You’re right. Some very well thought out features to the Burrito (and the other Nemo tents). Extra length could be good for gear storage. On the downside, in the Northeast in some places space is at a premium, & so it’s easier to find a decent site for pitching a shorter shelter (hey…tarps would be even easier to pitch in those locations – but right now, I don’t do tarps – my loss I guess).
I wonder how well the Nemo tents stand up to high winds given their unique “skeleton”. Shape of the Burrito appears at least to be “wind shedding”
I use Integral Designs Bivies (not the Sola or MegaSola however). The eVENT & non-eVENT Unishelters & Salathe are extremely well made and functional.
You’re also right about misleading weights. I think it’s somewhat standard (though perhaps NOT universally accepted) that a shelter’s minimum wt includes the shelter, poles, and fly (if there is one). I’m not sure that stakes and guylines are included in the wt, nor the stuff sack. IMHO, a stuff sack is optional when packing a shelter in a backpack (or use a BMW/BPL lt. wt. stuff sack instead) & the stakes and guys that typically come with a tent are much heavier than the Ti skewers and Spectra line I use. So, I’m glad these aren’t counted in the min. wt. of a shelter.
ALL my gear comes inside of my Unishelter bivies with me due to nocturnal rodents. It fits fine, but then I’m on the small side.
Even the two Uni’s can be completely setup in under a minute. The Uni’s have the easiest pole setup of any bivy/tent I’ve ever used – even similar hooped bivy shelters from other mfr’s.
[Note: By “hooped” I mean a shock corded sectioned pole similar to those used in tents, but much shorter, of course. I do NOT mean the wire-hoop used in the Salathe, Bibler Hooped Bivies, MLD EpicBivy, and some other bivy sacks I arbitrarily distinguish betwen bivy sacks & bivy shelters based upon the use of one or more overhead poles vs. a flexible wire-hoop or no “hoop” at all.]
So perhaps the Uni’s are comparable to the Burrito’s total setup time & not just its inflation time. The Sola prob. takes longer to setup since it has two poles.
The Sola&MegaSola have venting on the foot end. Placing gear there could interfere with air flow. Furthermore, door placement on these shelters would make getting to the gear down there more difficult than in the Burrito.
Prob. the most significant diff (besides the “skeleton”) is the that the two ID shelters are legitimate 4season shelters (as are their bivies). The Nemo site say that the Burrito is only for 3season use.
The Burrito intrigues me however. I’d like to spend some nights in one. But if I purchase another tent my wife will prob. kill me (maybe not, I just bought her a new car, but I’m still not taking any chances!!!). I’m gonna’ have a tough enough time sneaking in some of the other gear I already have on order without her noticing!!! I’m running out of room to store the gear!!
Please, let us all know what you think if you purchase one.