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See the 13 tests

1. In the Box
2. Set Up & Pack Away
3. Peak Height
4. Livable Space
5. Base Area
6. Vestibules
7. Doors
8. Storage
9. Zippers
10. Ventilation
11. Rain Protection
12. Quality
13. Portability
14. Pros, Cons, Recommendations
15. Bonus: Must Read!

In the Box

Out of the box, this is what I got:

• Tent body
• Rainfly, with pre-attached guylines
• Tent poles × 4 (2 long, 2 short)
• Stakes × 10
• Carry bag
• Instructions

Set Up & Pack Away

• Set-up time (1 person) 7.5 min
• Pack away 7.75 minthe carry bag is a little small, so squeezing it all back in took longer

This is the gist of the entire set-up process:

1. Lay the tent body on the ground.
2. Secure the 2 long poles into the 4 corner grommets.
3. Secure the first 9 pole clips.
4. Place the 2 short poles above the long poles, and secure them with the remaining 4 grommets and 4 pole clips at the top.
5. Secure the rainfly with grommets to all 4 poles.
6. Stake down the 4 corners, both vestibules (2 stakes each), the 2 widths, and guy out the 4 guylines.

• Poles 4 (2 long, 2 short)
• Pole clips 13 pole clips
• Stakes 10 provided14 were needed to peg everything out

Pro Tip Only 10 stakes were provided, but 14 were needed, so buy extras.

Peak Height

• Peak height 43inthe 2 short top poles carry it across most of the tent

Livable Space

• Height at the ends 39innot far from the peak height

Base Area

• Floor 87.5 × 49.5in
• Inner base area 30.0 sq ft

Wider 25-inch pads will be a very, very snug fit, all the way to the edges of the tent.

Vestibules

• Vestibules 2 (trapezium)
• Width 23.5in

• Length 41.5in short side, 87.5in long side
• Area 10.53 sq ft each, 21.06 sq ft for both

Each vestibule has five configurations: fully closed, center opened, center half opened, sides opened, or fully opened.

Doors

• Doors 2one under each vestibule
• Door size 41 × 29inwide-mouth opening
• Door zippers 2 per door (SBS)no snagging at all

Storage

• Pockets 4 (18 × 9in)one in each corner, so each is reachable from a door
• Loops 5 loopsfelt loops, for hanging a lantern or a fan

Zippers

• Vestibule zippers 2 per track (SBS)good quality, but very snaggy on the rain flap

Pro Tip For a snag-free experience, use both hands: one to hold the vestibule fabric away, the other to zip it up.

Ventilation

• Mesh ~50% of the tent body
• Fabric ~50%not the most for summer use (some tents go up to 80%)
• Rainfly vents None

It’s not bad for looking at views, but the white fabric square up top does block the sky when you’re stargazing.

Rain Protection

• 2 hours moderate rain No leaks
• 1 hour heavy rain No leaks

The rainfly is full coverage and extends almost all the way to the ground. What I really loved is that on top of the vestibules at the lengths, the widths have an extra guy-out point to pull the rainfly away from the tent body. Details like that are a big part of why it ended up as my 2-person winner out of every tent I tested under $200.

• Seam taping Tub floor onlythe corners and the across-the-flooring seam; everything above the tub floor is bare
• Rainfly seams All taped
• Tub floor 6in at the lengths, 6.5in at the widths

Quality

• Flooring 75D polyester taffeta3,000mm PU coating
• Rainfly 75D polyester taffeta1,200mm PU coating
• Tent body / canopy 75D polyester taffeta
• Mesh 40D polyester micro mesh

• Poles DAC aluminum
• Guylines Shockcord
• Stakes Shepherd-hook steel
• Carry bag Polyester

Portability

• Packed size 20 × 7 × 6.5in
• Pole length 17.8in

• Total weight 6.28 lbs (100.4oz)
  • Rainfly 36.1oz
  • Tent body 32.2oz
  • Poles 21.6oz
  • Stakes (10) 9.0oz
  • Carry bag 1.5oz

Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend The North Face Stormbreak 2?

Very affordable

I thought this was incredibly affordable for a North Face tent; this is their least expensive tent.

Lifetime warranty

And of course, this also comes with The North Face’s limited lifetime warranty.

Good waterproofing

The North Face’s waterproofing tends to be good, and this Stormbreak is no exception, it lasted hours of heavy rain no problem at all.

User-friendly doors

• Huge-mouth opening
• Snag-free zipping
• Easy-to-use door pockets
• Zips/unzips in 3 seconds, tops

Fantastic livable space

The peak height is quite high as well, plus it has 4 poles supporting the inner tent; it feels very spacious inside.

Bigger than average base area

On top of that, the vestibules are bigger than your average 2-person tent.

Cool vestibules

I also loved that the vestibules come with 5 different configurations, like the REI Trail Hut 2‘s, but here’s where we get into the cons.

Snaggy vestibule zippers

Probably the biggest con is that the vestibule zippers are quite annoying. It becomes less of a big deal if you use both hands (no one-handed zipping though!).

No rainfly vents

There are no rainfly vents in this tent. An average 2-person tent would usually have 2 vents.

A bit on the heavier side

The weight is a bit heavier than the marketed specs of 5lbs 5oz, so this isn’t meant for ultralight backpacking trips.

Bonus: Must Read!

Every figure above is from my own testing. Measured by hand, bought with my own money.