Reviews > Shelters > Tents > NEMO Equipment Obi 2P tent > Test Report by Nancy Griffith

NEMO OBI 2P TENT
TEST SERIES BY NANCY GRIFFITH
LONG-TERM REPORT
February 03, 2013

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE FIELD REPORT
CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT

TESTER INFORMATION

My outdoor experience began in high school with involvement in a local canoeing/camping group called Canoe Trails. The culmination was a 10-day canoe voyage through the Quebec wilds. I've been backpacking since my college days in Pennsylvania. I have completed all of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. My typical trip now is in the Sierra Nevada in California and is from a few days to a week long. I carry a light to mid-weight load, use a tent, stove and trekking poles.

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: NEMO Equipment, Inc.
Year of Manufacture: 2012
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.nemoequipment.com
MSRP: $389.95
Minimum Weight (Listed): 3 lb 0 oz (1.4 kg)
Minimum Weight (Actual): 3 lb 0 oz (1.4 kg) including tent, fly, poles without any sacks or stakes
Packed Weight (Listed): 3 lb 10 oz (1.6 kg)
Packed Weight (Actual): 3 lb 8 oz (1.6 kg) includes tent, fly, poles, stakes and all sacks
Tent Only: 1 lb 4 oz (0.6 kg)
Rain Fly: 1 lb (0.45 kg)
Poles Only: 12 oz (0.34 kg)
Stakes (6): 2.5 oz (71 g) for all 6 stakes
Tent Stuff Sack: 3.0 oz (85 g)
Pole Sack: 0.8 oz (23 g)
Stake Sack: 0.7 oz (20 g)
Optional Footprint in sack (Actual): 8.7 oz (0.25 kg)

Length x Width: 84 in (213 cm) x 50 in (127 cm)
Height: 40 in (102 cm)
Floor Area: 27 sq ft (2.5 sq m)
Vestibule Area: 18 sq ft (1.7 sq m)
Packed Size: 7.5 in (19 cm) x 6 in (15 cm)

Optional Accessories:
Footprint: A 70D nylon tarp sized to fit underneath the tent and reduce wear and tear on the floor.
Pawprint: A removable liner for the inside of the tent to protect the inside of the tent floor and to add comfort.
Gear Caddy: A mesh storage caddy with multiple pockets which attaches overhead.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Light Pocket

Side Pocket

The Tent:
The NEMO Obi 2P tent is a 3-season free-standing tent made for two people. The tent shell is a no-see-um mesh at the top and 20 denier PU (polyurethane) coated ripstop nylon on the body and sides. The tent floor is a heavier 30D PU nylon. All seams are fully seam-taped and waterproof.

Inside the tent on the left side is one mesh pocket for storing small items. At the top near the head is a light-diffusing mesh pocket which is designed to hold a headlamp and disperse light evenly into the tent. At the corners of the floor there are snaps for attaching the optional Pawprint. There are small loops inside the tent at the top for installing the optional gear attic.

The doors are D-shaped with double-ended zippers. There are zipper pulls both inside and out which consist of a short section of cord. The external pulls have light-reflective stripes in them. The doors can be held open with a strap and cord-lock that slips through a loop on the other side.

Each corner of the tent has a strap which attaches to a DAC Jake's Foot. The foot is quite an interesting method for attaching it all. The pole inserts into a round pocket. The fly attaches with a hooked end onto the outermost end of the foot. And the footprint attaches with a hooked end onto the innermost portion of the foot.

The Fly:
The rain fly is also 20D PU nylon. Attaching the rain fly and staking it out creates a vestibule on each side. The rain fly has a double-ended zipper in the center of each vestibule. The zipper pulls are both inside and out similar to the tent doors.

Rain Fly Vent

There is a storm flap along the length of the zippers which has hook-and-loop closures placed along the length to keep it held down. The storm flap extends over the zipper even further at the very top of the tent. At the top on either side of the peak there is an integrated strut which can be folded out and held in place with hook-and-loop to keep the fly storm flap held upward for ventilation. I can adjust the amount of opening beneath this strut by how far the top of the fly is unzipped.

The underside of the fly has three straps with hooks to attach to the sides of the tent and to the head. This pulls out the sides of the tent slightly making more internal space.

The fly can also be attached to just the footprint (no tent) by removing the Jake's Feet from the tent by undoing the straps. Then the footprint can be attached to the Jake's Feet, the pole ends inserted into the feet and the fly attached.

