Companion forum thread to:

Nemo Nano Elite Tent Review

Nice review Ray.

It's probably a good thing the Swedish Bikini Team was not available. You might have had a heck of a time explaining that when you got home...

I wonder in what way Nemo thinks this tent is "better" than the Hypno PQ they released a few years ago? Seems about the same weight, same features, but uses poles instead of airbeams. Personally Ithink the airbeams were pretty cool, and the Hypno had a front entrance so no climbing over your tent mates.

Reminds me a lot of my old $20 Walmart Ozark Trail Jr. Dome. Nothing wrong with the design, but not warranting of the price they are asking. Seems like a TT Double Rainbow blows this one out of the water.

Edited by KG4FAM on 07/07/2009 21:34:28 MDT.

They have a larger model - the Nano (non-Elite). Still no vestibule but larger and made out of breathable material. How breathable? No idea.

"Reminds me a lot of my old $20 Walmart Ozark Trail Jr. Dome..."

Sweet!
I also had a $20 Ozark Trail called the "Cougar Flat"! It was a kids dome tent. I think it measured about 3'x6'...I could barely fit on the diagonal.
I made some modifications and used it as a solo tent- it weighed in right under three pounds. Not bad for a freestanding tent ten years ago...not many other tents were coming close...especially for $20!
I spent many good nights in the Sierra in that little thing.

Nice review Ray, great to see that you are writing reviews for BPL now. Look forward to seeing some more.

Cheers
Mark

The Jr. Dome was a dream come true for me in Boy Scouts. My dad couldn't afford high dollar gear for us so the Jr. Dome was perfect. He could afford it and I got my own private tent that was nicer than the Eureka Timberlines that the troop had. I even carried it on a trip from Springer Mtn to Damascus Va (mostly in shelters, but it did get used).

Yet another iteration of the wedge tent, a design I once owned when Jansport was the 1st to put it on the market.

My tent was terrible in side winds when it flopped all over. In rainy or snowy weather it let the water or snow drip in onto the floor as soon as I opened the door.

So ya gotta ask yerself, "Why would anyone revert back to a failed design?" I dunno and I could care less. This tent has no design elements to recommend itself, NONE.

Eric

Failed design? Your tent may have been a failed application of this design but the two pole wedge design is a solid design that has been applied successfully in many, many tents.

Some outstanding applications of the design include tents by Black Diamond (Bibler), Integral Designs, Rab, Big Sky, Marmot, and yes, Nemo.

In fact, I survived the worst storm of my life in a wedge tent- the Nemo Tenshi. In winds estimated to be over 70mph, the Nemo tent was a survivor. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/nemo_tenshi_tent_review.html

Every design has strengths and weaknesses, but the wedge design is far from a "failed design".

"Seems like a TT Double Rainbow blows this one out of the water."

Indeed. At least in the DR, IF you insist on squishing four people into a two person tent, the folks on the outside edges will merely be squished up against dry mesh instead of wet silnylon. Imagine the breath of four adventure racers condensing in a single skin silnylon tent!

I don't remember the exact product, but I believe it was aluminum fuel bottles that once came with a warning printed on the paper label: "Warning: Not for use as bowling pin." Given that I get grouchy cramming 2 people into 30 square feet, I can only hope that Nemo's suggestion of 4 people is also tongue-in-cheek. (And yet I sit here with a grimace knowing they're probably serious.)

4 people in a 2 person tent is common practice in adventure racing- hence the "racing" logo. comfy? no!

Doug,

My list of complaints against conventional wedge tent designs seem to me to be still valid.

1.The Nemo WILL permit rain to enter the tent upon opening the door.

2. 2 crossing poles ALONE are insufficient to withstand strong side winds without bending. Perhaps long side guyline flaps & cords could help a lot in this instance. Didn't see the flaps on the Nemo.

So why would you or any backpacker or adventure racer want this tent when other, better designs are available?

Eric The Unconvinced