NEMO Equipment

Hornet Elite 2

NEMO Equipment Hornet Elite 2

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Overall

#366 in

Camping Tents

according to Reddit Icon Reddit

Sentiment score67% positive
6
1
2

Top Pros

Top Cons

Last updated: Jun 18, 2026

Reddit Reviews

Reddit Iconjerry_can_jones
8 months ago

Nemo Hornet Osmo Elite 2. Traditional tent/fly design. Great tent. Handles condensation very well. A little heavy at about 2lbs. Zpacks Free Zip 2P for a single wall design. I love this tent for its ease of use, but it does have condensation issues on occasion. 31 ounces. Both are pretty spendy though.

Reddit Iconaaron_in_sf
9 months ago

I have used that tent family (the Hornet and Hornet Elite) for years in backcountry camping in all kinds of weather including blowing rainstorms. I have never gotten wet. It is a three season tent and it is optimized for "ultralight," it's relatively fragile fabric-wise, especially the Elite, which does not mean it's a bad option for backcountry—I have put hundreds and hundred of miles on mine! It's my go to—but it does mean it's not a good choice if you know you are going to be regularly facing punishing weather eg very high winds and constant rain. TLDR the "bathtub lip" of the tent body is higher on that side to compensate. It's a weight savings. The downside of this design is that you can't use it with only the fly and no tent body in wet weather; I've never done that with any tent (use only poles, fly, and probably a ground cloth) but it's a thing. It's worth noting this tent has gone through multiple product generations now, most recently to the OSMO fabric, without ditching this design. I personally I think the new OSMO versions are the best version that's been made (I have used three generations, I think all of them).

9 months ago

Btw the other consequence of this being optimized for weight is that it's small… especially if you're used to car camping! Sometimes I'll take the 2P just for myself, if given my itinerary I'm willing to trade the weight for the comfort. The 1P version also only has a door on one side, which makes site selection less flexible.

9 months ago

I have used that tent family (the Hornet and Hornet Elite) for years in backcountry camping in all kinds of weather including blowing rainstorms. I have never gotten wet. It is a three season tent and it is optimized for "ultralight," it's relatively fragile fabric-wise, especially the Elite, which does not mean it's a bad option for backcountry—I have put hundreds and hundred of miles on mine! It's my go to—but it does mean it's not a good choice if you know you are going to be regularly facing punishing weather eg very high winds and constant rain. TLDR the "bathtub lip" of the tent body is higher on that side to compensate. It's a weight savings. The downside of this design is that you can't use it with only the fly and no tent body in wet weather; I've never done that with any tent (use only poles, fly, and probably a ground cloth) but it's a thing. It's worth noting this tent has gone through multiple product generations now, most recently to the OSMO fabric, without ditching this design. I personally I think the new OSMO versions are the best version that's been made (I have used three generations, I think all of them).

Reddit IconComplete-Bite9173
7 months ago

I would recommend the Hornet. I own 2 Nemo tents. I have a Hornet Elite. I was really worried how it would hold up, but I shouldn't have been. I have had it in heavy rain and wind with no issues. If someone is looking at Nemo I will always recommend the Hornet. The 3p is on sale at backcountry.com. reg it is $549, sale is $439.

Reddit Iconjustinsimoni
8 months ago

That 37in ceiling height on the Nemo is kind of a bummer. This new BA tent is just a roomier tent (and heavier for the area), but it's 40in peak height is also kind of a deal breaker for me to want to bring for long trips. I'm not even all that tall.

Reddit IconLost-Inflation-54
9 months ago

I don’t think the X-Dome is ultralight at all. It’s light only if you have to have a freestanding tent and you are expecting strong winds. I wonder if this would be the situation in winter when you might have strong winds and heavy snow loading but there’s little snow on the groubd to anchor tent. Nemo Hornet Elite would be light when it comes to freestanding tents. However, there are lighter and better trekking pole tents.

Reddit Iconnaspdx
8 months ago

So basically the Nemo Hornet Elite is still way better and cheaper, got it

8 months ago

Can’t speak for the 1p, but I am 5’11” and have used the 2p elite for over 7000 miles of solo thru hikes. Can sit up in it just fine and the thing has been bomber if oriented well during storms (including a blizzard). If you are moving fast you are usually just horizontal anyways at the end of the day. For slower hikes or with my partner I will use a trekking pole tent as they are the more weight economic option for more space.

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