NEMO Equipment - Hornet Elite OSMO 1P

1,. My experience in Japan (Tokyo <> Kyoto) has been that business hotels are a more convenient option. Very densely populated country means relatively few nice places to pitch a tent. 2 weeks and we camped only once. 2. As others have pointed out, several UL tents now exist. Perhaps take a look at the Nemo Hornet. Reasonably priced, (semi) free standing, under 1Kg, under 5L packed size, short pole set. 3. Tarp + bivy isn't likely to bring joy to the camper. Unpleasant in adverse weather, requires significant time to set up if you need the tarp, no significant weight/volume saving. Try before leaving home with such a system

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 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.

I tested the Nemo Hornet 2p and 1p tents and kept the 1p tent. The 1p rainfly does not go up that high. The 1p is longer and has room for my backpack inside the tent at the foot. With 1p, if all the guy lines are connected and pulled taut, even condensation under the rainfly will not drip onto the tent when it runs down to the edge of the rainfly. I’ve used the tent in 2 hours of heavy rain and moderately strong wind and it held up fine (site selection is critical). I have the older silnylon material and it did sag but barely touched the inner tent since I pulled all guy lines taut. The newer model silpoly material won’t sag but is heavier by a few ounces. Your concerns about getting wet is valid.

Buy once, cry once.. Look for light, durable 3 season with room in the vestibule for the pack. I love my Nemo Hornet 1p, but do I wish it were more like a 1.5p? Yes

I"m 5'3" and used the Nemo Hornet 1P. I never felt I needed a 2P. The small footprint of my 1P meant that i could pitch it in the smallest spaces and that was a lifesaver at the end of the day looking for places to pitch.

I’m also almost at the point of being anti-DCF. It’s great with how durable and lightweight it is. Even though it doesn’t retain water, water still gets on it from rain or inside due to condensation. So you still need to put it out so the water can bead off and dry. I switched to a Nemo hornet after mile 700 on my AT thru hike last year and most tents being sil-poly dry pretty damn fast!