NEMO  Dragonfly OSMO 2P Tent

Nemo Dragonfly 2P Osmo review. I've quite enjoyed this tent so far. It is spacious, light weight, and (relatively) sturdy. This was my first experience with the OSMO fabric, and as it didn't rain at all during my outing, I doused the tent with water using my camp shower. The tent shed water easily and while it didn't dry all night, the water never passed through the fly or the tent body/floor. Design and Versatility: I kept going back and forth between the Dragonfly and the Dagger. Ultimately I chose the Dragonfly because it is lighter and I was looking for a light weight backpacking tent. I already have a Switch 2p (which I love) for more car/moto camping applications. The tapered shape helps minimize weight and streamline wind around the tent. (It's important to note that in high winds you should pitch with the narrow (foot) end into the prevailing wind). It's definitely lightweight. My scale puts it at 3.1 pounds with nine of the 10 included stakes and two of the four included guy lines. The two vestibule/door design allows for easy access from either side, which is nice even if you’re solo camping. On that note, while this is a 2P tent, you need to be very friendly or comfortable with your tent mate. It will fit two people but only with mummy style pads due to the tapered shape. The taper isn’t too severe, so there is room. However, two wide (25”) pads will not fit together. This is not an issue for me as I tent alone. The 1p may have met my needs for space just fine, but I prefer the two-door/two vestibule option of the 2p. I really appreciate the divy cube, so I can separate the poles and and stakes from the tent, and still compress the tent down nicely. This makes fitting everything into my ruck much easier. The overhead gear loft is VERY handy. In particular, it made a great place to put my iPad so I could lay back and watch a movie. There's also a gear storage loft at the foot end which is handy for keeping all the various stuff sacks up and out of the way. There are two small gear pockets at the head end, but they are very small (just large enough to hold a phone or a pair of glasses). Honestly, I found with the gear loft up above I didn't need them for more than my phone anyway. There is a thoughtfully placed snap ring for attaching a lantern to the ceiling, which is handy. I don't use a headlamp so the light diffusing headlamp pockets don't do anything for me, but having the snap ring for my lantern (Goal Zero crush light) was very nice. Set-Up: Set-up was super simple. The first time I set it up on trail it took me ten minutes, and I was going VERY slowly. The structure is extremely intuitive, with color coded poles and tent corners to make sure you set it up correctly the first time. The Jakes foot design also allows for easy setup in the rain without getting water in the tent. (This requires you to have the fly attached to the tent before you unpack it, but then you just spread it out, stake it down, and slide the poles between the two walls…then stand it up. Easy peasy). The Jakesfeet also make it easy to set up in high winds. Attach the clips at one end and slide the fly over the top to the other end. The pre-bent subbed pole design is handy. Though, honestly I think I would prefer if it were in two separate pieces instead of one large one. I don’t know why. Regardless, snap the pole ends into the Jakesfeet and they’re held in place. This is a “free standing” tent (without the rain fly), but stakes will make a world of difference in terms of interior space. Comfort: Getting into and out of the tent wasn’t too challenging. It’s definitely a crawl in/out model, which again, is fine for a backpacking tent. But the way the vestibules are designed you can easily get in and out while it is raining without a bunch of water getting into your tent. The vestibules were plenty large with space for my ruck and a table (Helinox Table 1). I didn’t even use the vestibule on the other side and left it open to increase ventilation. The high vertical wall construction at either end means lots of room inside. I have plenty of room to sit up on my pad (Nemo Tensor) and not brush the top or sides of the tent. (I’m 69”. The length of the tent means there’s no risk of either feet or head rubbing against the end walls and getting wet. That’s good, because there was some pretty significant condensation on the inside of the rainfly, even with the vestibule door open on one side. That said, the ground and my blanket were also SOAKED the next morning so it was VERY humid. Regardless, I stayed bone dry inside. There’s even enough room for my cot (Helinox Camp Cot One High) if I set it up in the low configuration. It doesn’t touch either the side or end walls. I won’t use that backpacking, but it’s nice to know this can be a backup for car/moto-camping if need be. Construction:
