Any thoughts about this tent? I would be using it on solo trips. A little heavy, but not too bad. Durability? Thanks. Tom

NEMO Aurora 2P Tent with Footprint

Hey Quark,

Nemo is a good brand. You mention it is on the heavy side. If you want to go lighter it is usually more expensive, as you probably know. The only Nemo tent I have experience with is the Dragonfly (3p) and it's been great. It's held up well, keeps the water out, and is lightweight. Expensive, but everything else has been good.

For 2 person tents (which I use as a single) I have experience with the Copperspur and the MSR Hubba. Both have been great but I've spent more nights in the Hubba for some reason I can't really pinpoint. Lots of fans of the Copperspur on this site.

There are lots of threads on this site with plenty of people sharing their perspectives. I've found outdoor gear lab reviews to have reliable information. The link is to the backpacking tents which work well for the canoe tripping I do.

Good luck with your choice. Hopefully you enjoy great nights in the BW soon!

How often and how long will you be carrying it? Since you are asking in the BWCA forum I would presume you are canoeing and portaging. Will your portages be frequent and long or occasional and moderate to short?

While you plan to solo, don't discount a larger tent. It's pretty nice to be able to fit your pack(s) inside the tent if you end up with a rainy trip. For a little less money but a little more weight you could get a Mountainsmith Morrison 4 person tent and have lots of room inside. Mountainsmith

I've used their now discontinued Galaxi 3P for two person trips for 4 years now and I recommend Nemo tents. I also own the Galaxi 2P, but find it too small to be enjoyable on canoe trips for two people.

I would almost always choose the comfort of a larger tent over a smaller tent despite the additional weight when canoeing.

NEMO makes good products. I’ve never used this tent.

Some thoughts…

My BA Copper Spur UL 4 is about the same weight and I can squeeze 4 into it, better for 3. We travel pretty light so a 2 man 5# tent is not acceptable in my group, but to each their own.

For the weight of the tent it looks like the fly doesn’t go to the ground. I’d like to see more coverage for rain protection. If I am going to carry a few more pounds my expectations go up, but then again I am going by pic.

I am a firm believer in get the best up front, buy once and use it till it is destroyed. You can always find sales.

For example a BA Copper Spur 2 UL was recently on sale at Campsaver and REI for around $400…for $100 more you are saving 2# of weight. If you did that on everything you are saving almost an additional packs’ weight of carry.

It just depends on what you individually want and can afford or more likley want to afford?

Nemo is a solid player in the space; if you don't mind the weight it's likely a good tent.

For solos I have a Tarptent Double Rainbow that's two pounds lighter (& +$20) than the Nemo Aurora 2P. Great tent for me and the dog and gear.

BA's Copper Spur is a fantastic tent, but it is pricey.

The general design looks similar to my nemo dagger. My dagger was pricey but has been bulletproof. All of the nemo products I own have been great.

Thanks for the fast responses. I'm probably going to buy one on-line later today. It is replacing a 9 year old Big Agnes Jackrabbit SL2 that has zipper issues. Big Agnes "fixed" the zippers once already, but both door zips don't zip well anymore. Just worn out, I guess.

Tom

The downside to this tent according to many reviews are the zippers. There is only one pull for each door and it starts/terminates as far inside the rainfly as possible. People complain that if you are entering the tent and it is wet from rain that you have to unzip the rain fly and crawl under the stationary portion of the fly to reach the zipper and when you do that water gets on your back and in the tent. Another issue is that since you have to unzip the door almost completely to get in and out it allows bugs (mosquitoes) to enter. Many reviewers say that this is the perfect tent but the zipper alone is why many have returned it. LL Bean sells a co-branded version of this tent as well. On the LL Bean model the screen mesh is black instead of white, blue, or green and it has a neat bathtub liner that attaches under the vestibule. The pricing is the same for the LL Bean model or the Nemo model. They both have a lifetime warranty which is hard to beat. I would have purchased one if not for the zipper issue.

I hear what you are saying about the single zipper. I would have preferred two pulls for each zipper. On the other hand, the reviews were quite good. I just ordered one from Backcountry.com and received a 15% discount for agreeing to be hassled by them texting me with deals. Free freight too. Out the door price was $255 plus about 6% sales tax to the People's Republic of Illinois.

Nemo products have a lifetime warranty.

Thanks again for your inputs.

Tom

quark2222: "I hear what you are saying about the single zipper. I would have preferred two pulls for each zipper. On the other hand, the reviews were quite good. I just ordered one from Backcountry.com and received a 15% discount for agreeing to be hassled by them texting me with deals. Free freight too. Out the door price was $255 plus about 6% sales tax to the People's Republic of Illinois.

Nemo products have a lifetime warranty.

Thanks again for your inputs.


Tom"

Good price. Post a pic of your new tent in use soon!

If you haven’t bought your tent yet, I have a Nemo tent similar to that, that I’d sell. There are pics of it on pg 1 of my default photos.

Seldom a reason to pay full price for seasonal outdoor gear. Especially tents.

You should be able to find much lighter for that price point as long as you're patient and willing to watch for sales. In particular you can bank on spring Memorial Day sales. For $299 you should be able to get into the 4lb range for a 2P from all the major brands (Nemo, MSR, Hubba Hubba, REI, Big Agnes, etc).

Recommend choosing a 2P that has a rectangular footprint rather than the tapered ones. Should you ever need to fit two pads in it, you can actually fit 2 rectangular pads.

Well, I don't go on long distance trips anymore in the BWCA, so weight is less of an issue than 10-20 years ago. 1 lb isn't going to kill me.

If I need a tent for actually fitting two people in it, I also have a Big Agnes Muddy Slide 3P that I bought years ago and have hardly used. About the only time I use it is if I sleep in it the night before I go out into the woods. That way, I don't have to pack up and carry a wet 2P tent.

I'm happy with my decision for now, and again I appreciate the input from everyone.

Tom

Read through all this and sorry if I missed it somewhere, but why were solo tents ruled out? Lots of durable solo tents can be found for half the weight of this one and you mention you already have a tent that you would use if you had two people.

Based upon experience, I much prefer the extra room of a 2P for one person.

Tom

quark2222: "Based upon experience, I much prefer the extra room of a 2P for one person.


Tom"

Fair point! I was just curious. I as well solo with a 2 person tent currently, mostly for the dog.

quark2222: "the People's Republic of Illinois"

Bravo haha I'm going to need to redistribute that for the common good.