The North Face VE 25 Tent 3-Person 4-Season - 2007 BCS

Here's the instructions: http://www2.thenorthface.com/download/pdf/instructions-AAS6.pdf Give those a shot.
Enjoy your trip!

The windows are the small poly circle on the vestibules. The tent proper does not have windows, just mesh and nylon doors.

The windows are on the fly itself. The two windows are located as part of the vestibule. To see out the windows you actually need to unzip the tent door. It's a two part tent door, inner door is a mesh screen - outer door is nylon, both inner and outer doors open separately.

Needless to say - you won't be doing any star gazing through the window. The window is useful when the fly is completely zipped closed and you want to see if anybody is in the vestibule before unzipping and entering from outside.

I believe the circle on the vestibule is one of the windows.

probably too late to be useful to you, but remember that ALL north face tents are warrantied, unless the O or the A on the label has been blacked out. the 'o-block' or 'a-block' means that it was from an outlet or has been marked as damaged or defective, respectively. Outlet and D&D products no longer have warranty.

I agree with Jeff, just one other thing to watch for is the windows. After years of deterioration, sun, wind and water damage they do start to crack. Just be sure to inspect them before heading into some gale force winds with damaged windows. That’s a mistake I will never make again. Along with buying gear on eBay.

Set the tent up and inspect it.

If all checks out, go for it!

As long as you know it has been well cared for, you should be just fine. I have an almost thirty year NF Pole Sleeve Oval & it looks great with about 2.5 times more usage on it. A word to the wise, always consider the unseen enemy, UV damage!

You will need to contact North Face direct @ 1-866-715-3223 (prompt 7) concerning getting a new pole. They'll go easy on you. I know this first hand since I had to do the same thing regarding getting my North Face Backshadow pack repaired after marmots decided to dine on it a few years ago. Here's some more information:

http://www.thenorthface.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TNFAttachmentDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=207&catalogId=10001&attachment=%2Fcorporate%2Fabout_us%2Fcontact_us%2Fcontact_us&type=corporate

Absolutely!!

That's part of what makes it an expedition tent; to deal with high altitude high winds.

Wind. yes, no problem. The VE-25 is the standard for himalayan climbing. Probably the most used tent on Everest. Super strong, a bit heavy though.

just make sure ur wearing ur red slippers so you can get home...

Disregarding the obvious question (why?), I'd go for a two-person four-season tent instead. They tend to be lower profile and more solid. If you need the space then never mind, but if you don't, do that. Don't get swatted down by some massive flying chunk of plywood.

YES! We used this tent on Gasherbrum II in the Karakorum this past summer and it withstood everything the weather had to give it-high winds, big snow loads, and lots of sun. This is a high performance, reliable, sturdy tent.

My definition is that a 3-person expedition tent is really a 2-person tent in that you really want a little elbow room in the tent because sometimes you're stuck in them until the weather clears. And that could mean days!!

In an emergency, they could hold as many as 5 or 6 if needed.

3 is comfy, 4 is doable. We've had 6 guys in this thing at camp 3 (8300m) on Everest's north face.

It's 104 inches across. If you sleep three people that's about 32 inches apiece, with four people it's 26 inches. 26 inches is a little tight, and you'll have no room whatsoever for gear. The North Face website lists it as a 3-man, But here's my advice: I uploaded a drawing of the tent's footprint with measurements. Recreate it on the floor with masking tape, then get some people and gear to lay in it and see what you think.

The reason this tent would be great in hot weather is the same reason it's great in the Winter: Insulation qualities.

The tent fly creates an insulation barrier between the outside and inside air. A layer of dead air as insulation just like a jacket.

The big question is weight. If you're a 4-season camper and only want to buy one tent, then this tent would fit the bill.

If you are concerned about weight, there are tents that are less than half the weight that will accomplish that same insulation effect.

I own an MSR Storm King that holds 5 and I use it year round. The down side is that it weighs 15lbs packed and costs $1000!

I've used both the new and old of versions of this tent, and yes, mostly in the summer/Fall. It is a bit warm, but ventilation is excellent -- as long as you don't need to pitch the fly. Then I agree, it becomes a sweat lodge. My biggest complaint is the weight.

The North Face VE 25 is a tried & true expedition tent that can be used throughout the year. The only drawback using it as a summer tent is it's weight where a much lighter tent would work just as good. As far as ventilation is concerned, a three season tent has it beat hands down. Four Season tents should be called one season tents. Four Season tents are only good in the winter the rest of the year they lack ventilation making them sweat lodges.

Yes, the footprint for the VE-25 does fit older ones. I'm using one on my VE-24 which is the predecessor to the VE-25 and it fits and works perfectly. It comes color coded for the ve-25 which, of course, does me no good on my VE-24 but it is the exact same size and the corners match up with the ve-24. As long as the dimensions are the same, it will work.http://www.backcountry.com/store/TNF1981/The-North-Face-VE-25-Footprint.html

Backcountry.com has them in stock.http://www.backcountry.com/store/TNF1981/The-North-Face-VE-25-Footprint.html