Companion forum thread to:

Nemo Obi Elite 1P Tent Review

gear from "mainstream" manufacturers seems to be getting lighter and better every day ...

Edited by bearbreeder on 01/17/2012 15:09:15 MST.

The Scarp vestibules are 6.25 sq ft each (12.5 tot)
Franco

No improvements? It's perfect?

Let me help you. Very little shoulder season snow load capability, potential for condensation being an issue at the foot and head end with the shorter fly and taller bathtub floor, and price for a solo.

I like me some Notch.

That "Recommendation for improvement" should be clarified.
That is because it can mean :
NO , it is perfect as it is
NO, I can't think of anything right now
NO, not without adding weight /bulk/extra cost ....

BTW, if it were perfect than Nemo would be crazy to change it but by doing so they would be stagnating...
Franco

Head explodes...

I'm not so sure I'd slot this one into the double wall category. It looks more like a hybrid double/single wall tent to me with the huge cutout creating a large single wall section at the head end:



I'm not sure how this plays out the field, but if condensation forms inside the tent here, it's sure going to feel like a single wall tent.

Nice review. Lots of details and it's good to have the video.

I'm quite happy with my HMG Echo I. It sets up with hiking poles, but it's double wall, the inner doesn't have to be set up first so it's protected in the rain, the door way isn't vulnerable to rain falling in and the whole thing is modular, so you can go as light as a 7oz tarp if the conditions allow. Main downside is headroom isn't too generous if you're using the inner....which matters very little to me compared to keeping the rain and condensation off.

Edited by dandydan on 01/17/2012 17:16:32 MST.

OK, I'll bite.

How about dealing with the kyphosis on these tent designs? Is it me or do others find them ... aesthetically challenged? Not to mention the broadside sail it pitches into the wind.

I'm not sure what sort of benefit this type of tent has over, say, a double-walled tarp tent.

I agree with Ryan.
The BA an the Nemo have a very similar pole structure and their own poles, the Echo and the Notch do not , not that I would compare these last two for weather protection either.
Franco

How else did you manage the overhead shot of the tent? Really enjoyed the different perspectives (pun intended) of this review. That being said, I'll stick with my BA Copper Spur UL1 in fair conditions. Is there a reason why the older BA Seedhouse SL1 was used as a comparison rather than both of BA's current UL models?

Had to go to a medical dictionary on that 'kyphosis.'
Functional is not always beautiful. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'
What works superbly is beautiful in my book.

There are some flaws with this tent, and one is space. Was about to buy one, and save myself another winter hammering away at MYOG in the basement, when visited International Mountain Equipment near home and saw the 2-person version in person.
Very cramped, compared to, say, a Rainbow.

Two reasons for this:
1. They want to satisfy the demand for a self-supporting tent, so have to add the poles for that, and have to reduce size to make up for the added pole weight.
2. To stay in business, they want a product that will hold up to customer abuse, so have to add weight with heavier materials, and further reduce the tent size for that reason as well.

Another possible flaw is the lack of tautness, revealed in the video. Ya' gotta have taut.

Long ago decided that a self-supporting tent could not possibly rival others in weight unless carbon poles were used.

Now if we only had a highly vapor permeable fabric (like eVent or propore) that was light weight, durable and didn't sag ... The tent made of that could have all the kyphosis it wanted to have. Unfortunately, most of the WPB's require the pressure of humidity to work, and so won't work for a tent, as The North Face and others have unhappily found out.

My suggestion is to use what we have for now. For example, Epic Malibu or the material BD replaced it with, but design so the inside water drains out to the ground, not onto the tent floor. Or, use a very low denier DWR polyester inner and cuben outer. Either one, with carbon poles, could produce a markedly larger tent of the same weight. Not complaining, just dreaming.

So it seems that the snowsag is a problem, and the tent looks to be a bit less than taught without the snow. where are the guy out points on the fly at the base in the center where the fly sags in? a simply guy line would make it tight and much more snow resistant...

There is an additional UL option for pitching the NEMO Obi 1P which Will didn't mention, but is significant in that it's popping up a lot more in mainstream double-walled tent offerings.

It's possible to pitch the Obi 1 without the inner mesh tent and just the fly and a groundcloth kit that has jakes feet. There a picture of this on the Nemo Equipment site for this product, and I've also seen it offered with the MSR Carbon Reflex 1. Not sure the weight savings, but it's got to be decent.

Why do I care? I think it's great that the rest of the industry is catching up and more people will be educated about lightweight options. Bigger companies are capitalized to educate consumers and by doing so, they will increase the number of consumers accessible to cottage manufacturers who don't have the same marketing clout.

Personally, I think it's wonderful that BPL has the guts to review all this non-cottage gear. The industry is changing and hopefully BPL's editorial coverage will as well.

Will mentioned that in the article:

"The tent has a fly-only pitching option, but you need to purchase the optional footprint to go that route."

Edited by dandydan on 01/18/2012 12:00:05 MST.

Also - that ability has been available on tents for well over 10 years.

Is it just me or does everyone else also not care about reviews like this? This is an expensive, heavy, one person tent. Lighter, cheaper, two person tents exist like the Notch that actually improve your enjoyment of the wilderness and advance the state of the art in shelter systems.

Tents like these are a waste of BPL's attention and resources.

Why is everyone lining up to bash this review? Just because it isn't made by a cottage company out of cuben fiber? It is a nice, widely available, durable, lightweight, free-standing, (mostly) double wall tent. If anything, people should be happy that larger manufacturers are making lighter weight tents.

And quite honestly, I don't see how snow loading is relevant to this 3 season tent. If you're going out into those kind of conditions, you should probably have something more substantial anyways.

Why is everyone lining up to bash this review? Just because it isn't made by a cottage company out of cuben fiber?

because mainstream gear is evil for bpl ;)

Aaron
Not everyone is bashing but there is a bit of cabin fever about.
It's summer, hot and sunny here (not so much today) so I will dissent from the more popular view.
Apart from the fact that I like tent design so I read most if not all the tent reviews I come across, post a nice tent picture and you have my attention.
Those location shots are just lovely, so Will had my attention.
Now a sub 1 kg self supporting double wall (or partial double wall if you prefer) tent is definitely LW in my book.
I don't necessarily have to like it but it is a worthy product to be reviewed here.
Well done Will, once again.
Franco