NEMO Meta 2P Tent

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I've used this trail for about 14 trail nights in a variety of weather and can finally give it a thorough review. This is a very good tent with some design issues that are easily addressed and fixed. It has preformed very well in wind and in night temps from 65 to 45 degrees. It kept me and a tent mate dry during a torrential rain in the Adirondack--and because of the enormous rain flys, it also kept all of our gear dry. And on clear nights, it's like sleeping under a tarp since the sides are completely open.During the rain, it did in fact collect condensation. But so did the other tents on the trip--including a double-walled Big Agnes. The condensation was completely manageable and we were able to use a pack towel to wipe off the roof periodically to mitigate. Most importantly, the tent kept our sleeping bags dry. This was during a very bad storm.The big issue for me is not the condensation but rather the roof angle being too shallow. My feet touch the ceiling in this tent and I'm not tall--only 5'10". I sleep on a 2 1/2 thick sleeping pad since I sleep on my side, and I think that raises me up just enough to cause a problem. However, there was an easy solution. We simply found sticks and propped up the guy lines on the tent's sides, which pulled the roof back and up and made the interior very room. (Take a look at the photo on Ray Estrella's review where he does the same thing here: http://tinyurl.com/bsxqnyo)I also began to unstitch the side vents to allow them to open up a bit more freely, as this extra ventilation helps a great deal.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I thought I was buying a modern, lightweight pup tent which uses hiking poles for support. However, instead of having the poles at your head and feet, they are on the sides. This means your feet and head are wedged between the floor and angular section of the tent. In rainy conditions, your head is in contact with the tent roof, allowing condensation to gather on your face. If you are claustrophobic, watch out. Your face is only a couple inches from the angular tent ceiling.

Additionally, the footprint is huge! You could put two 2 person dome tents in the same area. In windy situations, the tent is very noisy. For a three season tent, the heat retention is mimimal. Also, I have noticed water pooling on top of the tent regardless of how taught the staking is.

The quality of material and craftsmanship is great. The weight is minimal and you can set it up with sticks instead of hiking poles in a couple minutes. The two vestibules do provide ample space for all of your gear if it rains or snows.

I wish this was a new take on the old pup tent, but it is not!

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I had high hopes for this tent after reading several great reviews and seeing how many people love this tent.
Took this tent on a 3-day backpacking trip in the Holy Cross and Mt. Massive wilderness areas in CO. First day, weather was great and lows at night around 40F. It was difficult getting a tight pitch and had to constantly readjust the tension of the lines. The vestibule anchors were nearly impossible to keep down with the stakes; the D-ring where the stake inserts is a poor design, as it pops up over the stake and collapses the tent. We resorted to piling rocks on top of the vestibule anchors to keep the tent taut and standing. At night we had both vestibules and all vents fully open for maximum ventilation, however the following morning there were small beads of condensation covering the walls inside.
During the second day we were caught in a torrential rain/hail storm. The only benefit in this situation was that the tent was waterproof, however the weight of the driving rain and hail collapsed the tent 5 times in 2 hours, and even with the vestibules closed tight water sprayed in through both doors. The rainy weather continued through the evening and by morning the inside of the tent had progressed from damp to constant dripping condensation. The wet fabric of the tent caused the walls to cave inward, and despite all efforts to re-tension the guylines, the interior space was cramped.
We ended up cutting our trip short as neither of us wanted to spend another night in a wet, dripping, collapsing tent. In short I'm definitely disappointed in this product.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I truly felt like I was twenty thousand leagues under the sea when in fact I was at 9k above sea level. This tent had so much condensation that I thought it rained over night and would be wet outside, it wasn't. The design is great for the most part and the tent itself is pretty roomy. But the vents are a total gimmick.Also keep in mind I am in the high desert and there was no precipitation during my trip to cause this issue. I will be returning the Meta 2 to REI ASAP.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

Nemo is so close to having a great tent, but has missed the mark on two important points; My son and I took the Meta2P to the High Sierra's this weekend and were dissapointed. We are both 6ft tall and weigh about 185 lbs. The tent suffers from lack of ventilation which caused significant condensation on the interior of the tent which got both our sleeping bags wet (this with all vents and rain fly wide open all night).
The other issue is that while the tent base seems large, the angle of the sides make it actually much shorter (thus the wet sleeping bag toes).
The tent is easy to set up, light weight and did well in the rain. If Nemo will add 8 inch vertical sides on each end and re-work the ventilation at the top of the tent then they have a winner, but until they fix it I would pass.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

So I just used this tent on a three day back packing trip through the White Mountains in New Hampshire. I have been trying to lighten up my kit over the last few years, and this tent seemed to fit the bill both for cost and for size/weight.