The construction feels flimsy, but that is likely due to the OSMO fabric. I was very nervous in handling the fabric, rolling/unrolling it, and worried about tears, but I haven’t seen any. I do use a ground cloth (redcap universal 2p) to protect the floor. The DAC poles are very small and very light, but also seem very strong. All the stitching is high quality, reinforced where it needs to be, and sealed to keep out the water. I really like the gatekeeper door clips which make opening and closing the door and vestibule an easy one-handed operation. The zippers are VERY small/delicate. While they can be operated with one hand, it requires a rather specific technique that took some work to develop. It also requires the tent to be very tightly staked. I would definitely prefer to have had a split panel instead of the round zipper door. I’m still nervous every time I operate a zipper as I’m concerned I’m going to tear/break something, but so far they’re standing up well. They’re just a lot daintier than I’m used to, but they seem well made. Upon receipt I immediately checked everything, as my last tent (Switch 2P) had a manufacturers defect. There were no issues with this tent at all. I’d also like to say that Nemo went out of their way to correct the previous issue, and ultimately wound up just sending me a replacement tent. Their warranty service is unparalleled and I am VERY pleased with how they handled the entire interaction. This was a part of their reputation that drew me to try them in the first place. I’m glad I did. Dimensions: I measured the dimensions against Nemo’s stated dimensions and they all check out. The floor is 51” at the head and 45” at the foot. It’s 88” long. These dimensions assume the tent is staked tight at all four corners. Add ons:
I do not have the Nemo footprint, as I already owned a RedCamp ground cloth which worked perfectly. Other thoughts: Ventilation - The design made me think that there would be plenty of ventilation to prevent condensation, however, I still experienced quite a bit of moisture on the underside of the rain fly. As previously mentioned I’ve been camping in some very humid conditions. The two vents (one on either vestibule) are not very wide at all, but it is nice to be able to open them from inside the tent. Because of their design, as long as you set up with the foot end into the prevailing wind, you can have them open, even in the rain. Overall I’m not impressed by the ventilation so far. Stake out the head end of the rain fly. This is a must as you will otherwise risk splash back up into the tent. If you do stake it properly, you won’t have any issues at all. The stakes are lightweight, and pretty strong. I’ve only used them in soft ground so far, but they go in easy, and come out easy. They also have a hook which works great for removal if they do get stuck (and can double as a bottle opener LoL) This is definitely NOT a four season tent. I don’t see these lightweight poles or fabric standing up to snow at all. Overall, this is a great tent. Works wonderfully for backpacking, or could be a good car/moto-camping backup. It’s high quality, the fabric sheds water amazingly well, it’s super lightweight, and it’s spacious. Overall I would say, absolutely recommend for backpacking.

I am so incredibly disappointed. I researched and saved and was very excited to get this tent after my 12 year old backpacking tent from another brand finally gave out. I didn’t like the design changes so I switched to Nemo after hearing great things about a few designs and liking their sleeping gear and things I already owned. I used the tent this weekend for a fairly simple camping trip. It’s the wettest tent I have ever slept in, and not the wettest weather or even super heavy rains. Not because of condensation but because the fly does not cover the top and bottom of the tent enough to prevent the seeping of water into the tent saturating you and everything you have. The entire head area of the inner tent absorbs water and it leaches through. I expect this to an extent with the fly, but not the body. I had to lay diagonal across the tent (I’m 5’8) and keep my head away from the tent ends as well as all my gear. Unfortunately my sleeping bag is longer than I am and was touching the ends and I was drenched for the entire weekend. If you run your hand across the ends water just poured in. But only below the stopping point for the fly. The bottom just needs a pullout tie for it to fix that issue, the head needs another couple feet of material to cover the wet zone. While the over sized vestibules on both sides are great, they are designed poorly for wet camping. The rain soaks all the way through and the humidity adds extra moisture inside the fly, which is fine, until you go to unzip the fly door. There is no physical way to get to the zipper and open it without a cascading fall of water landing on you. Also the inside of the fly was as wet as the exterior. I live in an area know for rain. It rains daily here for at least an hour most days. This tent doesn’t cut it for a temperate rain forest area. I would not suggest this for the MST or southern AT areas at all. This rain fly is not a full fly. No matter what anyone tells you. Setting this up in the rain also leads to a very wet tent because it’s not capable of being set up fly only. On a positive note, the size is great as a one person tent even thought it’s marketed for two. I love little features inside like the lamp pocket and the extra places to stake it out along the door sides, the quality of the zippers, and size of the vestibules.