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from Sacramento, CA on 9/19/2008
I had been looking for a lightweight spacious backpacking tent for some time and was excited by Nemo’s new Nano. When I took the tent out of the shipping box, I was even more excited. It was feather light and even more compact than I had hoped for.The love affair soured quickly, however, as I set up the tent. The Nemo is not available with Air Beams until 2009, so, although I did not want it, I had to order the winter kit. The Nano uses an internal frame system, and on a 1-10 pain in the *** scale to set up, I’d rate it at about an 11! The poles are over 12’ long, and getting those through a 5’ door without bending them permanently is not easy. In all fairness to Nemo, this was the first internal frame tent I had ever set up, so the Nano may be no more difficult than other internal frame tents. However, I fervently believe that whoever originated the internal frame concept will eventually be tried for crimes against humanity. (You read it here first!)After numerous unprintable words and 20 minutes of struggling to make sure the poles weren’t stressed to the bending point and didn’t puncture the fabric, the tent was up. I can set up most tents I’ve used in well under 5 minutes, but I’m convinced it would require several years of advanced training to set up the Nano in under 10 minutes.The real disappointment came after I finally got the tent set up. Nemo specs the Nano at 88” x 60”, both on their web site and in their literature. Nemo’s web site also clearly displays the tent as rectangular with straight edges. This is completely false! The Nano is hourglass shaped on all 4 sides, with the concave shape cutting 4” off each side, giving center dimensions of 80” by 52”. But even those are not the USABLE dimensions because the design pulls the floor pan up off the ground cutting another inch or so from each side and end! I’d say don’t plan on more than 78” x 50” of usable floor space center to center. Shame on Nemo for posting false information; I hope they correct it quickly.To put the above in usable terms, at 6’ 1” while laying on top of my 1” Thermarest and 800 down bag, my head touched one wall while my toes touched the other. Not real desirable if you care about keeping either of those 2 parts warm at night.The thing I was most curious about when I ordered the tent was how well Nemo had solved the condensation problem. Guess I’ll still have to wonder about that. Fortunately I purchased the tent at a place with a good return policy (EMS), so with much disappointment, I boxed up my little Nano and back it went.
To address your feedback, I agree with your comment about dimensions. We currently use the industry standard of measuring the tent from the outside, from stake out point to stake out point. This is how every other tent manufacturer lists their dimensions. I agree that including the 'livable' space within our literature would be helpful. We are now working to incorporate those dimensions.
The catenary curves you mention do bring the floor in a bit, but the benefit of the catenary is the increased tension it pulls on the tent. A properly tensioned tent is important in windy and rainy conditions. Because of your feedback, we will work towards more clearly showing the catenary curves in our diagrams.
I think the overall concept of the internal pole configuration is simple, but NEMO designs their tents to be very well tensioned, so putting the poles in on the first attempt can feel like you're bending them too far. In reality, you are unlikely to damage the poles this way—even if they stay bent a little, that's perfectly normal. Here's our tip: stick one pole into the far corner of the tent and allow the pole to feed out the door. Then, grab the end of the pole that is outside and bend it in back through the door into the snap in the corner. The key is to let the pole bend out of the open door as you bend the end back inside to the corner. Once you have both pole ends in their respective corners, push the middle section of the pole into the tent. It should feel tight—you're not going to hurt anything—this is what gives the tent proper tension once it's set up. We are reexamining our hang tags and website to make sure we've explained the set up as effectively as possible, based on your feedback.
I'm sorry you had trouble with your first set up of Nano. I hope all of my explanations make sense. At the same time, I see how we can make some changes to insure future customers won't be in the same predicament. Thanks for taking the time to provide meaningful feedback. We're so close to our products that we're not always the best judge of things like the clarity of our instructions. We benefit a lot from dialog with savvy users like yourself. Our goal is always to make the best products possible and support them with the best instructions and customer service. We'll take what we've learned from your experience and apply them immediately. I wish you all the best and hope we can continue to provide shelter for your adventures outdoors." Knowing what we know of Nemo we can attest to their quality, passion for innovative design, and great customer support. We'd encourage you to try any of their products...and of course stand behind our Satisfaction Guarantee if you aren't satisfied.
from Northern Virginia on 8/31/2008
Bought the Nano two months ago and have used it three times. Shared it twice, and flew solo once...each time it was definitely comfortable and in a pinch you could probably squeeze in three. I'm 6'2" and there is enough room on the floor so that I'm not pressing against the walls as I sleep. The tent is single wall, and it has to be pitched from the inside...but the fly is integrated, so once its up there's nothing else you have to do. This tent was supposed to ship with the a new Airbeam technology, but Nemo wasn't happy with the quality so they shipped the tent with the winterkit for no extra charge. The kit extends the tent's versatility to 4 seasons. I contacted Nemo about it and received a response very promptly...[...]The airbeams are supposed to be available early next spring, and I will definitely be grabbing them to cut the setup time and so I can say my tent is inflatable. The fabric is bomber and waterproof/breathable, and has already seen me through one epic hour-long thunderstorm. Definitely a great tent, I would recommend it highly.
I just bot the Nemo Nano last week and used it all weekend in northen vermont. It is really light weight and easy to pack in the stuff sack. It rained almost the entire weekend but the tent stayed quite dry alghough there was a bit of moisture inside by the third day, but I can't really complain. The only thing that I didn't really love is the set up and the poles that mount on the inside of the tent. The first couple times I set up the tent it took me longer then I expected and also I felt like it would be easy to loose grip of a pole that would go through the wall of the tent because its under so much tension. By the third time I set it up I got the hang of it and the process went much faster.