Tadpole 23 is a great tent, so I would rate it a 5/5.

Ok, well it depends on your usage, but for me it's perfect. If I had one tent, this would be it! It's super light for it's strength, it can support a small snowload (I've had about 4 inches), it's freestanding (so you can camp places where you can't stake down), and it's good for me and my dog, or me and a little cutey :-). It's not a good two person tent if you don't want to be close to each other. I think I'm taking this one on the john muir trail this summer.

I've had a soft spot for this tent ever since a buddy and I took a late season Sierra high country trip. He was bragging on his ultralight tarp shelter and mocking my "heavy" tent all the way in. He was hatefully smug about it until that night when, at 10,000 feet, a storm hit bringing very cold temps, high winds, and SNOW! While he fumbled for nearly an hour, wet and freezing, trying to rig his pathetic tarp (so he could cower under it in his wet down bag in his wet clothes on bare WET ground...ultralight indeed), I changed into warm dry clothes, brewed a hot cup of tea, and sat it out in total comfort in my Tadpole, singing along loudly to my iPod to maximize the revenge factor. It's a perfect shoulder-season tent precisely for this type of scenario (I use a single-wall solo tent or bivy sack during the summer). It's easy to solo-pitch and the 3-pole design and multiple guy-out points make it a very strong tent indeed, as my envious and thoroughly humbled friend learned that cold wet October night. The weight is very low for such a full-featured, well-made double-wall. The vestibule is plenty big for one person's gear and cooking space. On sub-freezing nights keep a towel handy for morning condensation; the mesh ceiling does let some dripping water in from the fly but it's manageable. I concur with other reviews that this is actually a roomy 1-person tent, two people would be crammed as would their gear in the vestibule. Also, watch the length; I'm 6'3" and am absolutely maxed out in this tent, not an inch of extra head/foot room but a price I'm willing to pay for the weight. To top it all off, I got it on sale for $150 bucks. Life is good....

This tent has served me well for years. From the Utah desert to wet NY, it has been tested in heat, rain, storms, and plain old sleep on clear starry nights.

I recommend using this for 1-person mainly to store your gear inside and have that extra room. I have slept wit wife inside too, but it's tights. And in those cases we more or less car camp so saving space/weight is meaningless.

I love the low profile which has survived the windy nights atop Muley Point while others tents fared not so well. I also just love the shape. Big opening. Low at the feet. Wide near the arms when sleeping.

Never leaked - and perhaps best of all, set it up and then put it where you want it. Free standing style rocks. Plus make shaking bugs and dirt out an ease.

I recently purchased this tent as a replacement for one I had had for about 7 years. Its first trial came when I took it with me on a climb in Guatemala. The tent was super easy to set up, the color coding helps a lot, and had lots of room for one person. The vestibule also served as a great place to stow the pack. While we sleeping, we got hit with a nasty thunderstorm. The Tadpole kept me and my gear warm and dry throughout the storm, unlike the rest of the team. The only challenge I had with this product was changing in the morning. If you like to stand and stretch, this is not the tent for you. The Tadpole is a great product for the price.

The construction is great, no complaints there. It fits decently if you're using it for an average sized man and woman, but if you're camping with two guys it's really tight. Also, there's not much headroom, so it makes it pretty much impossible to hang out in the tent unless you're lying down. It would be perfect for two girls sharing a tent though.

I have now owned my tadpole for nearly 20 years and have loved it!!!! The best tent I could recommend. It is a roomy tent for one, a bit tight for two people. If you want a light weight, durable, easy & quick set up & take down tent...this is the one for you. I have always been dry when it rains and it takes a good strong wind quite well. When it comes time to replace this one...will get another tadpole for sure!!
Indy from Ontario, Canada:-)

when old bessy bit the dust this was the tent i was looking for ive used it on 1 trip so far. fantastic

I have now owned my tadpole for nearly 20 years and have loved it!!!! The best tent I could recommend. It is a roomy tent for one, a bit tight for two people. If you want a light weight, durable, easy & quick set up & take down tent...this is the one for you. I have always been dry when it rains and it takes a good strong wind quite well. When it comes time to replace this one...will get another tadpole for sure! Ontario, Canada:-)

Very nice tent. It lived up to my expectations. As a two-man tent I have some doubt but I am 6'1" and 220 pounds so maybe two smaller people could make it work if you like cozy. I think it would be tight. I really like the little vestibule in front. I was able to put my packs and all under it just fine and with just one person I had room to put boots on one side and clothing and miscl stuff on the other. If you are 6'4" I don't think it will work for you but I got along fine. Tent is very stable and although I had no rain and not much wind I think this tent would hold up really well. The fly lets it vent very well. I really enjoyed the reflective tie-downs outside. Any light on them and they glow very bright so you are not tripping over them. Another nice touch is the zipper tabs all glow in the dark. Very nice. It is a great tent. I really don't see where you could improve on it. It's a pound or s0 heavier than the one man bivy tents, but well worth is for me. Excellent!!

