NEMO Equipment - Aurora 3P

My girlfriend and I recently bought a marmot tungsten 4p tent and love it. It weighs around 9lbs which is the heaviest tent we would like to carry up there. The walls are pretty vertical and at 6ft tall I can stand up enough to change clothes. We used to use a Nemo aurora 3p which was fantastic and lightweight too, 6lbs ish, but we still felt a bit cramped in it, and I could not stand up in it, not even close. We definitely noticed it was harder to find a good tent pad going from 3p to 4p, but we like the space and would never bring anything up there that is bigger than a 4p tent. A lot of people, including some outfitters, recommend two 3p tents for 4 people before ever suggesting a 6p tent because it gets very hard to find a good spot to pitch it. Finding the that much flat ground in one chunk is almost impossible out there, and is almost always easier to find two flat spots for two smaller tents. If you plan on eventually getting a second tent anyways, you should really consider just going for two 3p tents that weigh 6-8 lbs each. Another plus is two 3p tents is more flexible for different group sizes, even if you go solo. If you get a 4p right now I love my marmot tungsten 4p. My only negative about it is not a ton of pockets inside, but that’s far from a dealbreaker. The marmot tungsten also is made in a 3person. Check it out! I personally would never bring a 6p tent up there. Good luck!!! Happy tent hunting

I have an Aurora 3P. Was camping in eastern Sierra a few weeks back and got caught in an unexpected snow storm. Woke up dry and warm despite the roof seriously sagging from snow. The other tent was using for cooking/hanging out was completely flattened with broken poles. First Nemo for me. I'm sold.

If you have an REI membership and one nearby their used gear is usually pretty bomber. Picked up a Nemo Aurora 3P for like $130 ($360 new). They were cool with me putting up the tent in-store and looking for any holes or tears so I knew before I left what I was buying.

Focusing on only the hydrostatic head rating is oversimplifying weather resistance too much. Too high of a hydrostatic head ends up making the tent super heavy and in most cases, it will be less breathable as well. In heavy rain it will feel stuffier and trap condensation inside. I would not want a tent made of the same material as my winter shell, it would easily weigh over 10kgs and be too warm for almost every trip. Modern tents are generally good enough that the main weather resistance I consider when comparing them is wind resistance. JustinOutdoors and MyLifeOutdoors test several good options with regards to wind that are worth watching if you want to learn more. The higher end companies will use materials that are more than water resistant enough for your listed needs. I have a silpoly Durston and it does great in wet conditions, it never sags which is nice. I also have a Nemo I use for car camping and it is far more weather resistant than people think it will be despite how small the fabric packs down. I have never gotten wet in either tent, even in storms that took down several other tents at my campsite. Some of my friends have Big Agnes, Nemo, and MSR backpacking tents. They have never have any issues in rain, and the construction is generally better than the budget oriented, heavier, Naturehike and Marmot options I see used around here. Most backpacking tents struggle in strong windstorms and the cheaper brands tend to have less guy out points and collapse more from what I have seen. Whether this is due to design/shape, pole construction, fly material, or a combination of all three depends on the tent. With regards to brands: Tarptent is based out of probably the wettest area of the continental US. The Pacific Northwest is a rainforest and gets a ton of rain so they are absolutely designing their tents to handle weather. They have a couple double wall models like the double rainbow DW that fit your needs. They also sell a "liner" for their single wall tents to make them into pseudo double wall tents that many people like. I haven't looked at their other options as much as I am fairly tall, so the Rainbow is the better option from their lineup. I think Big Agnes has several good options that are designed to handle some rough mountain thunderstorms. The Durston X-Dome 2 would likely work for you, the material won't sag, it handles wind better than most true 2 person tents, and all their tents are all going to be very weather/waterproof due to the extreme nature of the mountain weather they are designed for. The Durston X-Dome 1+ was one of the best bang/buck freestanding tents in the videos mentioned above, and they were done with earlier versions of the tent which had less guy out points than the currently sold models. For a full width 2p tent, I think the Dagger is the only Nemo tent that I would consider for two people and the Osmo fabric version is more than sufficient for heavy rain. Some of their other tents are too cramped for two or have a weaker (but lighter) pole design that reduces their wind resistance in the two or three person versions.

Got a Nemo 3p tent a couple years ago then wife broke her ankle. Finally just used it the first time and it’s great. 3 person is def the way to go for 2 people.

There are some pretty good clearance deals right now as the big brands are changing their lines over for spring. Big Agnes and Nemo have a few left on Amazon and REI still, I think. I snagged a ba fly Creek ul 2 for 200ish on Amazon that's going to serve as a backup/summer tent, and a 3p nemo tent (that isn't ultralight) for family trips with 2 people and dogs. If you can't find an amenable deal on sale, get an x-mid. It's the best value overall.

I have a 3 person Nemo and it’s a pain in the ass with only 2 people in it. Our Nemo Tensor mattresses slide around all over the place because of the extra width. Honestly, I’d take the 2 person if I could go back in time.

I have a 3 person Nemo tent, which is perfect for 1 person plus my pack, or two people without stuff. I’d get a 3 person if I were you.

Tried the Gazelle, liked it until I put it away on the first trip and 2 out of 4 metal sheath ends for the rain fly poles went loose into the dirt. Terrible quality for the price, went back to REI and got the Nemo Aurora.

Nemo is doing great. Obviously not as thick of a material as the Gazelle but it’s a similar size that has “standing room.” Allows me to use other vehicles for camping too since the Gazelle only fit in my truck.

My hubs and I love my Nemo aurora. We can sit up facing each other to play cards or chat. It’s wide enough for us to fit a double wide inflatable pad and suuuuuper light. I love that thing.

Wait, it was more than $100 sorry I didn’t read closely enough. Well if you want to spend more, the Nemo is where it’s at.