My climbing associate and I leaned again towards a makeshift rock windbreak, wanting out over the southern Gore Vary simply above treeline. We nervously monitored a deep black wall of cloud creeping towards us from the south, drenching and engulfing every thing in its path in darkness.
It began with a burst of heavy hail. That despatched us diving into the NEMO Hornet OSMO 3P tent ($549) precariously perched on an alpine bluff. Heavy rain and tent-flattening wind bursts got here in subsequent and didn’t let up. It was an unrelenting storm with no technique to escape.
Whereas organising the tent a number of hours earlier, the climate forecast for the night had been completely clear. On the time, that gave me a way of aid as a result of the Hornet OSMO felt excessively gentle for the kinds of storms that blast by way of these jagged peaks.
But we waited out the shock storm beneath the skinny cloth shelter. It quaked, shook, flexed, and flapped, however we emerged the following morning surprisingly dry and in good spirits. Not unhealthy for a featherweight three-person tent. It’s the explanation I maintain bringing the Hornet alongside deep into Colorado’s backcountry.
In brief: NEMO was capable of trim the majority and drop the burden with its Hornet OSMO 3P ultralight backpacking tent with out making deal-breaking compromises. The semi-freestanding shelter, accessible in one-person, two-person, and three-person varieties, makes use of the model’s proprietary OSMO waterproof cloth, dials within the particulars, withstands storms, and packs down tiny. It’s, nonetheless, depending on good stake placement, which isn’t accessible in all environments.
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Weight
3 lbs., 5 oz. -
Top
44″ -
Ground house
39.7 ft² -
Supplies
15D nylon ripstop/ No-see-um mesh (physique), OSMO ripstop 1,200 mm (rainfly), OSMO ripstop 1,500 mm (flooring) -
Vestibule space
17.2 ft²
NEMO Hornet OSMO 3P Tent Evaluate
There’s hardly a greater place to chop weight and bulk from a typical backpacking equipment than in its shelter. Tents may be heavy, cumbersome, and awkward to pack. Positive, there are different choices like tarps, bivy sacks, and hammocks. However a tent is hard to beat when the hail begins pounding.
The semi-freestanding Hornet OSMO 3P is a widely known ultralight competitor from a extremely respected model. It’s one of many few merchandise which have landed close to the highest of not only one however two of GearJunkie’s Consumers Guides: The Finest Ultralight Tents of 2024 and The Finest Backpacking Tents of 2024.
The combination of versatility, livability, and low weight had me intrigued. I stuffed the Hornet OSMO 3P into my backpack and bikepacking luggage over and over and took off into the mountains.
Weight and Measurement
Like GearJunkie’s purchaser’s guides, tents on this realm are sometimes divided into two classes: ultralight tents and backpacking tents. Ultralight tents, just like the 1.68-pound Hyperlite UltaMid 4 Pyramid Tent, typically require a trekking pole to arrange, whereas backpacking tents are sometimes semi-freestanding or fully freestanding (i.e., its tent pole construction holds them up).
The Hornet lands someplace within the center. It’s heavier, sturdier, and simpler to arrange than most ultralight tents. However it’s additionally lighter and fewer strong general than loads of backpacking tents.
The three-person model that I examined weighed in at 3.3 kilos (1,494 g) all in. It’s not absolutely the lightest for freestanding three-person tents. It’s only a hair heavier than Large Agnes’s barely smaller Tiger Wall UL3 Tent, for instance. However it’s fairly dang good for its beneficiant dwelling house.
NEMO managed to shed weight from the Hornet by eliminating as many tent poles because it may. The asymmetrical 374 g pole construction attaches to the 2 corners on the head, and the poles join in a “Y” overhead.
The primary tent pole types a backbone that traces the size of the tent all the way down to the foot. The corners on the foot of the tent, subsequently, don’t have the assist of poles. Yet another quick pole crosses the backbone on the high, including width.
