Extreme Cold Weather Tent ECWT ECWS North Face Tent Review

Details: 21 April 2015; 19982

I'm Gabriel Roberts from Roberts Bushcraft. Today I am going to be doing a review on the North Face extreme cold weather four-man Marine combat tent.

Today I got my special guest, my dad, Curry Roberts. He was trying to make a bushcraft channel but figured why not just put it on Roberts Bushcraft.

We're going to go through the process of setting the tent up and we'll see how it takes, stay tuned! We'll begin by setting up the main body.

Be very careful not to let the tent poles snap together because doing so can bust the casing of the poles. Guide the poles together and let the elastic do its magic.

Extreme Cold Weather Tent Description

This tent was manufactured by The North Face® for use by combat troops in extreme cold and other weather conditions.

North Face spared no expense in building this high quality, mobile, flexible nylon military shelter. The versatile, semi-geodesic dome shape tent is rated for five+ persons (four, with full combat gear) and is extremely roomy for two people. This amazing shelter provides rain protection and weather insulation and will withstand high winds and heavy snow.

The expedition quality construction is geared toward extreme weather conditions and meets the military's requirements that the tent be operable from -25 degrees F to 125 degrees F, and withstand 65 MPH wind gusts as well as repel wind driven rain at 2" per hour with 20 MPH wind.

The required snow load capability is minimum of 4 pounds per sq. ft. North Face says that properly staked, these tents can withstand a 107 mph (mile per hour) gale.

North Face® has been a part of nearly every important extreme adventure and expedition since its founding in 1969,due to its superior technology which results from cutting-edge research, design, and development.

The Extreme Cold Weather System (ECWS) is a multi-soldier, four-season, tensioned-pole-supported (freestanding) shelter with 64 square feet of floor space and an interior height of 5’ 1”.

Main tent body has integrated pole sleeves and is geo-dome shaped. In the mission transport configuration (tent body, fly and poles) the tent weight is less than 21.5 pounds and the transport cube is less than 1.6 cubic feet.

There are two full-size weather flys with vestibules, one Woodland Camouflage fly and the other an Arctic fly, typically they are both blackout coated on their underside to prevent flashlights used inside the tent from being seen outside of the tent.

Each fly provides an additional 30 square feet of vestibule area. This system can also be used in warm weather or the flysheet can make a great tent/shelter by itself.

Outer skin is of durable, fire-resistant ripstop nylon. Double-stitched, bonded seams to insure complete moisture protection. Heavy-duty nylon rust-proof YKK zippers. Full-size zippered door and most with an extreme-cold entrance and cooking/stove holes that cinch shut when not needed. Full floor is completely waterproof. Lightweight, multi-sectioned, shock-cord interconnected, Easton 7075-T9 aluminum alloy poles, as specified and required by the U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps for all portable shelters.

Easton poles support expeditions around the world, being the pole of choice when tent success or failure may mean the difference between a life or death outcome.

Extreme Cold Weather Tent Parts List

Not all items are shown in the video review of the ECWT as we are missing parts. A complete parts kit will feature:

1 Tent Body
1 Woodland Camouflage Fly
1 Arctic White Fly
Frame consisting of .355" 7075 T9 Aluminum Poles ea. 183.5" long - 10 sections per pole, 9 poles total (6 for tent and 3 for fly)
1 Tent Bag
2 Fly Bags - Woodland Camo, Arctic White
1 Pole Bag
Stake Bag with 24 12" Easton Ultimate Stakes, Warning Label, Zip Lock Poly Bag with 12 each 120" guy lines and 12 line tighteners
1 Repair Bag: fully equipped maintenance / field repair kit
1 Main Transport Bag

Click to find these tents on EBAY!