TEHCC Rental Equipment:
HT-20 – North Face Lightspeed Tent

Submitted by Vic Hasler

HT-20 Northface Lightspeed is a non-freestanding tent. Ten stakes total are required to correctly hold the tent down, expand the full ventilation system, and pull out the vestibule.

HT-20 is one of the lighter weight backpacking tents that TEHCC purchased back in the late 90's. "Lighter" at 3 pounds, 12 ounces means that there are even lower weight (sub-2 pounds) tents now on the market. It is 8 ounces lighter than the similar freestanding HT-19 Lunar Light tent. Northface appears to have replaced these models with the Tadpole at the $239-289 range, while the Lightspeed brand name is now used for performance winter gear.

Although the tent is listed for two people, they need to be short, thin, and friendly without any gear inside. Would not recommend this tent for anyone over 6' tall. It would be great for one person on a short trip trying to minimize weight. The vestibule opens directly off the end of the tent easing entry, but it is only large enough to hold a pair of boots and a waterbottle.

The market for ultralight tents has moved toward tarps, which can be set up with trekking poles.
An online auction site could not even get a $50 bid for a little used Lightspeed tent purchased in 1996.