Stakes are required to drag self-equalizing strings taught to present the corners construction and safe the foot of the rainfly. That’s why it’s thought-about semi-freestanding. The 9 included stakes weigh 170 g mixed. Technically, solely six are required to set it up securely, however I’d suggest eight to guyline this factor out in something however excellent climate (extra on that later).
A 3-person backpacking tent typically seems like a two-person tent. However the NEMO Hornet 3P had simply sufficient room for 3 individuals who like one another. I used to be possibly taking over greater than my justifiable share of house with my giant 25 x 76 inch NEMO Tensor Excessive Sleeping Pad. Lengthwise, it felt plentiful at 88 inches.
Does it really feel roomy with three folks in there? Completely not, however that’s backpacking. Sleep outdoors if you would like extra room.
The Hornet was so gentle that I didn’t hesitate to deliver it alongside for 2 sleepers. With simply two folks within the tent on a latest journey into Colorado’s Gore Vary, there was loads of house for our large backpacks and the remainder of our gear between us. That stored the NEMO Hornet’s vestibules free for cooking whereas ready out repeated storms.
Storm Safety
I awoke in the midst of the evening throughout the Hornet’s first intense alpine storm, satisfied that the rainfly was about to tear from the bottom and whip up into the alpine. It held, however I discovered so much about how this tent reacts to actually nasty storms.
My key takeaway was that the Hornet’s design is closely depending on stakes — extra so than different backpacking tents I’ve used. As I waited it out, a number of ideas went by way of my head: Are these stakes actually safe? Why didn’t I take advantage of two completely different stakes to safe the tent physique and rainfly on every nook for redundancy? Why didn’t I deploy the included guylines for a little bit further safety?
When the storm handed, I went out and made these tweaks. The tent felt safer by way of the following burst. Nonetheless, even when totally staked and guylined out, the spine pole managed to bend inward briefly throughout actually highly effective gusts, slicing the tent’s inside house by about half for transient intervals. I couldn’t discover a good answer apart from tenting in additional wind-protected areas.
OSMO for the Win
On the finish of the day, the tent held up and stored me dry by way of some significantly nasty storms above treeline. It flexed and flapped, but it surely by no means gave in. And regardless of heavy rains, the OSMO cloth repelled the water and wind to maintain the contents and inhabitants dry. The bath flooring did its job, too. Even with no footprint, water didn’t seep into the ground.
NEMO’s proprietary OSMO cloth is a standout function of the Hornet. Not like most nylon rainflies, OSMO is a mix of ripstop nylon and polyester. The polyester makes a giant distinction in lowering water absorption and the ensuing stretch and sag.
NEMO claims OSMO has 4 instances higher water repellency and sags thrice much less. Testing that precise declare would require a laboratory, however I used to be pleasantly stunned that I didn’t have to reset the stakes every morning attributable to sag like I typically do with different tents.
It’s necessary to notice that the rainfly on the head of the tent doesn’t supply full protection, ostensibly for weight financial savings. I didn’t discover that to be a problem throughout the storms. I weathered within the tent as soon as I guylined it out to maintain water from dripping onto the tent physique. However I may think about this part of the tent getting moist if it took the brunt of a moist storm.
It alerts a bigger actuality. It is a good ultralight shelter that may defend you from storms, but it surely nonetheless wouldn’t be my first alternative for super-rainy or windy climates the place moist climate is mainly a assure. In these situations, I’d in all probability bump as much as the marginally extra fortified Dagger or Dragonfly.
NEMO Hornet Particulars
Among the many traits of NEMO tents that I’ve grown to understand are the little finishes and particulars. There’s hardly a normal piece of {hardware} on this tent. All of the bits and items really feel customized and refined.
It begins at setup. The stakes have downward-facing hooks that maintain the guylines from sliding off. And every nook of the rainfly will get a small camming system that may alter the size and tautness of every staked-out guyline, which basically replaces a trucker’s hitch (not the best knot to tie within the pouring rain).