The tent and fly can be stored in the included stuff sack. The stuff sack has a roll-top closure similar to a dry-bag. The top closure straps fold down the sides and attach to bottom straps which allow it to act as a compression bag when cinched fully.

Also included are a tear patch repair kit, guy line and pole repair sleeve.

The Poles:
There is a single 8.5mm (.33 in) diameter DAC Green anodized Featherlite NSL aluminum shock-corded pole with two hubs. The two poles on the foot end are shorter and the last sections are black which matches the black webbing on the tent body for easy orientation. The opposite two poles on the head end are grey which matches the grey webbing on the tent.

The six included DAC stakes have an x-shaped cross-section and pull cords attached.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS & TRYING IT OUT

Jake's Foot

After weighing all of the components, I headed out into the front yard to set up the tent. The tent was easy to set up. I purposely didn't read any of the included information just to see how intuitive it was. The shock-corded poles unfold and the ends snap into place on the Jake's Foot. One section of the pole on either side of the head end is curved. At first I thought it was bent but it is purposeful to curve the poles with the tent. Then the tent easily attaches along the length of the poles using plastic DAC connector hooks.

The rain fly then attaches around the pole along the ridge with a hook-and-loop closure on the underside of the fly. Each corner of the fly hooks onto the Jake's Foot. The rain fly is staked out on either side. Then the tent sides and head are hooked to the fly.

My initial impression is that this is a high-quality tent. There are no flaws, missed seams or defects of any kind. The entire package seems very well thought out and designed for functionality.

I found everything to be as advertised on the website including the weight which makes me especially happy with NEMO for being accurate about gear weight.

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

After setting up the tent and figuring everything out intuitively, I finally read the instructions. On the tent sack is attached a large tag with instructions for:
1) Staking out the tent corners (optional)
2) Attaching the pole to the Jake's Feet
3) Clipping the tent to the pole
4) Attaching the fly
5) Staking the vestibule and tensioning the fly

On top of the instruction tag is another large tag with diagrams of the major constellations.

Attached to one of the Jake's Feet on the tent is a DAC hangtag with photos of how to attach and release the pole, fly and footprint to the foot.

FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

Over the Field Test period I used the tent for two overnight and two three-day backpacking trips and one three-day car camping trip for a total of eight nights.

Backpacking:
Sierra Nevada Foothills, California: overnight; 1,900 ft (579 m) elevation; 52 F (11 C) overnight low with clear conditions.

Sylvia Lake, Desolation Wilderness, California: 2 nights; 6,700 ft (2,042 m) elevation; 25 F (-4 C) overnight lows with clear to partly cloudy conditions.

Two Peaks Trail, El Dorado National Forest, California: 2 nights; 6,560 and 8,220 ft (2,000 and 2,505 m) elevation; 28 and 40 F (-2 and 4 C) overnight lows with clear to cloudy and windy conditions.

Sierra Nevada Foothills, California: overnight; elevation 1,900 ft (579 m); 38 F (3 C) overnight low with partly cloudy conditions.

Car Camping:
Bear River Reservoir, California: 2 nights; 5,849 ft (1,783 m) elevation; 50 F (10 C) overnight lows with clear conditions.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

I originally had some concern that the Jake's Foot connection wouldn't hold that securely but once I found that the ends of the pole have to be snapped in and out they never came apart inadvertently. The big test was at the Bear River Reservoir car camp. We had some drunken neighbors who decided to have a rock concert in a site near us. We finally decided to move after dark by grabbing our tent with the sleeping bag and pads still inside and putting it all in the boat. We drove several miles to a new site at fairly low speeds but still enough to put plenty of stress on the connections. Everything was intact and we were able to carry it to a new spot and stake the vestibule for an extremely simple move.

My favorite way to sleep in a tent is with the rain fly in the 'half-fly' position. This is where I fold the head half of the fly over the tent to create a half vestibule and leave the tent open to the sky at the head. Provided the overnight temperatures aren't too low and it isn't raining, I love this configuration for being able to see the sky at night. In any case, we initially set up the tent in this way since it is so much easier to get the sleeping gear inside without having the rain fly in the way.

I find it really easy to get into the vestibule and door since I don't have to bend down too much. It is a little harder to get out of the tent since my legs have to be folded up toward top of tent to exit. I appreciate the D-shaped doors since when they're unzipped they are out of the way.

The interior space of the tent is a bit cramped for two people. My husband and I are of average size and like to be close together but it was still a little too cramped at times. The glove clips that attach the tent wall to the rain fly definitely help to make more interior space and it is noticeably more cramped without the rain fly. At first we had some trouble using the glove clips since they are too stiff to pinch open. However we found a video on the NEMO website which explains how to use them which made it much easier. I shortened the straps that connect the glove clip to the rain fly by tying a knot or two in them. This makes them pull the wall of the tent out even more.