On the first night we had to set up on a tent platform. It was a little trickier to set it up than it was in my back yard. However we were able to get a nice tight set up. It was a warm, calm night and we had no condensation issues, even with both vestibules closed. In the morning, I did notice some condensation in the vestibule; however my gear stashed in their stayed dry. On the second day, we had rain, and some pretty serious thunder storms. We pitched the tent on a packed earth platform and tried to pitch the tent drum tight (as I had read that this will help mitigate some of the condensation issues). While I was able to sleep soundly through the storm, I did wake up to the sound of rain through the night. In the morning, the inside of the tent was wet. Anything touching the sides of the tent got wet, not soaked, but damp. As we roused ourselves, anytime we touched the inside of the tent, we got wet. However, our down sleeping bags stayed mostly dry, and as long as we moved carefully, we could avoid the moisture.

We hiked out that day, so we didn't wait for the tent to dry. The tent is now pitched in my backyard to dry and it seems to be doing so quickly.

My thoughts are as follows. It is relatively light and packs relatively small. To tell the truth it is considerably smaller and lighter than the last few tents I've owned. It gives more shelter than a tarp. It is easy to pitch on the ground, but requires "creativity" to put up on a tent platform. While it did okay over a single rainy night, I wouldn't want to use it if the weather was going to be wet over any long period of time.

This would be a great tent for long stretches of good weather. I would give it 3.5 stars if it was an option. I like the weight, the size, and the ease of set up. I wish it vented better, but I guess that is what you get with a single walled tent.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I haved used the Meta on a few trips so far. I tested in the backyard (in the cold), at a campground (mild cold), and finally on a section hike of the App Trail from Pen Mar to Caledonia (hot weather). It has performed superbly in all situations, so far. It was very compact in my pack, very light, and extremely easy to set up. It seems very taught and sturdy. I have yet to use it in very wet weather, so I have had no condensation issues, so far. If it is a problem later, I will give an update.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

I have an obsession with gear. I love quality and clever engineering and this tent has both. The setup is quite simple, and once everything is tethered down it is completely sturdy. Super lightweight for a 2 person tent. Yes, you can shave a few ounces with a big agnus, but you lose space and awesomeness. Everyone wants to come over and examine the tent.

Sizewise it is huge. Plenty of room in the tent for two people and I am 6 feet tall. When I stretch as far as I can my feet and hands barely touch the walls. Plus the two massive vestibules are great. Half of one can keep two packs safe and dry.

Last night we had a serious downpour over several hours. I left my side completely open for ventilation and we still remained bone dry.

As for condensation - I haven't had any. I've kept the vents open and the vestibules at least partially open, so no problems. Not sure what will happen when all is battened down. Just deal with it as a minor side effect of an otherwise perfect tent, I guess.

Buy it, it is everything you want or need in a tent.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

with Two guys being about 5'-11", on the first night of use, our down bags got soaked on the foot and head from all the condensation. When i awoke in the morning, i heard large beads of condensation dripping on my bag.

Even though Nemo says the footprint measures 96", you loose about 15"-18" of interior space with the sloping. It definitely did not meet expectations and also a bit misleading.

Comments about NEMO Meta 2P Tent:

UPDATE:

I reviewed this tent earlier, but wanted to add video showing how severely this tent collects condensation during inclement weather. You can hear my wife in the videos asking me to put our soaked camp towels outside while telling me our sleeping bags were getting wet.

After two hours of rain, we were weary of mopping the massive pools of water collecting on the floor from all of the dripping and spraying from the condensation on the inside walls of our new Meta 2P. The rain finally eased up and we decided to try to get some sleep. Still, by morning, our down bags were soaked, so we packed up wet and went home early to dry everything out.

Other than this (major) problem, the tent is extremely well designed. We had high hopes for the Meta 2P and were sad to have to have to get rid of it. We aren't sure how Nemo can improve on the design of this tent to avoid condensation, but we wish they would so we could buy another one without the problem.