Review: Nemo Espri 2P Tent

The Nemo Espri 2P tent took serious consideration.  I was shopping for a new one person tent for months.  I reviewed everything out there on 1P shelters: Tents, bivvys, hammocks, etc.  I needed a durable shelter I could take everywhere.  This eliminated the hammocks.  While I love the weight, they are severely limited above tree line, in the desert, or anywhere where you cannot find someplace to tie them off.

Then, for a while, I was all about the bivouac.  Small, very lightweight, it can go anywhere in just about any condition.  But as I spend a good deal of my time in the backcountry taking pictures of gear, writing about gear, and so on – I ultimately removed bivvy’s as an option as they do not allow a lot of room for doing anything but sleeping (and maybe reading a book.)  So that left me with the tents.

I researched every single 1P tent I could find.  Ultimately I narrowed it down to two: the Nemo Meta 1P and the Nemo Morpho 1P.  As both tents are new for 2010 there were very few reviews available.  On the one hand I liked the aspect of a trekking pole tent, and while there are other trekking pole tents out there, I’ve come to trust Nemo’s quality and customer service.  So the Nemo Meta 1P was a top contender on my list.  I also liked the idea of ditching poles altogether in place of air beams – which I’ve heard a good deal about in the last couple of years.  Thus the Morpho 1p made the short list.  Yet in the end I decided against both and bought a 2P tent.  The reason?  I called Nemo and they gave me some interesting advice.

On the phone I gave them my requirements for a 1P tent.

• Lightweight
• Packs small
• Can hold its own in any 3 season condition and location
• Minimal condensation

Their recommendation surprised me: The Nemo Espri 2P tent.  When I asked why the told me:

• Light as many 1P tents
• Freestanding, so it can go anywhere
• Three different door options for varying conditions
• Mesh top & rain fly all but eliminate condensation in all conditions

My first thought was they were trying to upsell me.  Surely, the Nemo Espri 2P tent must cost more.  But that was not the case and in hindsight I should have known better, they are a pretty good group of folks – every interaction I’ve had with them has been positive.  So I started researching the tent specs in more detail, and here is what I’ve learned.  The Nemo Espri 2P tent meets all my 1P tent needs and it can fit two people.  So here is my review…

Easy Set Up

The Nemo Espri 2P tent is almost idiot proof.  I set this bad boy up in about one minute.  Then it took me another two minutes to figure out I had it wrong.  Just remember: Black in Back.  One end of each pole is painted black.  The black ends fit into the two Jake’s feet at the back of the tent.  I repeat… the BACK of the tent.  Otherwise you’ll sit there with this “I know I’m smarter than this” look on your face for a few minutes trying to sort it out.

Other than that little tid-bit, it’s a piece of cake.  Not literally… don’t eat the tent.

Weight

The weight of the Espri 2p is great.  3.8lbs for a freestanding, 2P tent.  What else is there to say? As weight should always leave room for improvement, I couldn’t give it top marks, otherwise Nemo may slack off and rest of their laurels.

Pitch

The pitch is very good.  I can’t say great because I’ve set up the Moki before and that tent is by far and away the tightest pitch of any tent I’ve ever seen.  Still, the Moki is a 4 season monster, so I only dinged the Espri 2P slightly.

Waterproof

Again, the Moki is setting the bar here, which may be slightly unfair, but that’s the beauty of being the writer, editor and axe man.  If I don’t like it I just fire myself and then rehire me with a 20% raise.  I knocked it down one point because hey, it does use a rain fly so if the universe ever flipped upside down and rain came up from the Earth I could technically drown.  So yeah, -1 for not thinking ahead to Armageddon, fellas.

Windproof

I tested the Nemo Espri 2p tent at Dolly Sods North in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.  The one word I use to describe Dolly Sods is windy.  The first day of testing I purposely picked the windiest site I could find on top of one of the windiest parts of the windiest forest around.  And guess what, it was a bit windy.  The tent performed fantastically.

Fly

I love this rain fly.  With the innovative integration into the Jake’s feet it takes less than a minute to get it squared away.  Of course the first time I put in on upside down…  Yeah it was one of those days.  Pouring down rain, I was in a rush and I threw on the fly without paying attention, jumped into the tent and thought “Oh hey, look at that, the vent is inside out… ” as the rain began to pour in through the funnel I’d created directly into the tent.  Still, even in my newbie Nemo Espri stage I was able to jump out, flip the fly over and jump back in the tent in only a minute.

Vestibule

Three different door options, two of which create vestibules.  The Nemo Espri 2P comes with two of those doors, so you always have at least one vestibule option available.  The other option I will discuss in the summary.

Summary

The Nemo Espri 2P tent is an ultralight weight tent weighing in at 3.8lbs.  But that’s not the good bit…  The Nemo Espri 2P tent takes up minimal space in your pack 18″ x 7″.  But that’s not the good bit…  The Nemo Espri 2P has a floor dimension of 86″ x 52″, fitting my 6’3 225lbs frame comfortably but … you guessed it … that’s not the good bit.

The good bit has to be the Trekking Pole Vestibule, which although I have not tested (as it comes separately for an additional $99.95) I am very much looking forward to testing it out in the near future.  The idea is simple and smart; use the trekking pole you are already carrying with you to increase the space in your vestibule.  It seemed a nice-to-have feature, which is why I didn’t buy it initially with the tent… Then it rained for 24 hours straight when I was testing it out.  That changed things.

On my second trip out testing the Nemo Espri 2P it poured rain, cats, dogs, monkeys, and slugs. Yeah, nothing like waking up with an entire slug civilization making camp on your rain fly.  After setting up in the rain, with everything soaked, suddenly the idea of a Trekking Pole Vestibule seemed like a fantastic idea.  So much so, I am a bit annoyed at myself for not picking it up yet.

Other things I love about this tent:  The mesh top is excellent – add to that the gear loft and it makes for an ingenious space saving concept.  The high side walls are great for protecting against mud, water, etc.  And the vent in the top of the rain fly is a nice touch.  Still there was minor condensation build up at the back of the tent in both corners when the fly was on during a rainstorm.  This didn’t surprise me as the humidity was roughly 795% at about 105 degrees at sunset and the temperature cooled off rapidly overnight.

*Update: Since the original post I have tested the Nemo Espri 2p tent two more times with the fly on and there was no noticeable condensation.  That said, humidity was relatively low on each subsequent test.

Bottom line: The Nemo Espri 2P has become my goto solo tent.  It’s as light as 1P tents with enough room for me and all my gear.  It is another quality product from Nemo Equipment.  And I need to be careful, so far I’m having trouble finding something to criticize about their products…  To avoid looking like a fanboy, I may have to start talking trash their rather outdated web site… *ahem – it’s not 1998 anymore, people.

Specifications:

In the Field Shots:

Other Nemo Product Reviews: Nemo Moki Tent