Very nice tent. Easy to setup, and very sturdy. I like the weight of it, and how easily if folds to a compact size. Highly recommended for backpacking or a quick setup camp.

I just returned from a couple of nights in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. It's the first time I used my Tadpole and it worked great. It is advertised as a two man tent. I'm 6 foot and go about 185lb. As far as I'm concerned, this is a solo tent. It was comfortable but there isn't much room to spare.
There was some condensation on the fly, but it did not drip into the tent. The temperature dropped to 27F and I was able to stay warm. I couldn't see my breath in the tent but it was easily seen outside.
I also got the footprint and that was great, too. It rolls right up with the tent and hardly weighs anything. It was getting late and I didn't have to be real particular about what was on the ground that might damage the floor of the tent.
I only kept my boots in the vestibule. My backpack would have been a snug fit, but it was easier to leave it outside with a cover on it. That way I didn't have to crawl over anything when I headed for the privy in the middle of the night.
I'm very happy with this tent.

Just spent ten days in Canyonlands Park backcountry with my new tadpole. It was great, simple set-up, and fantastic in very strong winds. Versatile fly configurations to let air in or to keep out the sandstorm we had. I kept discovering new little jems about this tent the whole trip.

I have an older one of these tents that I have had for over ten years. It has lasted great over many uses. It is very durable and still looks great after so many years. The North Face makes a great tent! It is comfortable for one adult, but if sleeping two, then you have to get cozy.

I spent 10 nights at Philmont Scout Ranch in this, it held up nicely through hail, thunder, and lightning storms. There was plenty of room for me and my buddy and packs in the vestibule. It’s easy to set up by yourself.

Great tent one of my favorites.

Perfect weight for all it's features. At (6'1") I have plenty of room, with my wife in there with me it is a little snug, but the added body heat on a cold night is welcomed. I also have the Sierra Design Clip Flashlight, (lost one to many stakes) so I wanted a free-standing tent and with the Tadpole I made the perfect choice. It's very sturdy, while backpacking in Montana's Beartooth Wilderness 10,000' in mid Sept. it was 75 degrees during the day, but we woke to 6" of WET HEAVY snow, I had the fly tightly attached and barely saw any sag from inside the tent. The vestibule is roomy enough for two pair of boots, and cooking supplies. In a nutshell: lightweight, easy to set up, inexpensive, waterproof, and sturdy. Perfect.

The Tadpole is well constructed, sets up quickly, and packs small. Unfortunately, the tent is too small. I'm 6' tall and cannot sit up in it. It's wide enough for 2 people at the shoulder/head level, but the foot box is too narrow to fit 2 normal sleeping pads.

Great 1 person backpacking tent, but don't fool yourself into thinking it's adequate for 2 folks....maybe for kids.

Haven't camped in the rain in it yet.

I took this out by myself on time and the weight wasn't overbearing at all. It is just super straight forward, durable, and does great in the wind. It also works well with snow. Definintely get this tent.

I'm a little guy, 5'6" about 125 lbs. I'm pretty sure the Tadpole 23 was made for me. It's really light weight, great for backpacking. The mesh ceiling is really nice too, it's makes stargazing on cold nights incredible. The shape is realy unique and it's easy to set up. I've slept me and buddy in there with plenty of room, don't let the small size fool you, there's a good amount of room. The vestibul is spacious, I've fit 2 packs and 2 pair of boots with room to spare for my stove. It's worked it all seasons, it even stood strong in a mid winter storm when my snow cave colapsed on me. This tent is a winner for sure.

The Tad Pole Tent sets up really fast (which is handy when there are 10,000 mosquitoes swarming around you as was the case on Murdock Peak last night). You can see the stars through the roof. Lots of mesh which is great on hot nights.

I've used this tent a couple of times in varied weather conditions. It's a great little tent that has plenty of room for one person (I'm 5'7"), but would be cramped with two. The vestibule was definitely large enough for my pack and shoes, but would be quite crowded with two packs. There are a couple of inside pockets to keep your headlamp or anything else you might need to quickly grab in the middle of the night. It kept me dry and safe where some of my friends were not so fortunate with their lesser tents.