NEMO Hornet Elite Osmo Review

Because of how light it is, this tent is specialized for lightweight backpacking. It has narrow dimensions and delicate materials, but can't be beaten on weight. The Osmo material improves the water resistance over other ripstop nylon tents.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

This tent does the most with the least, but it still isn't especially comfortable compared to the rest. We consistently had our heads or our feet touching the ends of the tent, which can be a bummer if there is a lot of condensation on the underside of the fly. The width is exactly wide enough for two regular sleeping pads, so be prepared to have your shoulders brushing up against the mesh walls. Despite the fly bar at the apex meant to provide headroom, we found that it's not really possible for two people to sit up at the same time, or for one person to sit up without their head touching the top of the canopy.

Having said all that, we really appreciate having two side doors on a tent of this size. It makes all the difference for two people trying to navigate the space simultaneously. Each person also has a side pocket close at hand, and this model comes with an overhead light pocket that diffuses the light from a headlamp at night or for extra storage. This tent also has mini extender lines that connect to the fly. In theory, they are supposed to provide additional lateral space, but in practice, they don't create a ton of extra room.

Weather Resistance

The scant pole structure keeps this tent from thriving in high winds, but the Osmo material is a step up from its predecessor. As a semi-freestanding model, it uses two stakes at the foot end to provide volume. This means it is imperative to find good ground for staking. There is also only one guy point at the foot end. If the wind catches the tent broadside, it will flex inward. The straight up-and-down vestibule zippers aren't as effective as models that have one that curves away from the door — sometimes water gets flicked inside the vestibule when opening and closing it.

With all that in mind, we love that the Osmo fly material stays taut compared to other nylon tents that stretch and sag when wet. This reduced the amount of pooling precipitation as well as the amount that dripped and ran underneath the fly toward the tent floor. Though the vestibules are fairly small, they can accommodate a pair of trail runners and potentially a small pack.

Weight

The Hornet Elite Osmo delivers the ultimate tent weight reduction. Flexing the scales at 2 pounds, 2 ounces, it is one of the lightest two-person dedicated pole tents we've seen to date.

We wouldn't hesitate to take it out on a solo trip (which would certainly alleviate many of the comfort concerns noted above). For those who do use it in a pair, it's an exceptionally light carry when split between two packs.

Durability

The thin materials of Hornet Elite Osmo require a commitment to caring for it on trail. The thin floor is susceptible to developing pin holes if it's pitched repeatedly on sandy or gravely surfaces. To achieve its light weight, this model also has flexible but somewhat delicate poles. They won't snap easily in the wind, but each segment needs to be securely and completely inserted into adjacent segments during setup to reduce the possibility of cracking an end.

Interestingly, the stakes are very bend resistant. This is a great feature to have in a semi-freestanding model since it relies heavily on stakes to provide actual structure to the end of the tent.

Ease of Setup

The Nemo Hornet Elite Osmo is super simple to pitch because of its minimalist design. It has one set of Y-shaped poles. They are color-coded, as are the pole captures at the corners of the tent and fly, so it is clear how to orient everything.

The only tricky part can be ensuring that the foot-end stakes responsible for the structure of the tent are driven deep enough into the ground. We also recommend being cautious at first with tensioning the fly so that you don't bend the bottom of the Y out of alignment.

Packed Size

Going along with its ultralight weight, this tent packs down as small as it gets. It comes with a roll-top stuff sack. It's a tight fit to get all of the pieces back into the sack, so we typically packed the tent, fly, poles, and stakes separately. We appreciate that the sack can double as a bear bag more easily than a typical drawstring bag.

It also has limited hardware, which reduces bulk. The fly bar is the largest hard piece (aside from the poles), but its flexibility and shape make it easy to fit into the nooks and crannies of a pack.

Should You Buy the NEMO Hornet Elite Osmo?

The Hornet Elite Osmo is for the long-distance backpacker who wants to cut down on weight. This pricey model is one of our favorites for extended adventures, but its thin materials and narrow dimensions make it highly specialized. We recommend it for those who don't mind sleeping in very close quarters with their hiking partner and are okay with treating their tent a little more carefully.

What Other Backpacking Tents Should You Consider?

If you want a lightweight tent with a little more interior space, the Big Agnes Tiger Wall Solution Dye is one of our favorites. For something even roomier with larger vestibules that won't weigh you down too much more, the more durable Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 and NEMO Dragonfly are at the top of our list.