Looking towards feet

The floor width tapers from 50 in (127 cm) at the head to 42 in (107 cm) but I found it helpful to stake out the floor sides to help get closer to this width. Our double-wide sleeping bag or quilt and two 20 in (51 cm) wide sleeping pads nearly fill the entire floor area. There is a small area above our heads.

There was little to no condensation on the tent or fly on most trips. The last overnighter was without rain but it had rained the day before and by morning there was a lot of condensation under the fly despite the fly vent being open. The single wall at tent head allows moisture to wick through onto clothing and the top of the sleeping bag which touches the wall of the tent.

The light pocket is a cool idea which I use frequently. It was really nice to put my headlamp into the pocket when getting ready for bed. It lights the entire tent and is easy to turn off while in the pocket. I found the side pocket to be less useful. One night I put my eyeglasses and sunglasses in when I went to sleep and by morning they were on top of my sleeping bag. Apparently my turning over during the night was enough to knock them out of the pocket. I eventually stopped using it for much and just stored my small items at the top corner by my head.

I really like the compression stuff sack and am able to get the tent into a very small space in my pack. The bottom straps on the tent sack can be hooked together allowing it to easily be used as a small food bag for hanging food overnight. I can't figure out the benefit of having the pole bag attached to the tent bag and never used it this way. I packed the tent and stakes in the bottom of my pack and put the pole in the outer side pocket of my pack.

LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

Over the Long-Term test period I used the tent for an additional two backpacking trips of three days each for four additional nights for a total of twelve nights. All uses were two-person with my husband sharing the tent with me. He is 5' 10 " (1.8 m) tall and weighs 165 lb (75 kg).

Backpacking:
Point Reyes National Seashore, California: 2 nights; 9.3 mi (15 km); 0 to 1,407 ft (429 m) elevation; overnight lows of 40 and 42 F (4 to 5 C); sunny to partly cloudy conditions.

Snowshoe Backpacking:
Loon Lake Trail, Sierra Nevada, California: 2 nights; 16.2 mi (26 km); elevation 6,327 to 7,030 ft (1,928 to 2,143 m); 22 to 50 F (-5 to 10 C); clear to cloudy conditions with light wind. Camping was on 4 ft (1.2 m) of packed snow.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

The tent continued to perform similarly to the Field Test period but I was able to snow camp and use the footprint/fly combination in sand during this test period.

On the Point Reyes coastal trip I had the opportunity to use the footprint and fly configuration. This requires removing the Jake's Feet from the tent. Then the pole, footprint and fly attach to the Jake's Feet. We had hiked to our campsite near the coast and decided to take it down to the beach for a peaceful afternoon since I wasn't feeling very well. The sun was shining and it was nice to have the fly as a shade. As I took a nap the wind kicked up significantly and the fly then provided some needed wind block. Eventually too much sand was blowing under as the wind increased and we decided to head back to camp.

I really like the option of setting up this way although it is a bit of a luxury. On most of my future trips, I probably won't choose to carry the footprint in order to keep my pack weight down and since I usually don't have time during the day for lounging under a sun shade. However, on more leisurely trips I would definitely pack and use this combination. If I find myself using this set-up often then I will likely purchase another set of Jake's Feet to eliminate the need for removing them from the tent.

We were sleeping on deep snow on the second trip. I used trekking poles to stake out the vestibule in the snow since the stakes are too short to do much good in snow. Fortunately it wasn't windy to need to have the tent sides and corners staked down. With the fly completely closed there was adequate wind protection. The skies were clear at night so the tent didn't see any snow loads.

I was able to set up and take down the tent in cold temperatures while wearing thin gloves. It was easy to operate the attachments even when they were filled with snow, the plastic was frozen and my hands were a little cold.

SUMMARY

The NEMO Obi 2P tent is a well-constructed, well-designed two-person tent with great features while still being lightweight.

Great:
Lightweight for a double-walled tent
Accurate weights advertised
Two doors and vestibules
Easy in
Light pocket
Compression stuff sack

Not-so-great:
A bit cramped for two people
A little difficult to get out
Side pocket lost contents overnight

This concludes my Long-Term Test Report and this test series. Thanks to NEMO Equipment, Inc. and BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to participate in this test.

Reviews > Shelters > Tents > NEMO Equipment Obi 2P tent > Test Report by Nancy Griffith