Hornet Elite OSMO 1P

My wife and I have had the 2p versions of the BA Copper Spur, BA Tiger Wall, and Nemo Dragonfly. I didn;t like the Tiger Wall, and the Dragonfly had less head room than the Copper Spur and was heavier (this was an older generation). We still have the CS2P but two years ago we switched to the Hornet 3P w/ Osmo. Love that tent, and I don't see where we'll be switching to anything else. Really spacious, yet quite light for a DW. I've used various 1P Hornet's going back 10 years, and currently have the "Elite" 1P in Osmo. It handles weather really well. Osmo fabric is great. In your shoes, I'd definitely go with the Hornet 3P.

Having used so many tents over the years (for work), 37" is probably the lowest ceiling of all the tents I've ever tried out. Part of what's great about having access to all these tents is being able to compare between them all. Most any trekking pole tent will have a higher peak ceiling. Since I hike with 120cm poles that's going to be what I'm have for a ceiling, but many trekking pole shelters are spec'd to be at 130cm (time to get some flat rocks!). 120cm comes out to 47", and 10 inches more compared to the Osmo is not small. Having two peaks for tents that use two trekking poles (or even a ridge of approx the same height between), and that most of these tents are made for one person and not two, you can see where I'm feeling the Elite 2P feels constrictive. I just measured myself sitting straight against my door: 35" tall. Next time you set up your Osmo Elite, measure floor to ceiling, it could be a few inches lower than spec'd. The non-Elite Hornet 2P is spec'd at 39", but I've only measured it at 36" tall. I can only guess they're referring to the peak of the apex of the tent pole, and not the ceiling of the inner mesh. And you're right, when I'm moving fast all day and once I've finally stopped, I'm sleeping. But I'm also bringing a shelter that weighs much less than the Elite's 2lbs. I'm OK with the compromise of claustrophobia for that feeling of, "did I even pack this thing up back at camp"?

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.

Technically, the Copper Spur is not freestanding. For the UL approach, I would look into the Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2 Platinum (please note the word 'Platinum'! The version without it is slightly heavier, but still lighter than the Copper Spur), which is lighter than the Copper Spur. In that case, also consider the Nemo Hornet Elite OSMO (again, please note the word 'Elite', the version without it is heavier). All similar, semi-freestanding tents.

I recently upgraded to the Hornet OSMO UL 1P and would recommend it to anyone. Packs up really small and has held up incredibly well in some pretty bad conditions. My only complaint is that I got used to how many interior pockets my old tent had, and this one just has a single overhead pocket.

Considering a Nemo hornet elite 1p is 687 grams all in, while a xmid 1 is 720 grams *without poles*, it’s hard to legitimately consider the xmid as UL.

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.

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).

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).

I have a hornet 1P I’d be happy to sell for a fair price. It can pack in separate pieces which can be helpful to fit on your bike. Poles might be a challenge tho as they’re slightly longer than some bikepacking specific tents. Feel free to DM me if ur interested. I’d also suggest a Durston tent w the Z flick poles.