It’s excellent news for a tent that’s so depending on good stake placement. It provides flexibility to the stake location so yow will discover the very best grime and easily tighten or loosen the road by way of the system as wanted.
One other instance: There’s a tiny string hooked up to the facet of the tent physique that hooks beneath the vestibule. That pulls the edges of the tent outward, lowering the flap and rising inside house. NEMO calls these “Volumizing Man-outs.”
Packing up the Hornet went rapidly. It breaks down even simpler than it goes up. I positively appreciated NEMO’s “Divvy Sack.” The designers realized that the burden of a tent is often cut up between two completely different folks.
One will get the poles, and the opposite will get the tent physique and fly. So why would the stuff sack be lengthy and slender? The Divvy Sack is a stuff sack that’s formed prefer it’s truly supposed to suit inside a backpack.
I additionally liked that the pole segments are comparatively quick — 13.5 inches — which makes them simpler to suit into bikepacking luggage like my Tailfin Aeropack.
One element that would use a tweak? The vestibule door tiebacks. They’re oddly low, and the door tends to unravel within the wind. Pushing the tieback larger up or including a second would resolve it.
Livability
I frolicked within the Hornet OSMO for a very long time throughout the check interval, and I grew to understand its livability. It’s a significant benefit over many lighter tents.
For instance, either side has a beneficiant door, that means there’s much less crawling over one another within the evening. Both sides’s 8.6-square-foot vestibule felt beneficiant, so gear storage and group had been logical. The vestibules and door openings are organized in order that it was pure to lie within the tent with the door open, the vestibule half open, and cook dinner comfortably for wind safety.
I discovered the Hornet to have simply sufficient pockets and nothing extra. There’s a beneficiant horizontal pocket on the head, one large triangular pocket within the ceiling, and a nifty gentle diffusing pocket up excessive. It was lots to maintain two campers organized. The pockets stuffed up quick with three inhabitants, however they felt ample.
Sturdiness
As quickly as I picked up the Hornet OSMO 3P, I felt a little bit bit skeptical of its sturdiness. That’s how I really feel about most ultralight tents. It’s simply so dang gentle for such a giant construction. The ground cloth is extremely skinny. The OSMO rainfly is skinny. The mesh could be very high-quality. The zippers are tiny. I’ve torn clear by way of beefier tents than this.
However I’m blissful to report that thus far, regardless of the bashing it has taken from large hail storms and wind alike, it’s in nice form. The zippers are sliding easily, even the curved tracks on the doorways. They’ve but to get majorly jammed, although I do slide them rigorously. The waterproofing stays steadfast. General, it’s a high-quality, well-designed tent.
Nicely-used tents received’t final endlessly, although. Particularly ultralight ones just like the Hornet. Fortunately, the Hornet is backed by NEMO’s lifetime guarantee, however the model additionally gives restore companies and has an arsenal of spare components to maintain your equipment out on the path and out of the landfill.
That stated, this tent is simply too gentle and comparatively delicate (and costly) to be an incredible automotive tenting tent. Take a look at GearJunkie’s Finest Tenting Tents for the very best choices for that objective.
NEMO Hornet Osmo 3P: Conclusion
The road between ultralight and too gentle is a high-quality one. NEMO took the Hornet OSMO as much as that line with out crossing it. This tent can face up to a thrashing, and after cautious setup, it has stored me dry by way of a number of storms. The main points are completely dialed. The livability and inner group are spot on for such a light-weight tent.
There are a number of inevitable tradeoffs that include tents this gentle. This tent goes to fold and bend in large storms. It’s going to flap noisily within the wind. You would get moist if it’s not guylined out accurately. However for 3.3 kilos and a packed dimension rivaling some ultralight two-person tents in the marketplace, the tradeoffs make sense for me in loads of completely different situations. I feel most weight-conscious backpackers will agree.
The NEMO Hornet OSMO 3P is the tent I’m going to maintain reaching for when unpredictable backpacking adventures are on faucet, when weight issues, or once I want a little bit further room for different sleepers or my large chocolate lab, Gus.