At a campground final week I watched somebody arrange what seemed like an old-school canvas tent, full with a wood-burning range in it (it’s winter), and I assumed: See, you do not really want all that costly high-tech gear. Military tents nonetheless work. Once I acquired house, I looked up that tent and realized it was costlier than most of my backpacking tools mixed. By no means thoughts, I will persist with the light-weight nylon.
I am not new to tenting the new-fashioned approach. I check a lot of different options, and just lately I have been having fun with Nemo’s Dagger Osmo 3P tent. It is a three-person (form of) freestanding, double-walled tent made from a brand new material Nemo calls Osmo. It isn’t low cost, however the brand new Osmo material is a nylon-polyester mix made with one hundred pc recycled nylon and polyester yarns, woven in such a approach that it stretches much less and repels water greater than nylon alone. It is also made with out the usage of flame-retardant chemical substances or fluorinated water repellents (PFC and PFAS). Nemo is utilizing this new material on its Dagger and Hornet Elite tents.
Whereas the brand new material is a pleasant further, what I like most concerning the Osmo 3P is that it is a strong, roomy, light-weight tent able to withstanding appreciable wind with out a lot rippling within the tent.
Decide A Dimension
Nemo makes each two- and three-person fashions of the Dagger Osmo. Whereas I’ve solely examined the three-person model, except for the scale and weight there is no distinction between the 2. In actual fact, given how roomy the three-person is, that is one tent the place I might say {couples} wanting on the two-person model really need not measurement up.
The three-person mannequin is 90 by 70 inches for a complete of 41 sq. toes of residing house. I had no hassle getting three 25-inch sleeping mats in it, and the size was sufficient to accommodate my 5’10” peak with about 5 inches to spare. The max peak on the heart of the tent is 42 inches, making it fairly low-profile, which helps make it aerodynamic. That squat aerodynamic facet proved welcome throughout a few very windy nights testing within the Porcupine Mountains, the place native wind sheer was effectively over 50 mph.
{Photograph}: Nemo
Setting the tent up wasn’t onerous. The Osmo comes with one multi-segmented pole that is single down the primary size of the tent, forking at every finish with a cross pole within the center. The 4 endpoints match into nook Jake’s toes connectors. The all-in-one design means the poles are barely bulkier when packing it up, however makes the setup tremendous easy. The cross-body pole additionally does an excellent job of staking out the edges to create extra vertical sidewalls for elevated residing house.
The sidewalls of the interior tent begin off strong Osmo material for the primary 6 inches, then transition to white mesh that is nonetheless see-through however lower than black, which affords you a bit extra privateness even with the rain fly off. The highest of the tent is black mesh, which gives nice air flow and makes for wonderful stargazing on clear nights. That mentioned, the large quantity of mesh means this tent is certainly within the three-season class; I did not have a possibility to check it beneath freezing, however did spend a number of autumn nights within the decrease 40-degrees Fahrenheit and was fairly snug.
Osmo Fab
The rain fly is the place the majority of the Osmo material is available in, and I discovered that it lives as much as its hype. I did not encounter any torrential rains, however it held up in some excessive winds and reasonable rains. I additionally actually favored that the Osmo is a muted gray-green fairly than the extra neon colour schemes of another Nemo tents.
The rain fly gives two equal vestibules at both door. Each have zippers at both finish for venting or getting out and in. There are additionally two vent flaps on the prime with stays to maintain them open, so condensation does not construct up in a protracted rain storm. The vestibules had been simply large enough to retailer three packs and three pairs of shoes, and you will get what Nemo calls touchdown zones—an optionally available vestibule flooring that clips into color-coded tabs on the tent and vestibule, creating a bit gear hammock simply off the bottom.
The within group is a bit bit restricted. There are some aspect pockets on the partitions and overhead pockets which are primarily supposed to carry a headlamp and diffuse the sunshine. Personally, I simply want a pocket for glasses and a headlamp, which the Osmo affords, however if you happen to like tons of space for storing, that is one thing to remember.
The Dagger Osmo is what Nemo calls an ultralight tent, which suggests it is mild and packs small, but in addition that it is a bit extra fragile than a heavier, extra conventional nylon tent. I did not have a footprint to position beneath it, however I might extremely counsel one to assist defend the ground. I additionally discover that ultralight tents profit from extra cautious consideration to web site choice, setup, and breakdown. Spending a minute to clear sharp particles earlier than you pitch your tent will go a protracted strategy to serving to it final.
I actually love this tent. It is light-weight, packs small, and is straightforward to divide between mountain climbing companions. Setup is fast and it sleeps three with gear. The brand new material carried out effectively and is comparatively ecofriendly. It stacks up effectively in opposition to the competitors too. It’s longer than the favored MSR Hubba Hubba, with extra vestibule house; however, the Hubba Hubba has extra storage choices within the type of a gear loft and bigger pockets. Relying on what you favor, I feel that is simply nearly as good, and ranks amongst my favourite tents at the moment.
