NEMO  Switch 2P Tent

Excellently designed for Moto-camping. This is a legitimate two-person tent (or a very comfortable one-person tent if you’re using a cot like I do. I was looking for a high quality tent for use when car-camping with the local scout troop when I came across this Nemo Switch. After a significant attempt at researching the tent I wasn’t able to find much information out there, so this will be a rather in-depth review. Design and Versatility: I was drawn to the tent because of its design. I like to take long motorcycle trips and camp along the way. This tent is small enough to pack easily on the bike (Indian Roadmaster), but large enough to be comfortable, and sturdy enough to withstand the myriad conditions encountered on the road. The two vestibule/door design allows for easy access from either side of the tent, which is great. I can guy out the roll top main vestibule with a couple of tarp poles and then back the bike under the awning to create some protection in poor weather (attach another small tarp to the poles and the bike is fully covered). The side wall design of the main vestibule keeps rain from getting into the tent when the awning is guyed out. The second door and vestibule then allow me to access the tent from the other side, without having to crawl around my bike. When not trying to protect the bike, the front vestibule is a great size to sit under in a camp chair (Helinox Chair Two rocker - plenty of room for two and a small camp table - Helinox table one) and I can even fit with the vestibule zipped closed. There are perfectly placed pockets at either end of the tent which happen to be at just the right height for when you’re in a cot (so no leaning over to retrieve items from the pocket). There’s also several attachment points on the roof for tying a dry line or hanging a lantern. Set-up: Set-up is a breeze. I saw a previous review claiming the tent cannot be set up in the wind. This person must have zero experience with tent set-up because it is very easy. Simply clip one side under the poles, throw the fly over and clip it to the other side. Even in high winds it’s a piece of cake. Also, in foul weather, it is possible to set up the rain fly first, and then set up the shelter underneath to help keep everything inside dry. The pole design is relatively intuitive, but the Nemo set-up video makes it clear for anyone who might be struggling. Although, the instructions specify to input the silver pole first, and then nest the blue pole inside the silver pole, it’s much simpler to just reverse the process and start with the blue pole. Guy-out points are thoughtfully placed and well reinforced. The included guy lines are high visibility to avoid tripping. Using the guy lines ensured the tent shed water easily in the rain. Comfort:
The tent is easy to get into and out of. Even in poor weather, I’m able to get in and out without a bunch of water pouring onto me or, more importantly, into the tent. The size of the rear vestibule is substantial. This provides ample storage outside of the tent, but with protection from the elements, without the need to mess around near the bike. Inside the tent has a high vertical wall construction, which allows for the use of a full sized cot (Helinox Camp Cot One High). The cot does not touch any of the walls, and when laying on the cot, with a mattress pad, my sleeping bag does not make contact with the walls either. I can also sit up on the cot and have full clearance from the roof (I’m 69” tall). There is plenty of room to stretch out. If you’re sleeping on the ground the shelter is plenty wide for two wide mattress pads (25” wide pads) offering ample room for two people. The rectangular design allows for full room whether you sleep head-to-head or head-to-toe. Construction: The construction is very high quality, with the 68D poly floor and the rainfly, the tent will stand up to the rigors of daily set-up and tear down. The DAC poles are lightweight and strong. The shelter attachment points all seem well stitched and will stand up to some pretty hefty winds. I appreciate the gatekeeper door clips but was disappointed they are only on the front vestibule side panels. All other retention point uses loops and the sliding toggle. Still effective, just not as quick/easy as the gatekeepers. My rainfly is missing one of the retention straps for the main vestibule roll-up awning. I have written to Nemo but have not received a response back yet. I set the tent up and left it out through the rain. Even with the included vents in the rainfly left open, the tent was absolutely bone dry inside after 24 hours of some decent rain. Not only was the tent bone dry, but the ground under the vestibule was also dry. Dimensions: I measured the dimensions against Nemo’s stated dimensions and they are accurate. Peak Height (Front Vestibule): 57” Low height (Rear Vestibule): 51” Floor length: 88” Floor width: 51” Rear Vestibule Depth: 36” Rear Vestibule Max Width: 90” Front Vestibule Depth: 40” Front Vestibule Awning length (when extended parallel to the ground): 65” Add ons: Ground Sheet: I purchased the expensive Nemo footprint, which was unnecessary unless you have an OCD like need for your footprint to perfectly match the tent. For initial testing I used a redcamp footprint that was almost the perfect size, and it worked exactly as needed. It was also about $50 cheaper than the Nemo footprint. Tarp poles: I have tarp poles and trekking poles. The trekking poles are too low for a parallel awning, but are still useful if you want something a little lower for more protection. The tarp poles work great for parking the bike under the awning, or for just creating a higher awning to sit/stand under. Other thoughts: The stakes are beefy! These are some hefty stakes. They’re much heavier than they need to be, but once in the ground, they’re not going anywhere. There’s a blunt point on them, so not ideal for rocky or rooted ground. I personally just use my groundhog aluminum stakes to save weight. Vents: The vent design is interesting. There are three total vents in the fly, at each of the vestibule openings. Zip the double zipper down from the top a bit and use the attached standard to stretch open the vent. Extra fabric covers the opening enough to keep rain out while allowing fresh air in. No water got in during my test. I have not slept in the tent overnight yet, so I don’t know how effective this is at guarding against condensation. However, the overall design of the tent creates significant ventilation at the base to allow fresh air in, and I imagine condensation will not be an issue. (Based on lots of experience with multiple tent designs) This is a true three-season tent. Will keep cool in the hot summer, and allow for good protection in anything but heavy snow. (Snow will too easily drift up under the fly and likely build up on the relatively flat roof. This is not for use in the fourth season) Overall, a great product thus far. I’m anxious to really put it through it’s full paces, but my testing so far indicates it’s a quality tent, with an amazing design, which will work great for my primary application of Moto-camping.

Spacious, flexible options, well designed features. Easy to set up. Excellent to have storage pockets at two heights for use at the floor level or in a camping chair. If only the zippered entrance were better! A C-shape or reverse C mounted door zipper would open along the upper edge, allowing headroom as you to step over the threshold/bathtub. Unfortunately the Switch uses a U-shape opening entryway. The bottom needs to be unzipped at least half way to allow a wide enough triangle of space to duck under the narrow opening at the upper corner, or fully unzipped in order to widen the opening at the top.