Thoughts on the Nemo Hornet (2019)

[S Long]

I have used the Nemo Hornet for the past two trips I’ve been on and feel like I can offer some opinions on the tent now. Neither trip was backpacking ( both were car camping on youth group trips). The first was in a forested area at about 7000′ elevation (Aspen, firs, pines). The duration was four days and three nights. It rained on two of the days, steadily but not torrentially. The second location was in the desert for four days and three nights. There was a monsoon with torrential rain and high winds the first night. I have to say I am disappointed in the performance of the Hornet. The 15D fabric used in the floor is NOT adequately waterproof when pressure is applied. The hydrostatic head is too low to prevent water from coming in when the fabric is kneeled on. The 10D fabric used on the fly seems rainproof but becomes clingy and hard to handle when wetted with condensation. A vent may have been nice to alleviate some of the condensation issues, but I’m not sure how much it would really help. The zipper for the flysheet doesn’t inspire confidence. I don’t get the impression it will last too long. The included stakes are cheap and flimsy (I bent one in the desert where a MSR Groundhog would have been fine). During the strong winds of the monsoon the tent buckled and collapsed on itself. There wasn’t any stake failures, just the poles inverting and laying down. No permanent damage was done, but I won’t be trusting this tent in strong winds again. A footprint seems necessary to insure waterproofness, which offsets some of the weight gains from using such a light fabric. I’ll be looking for another shelter. I don’t trust this in longer rainstorms or high winds. I think Nemo went too light on this thing (I can’t even imagine how much worse the problems might be with the Elite model).

[bradmacmt]

I’ve used the 2016 model for a while (which has all the same fabrics and zippers as the 2019 model) and found it was bombproof, including above 10,000′ on the Beartooth Plateau in heavy wind, rain and sleet.

I did use a Tyvek footprint, and now a 1.1 oz silnylon footprint.

I’m going into the Crazy Mountains Saturday with the Elite 2019 model. I expect it will be fine.

Would add, few (if any) light shelters of any kind do well in prolonged wind and rain. I’ve sat out storms in excess of three days in my old TNF VE24, but that’s a nearly 9lb, fully freestanding geodesic dome tent!

 

 

 

[S Long]

I’d be willing to entertain the idea that it was user error on my part, but I have experience with lighter shelters in similar weather and had none of the same concerns. My Duomid was awesome for three days of near constant wind, rain, and hail in the Wind Rivers. My Hexamid was a lot louder in the wind but did well in similar conditions. Maybe I am just expecting too much from the shelter? I will likely be going back to a floorless mid.

[JCH]

I continually find it fascinating how two people’s experience with, and opinions of the exact same bit of kit can be so diametrically opposed.  This is but another example in a long list of backpacking gear working completely differently for different people.  Thank goodness for choices.

HYOH and all that.

[Art …]

I’m generally a fan of Nemo, they make innovative quality stuff. earlier this year I considered replacing my old Nemo GoGo with the Hornet, but after setting it up in the store I changed my mind. I found the set up to be excessively complex. I realize this may have been necessary to shave weight, but its not something I would want to deal with after 16+ hours on the trail. I would opt for a bit more weight and a lot more simplicity.

I can’t speak to the waterproofness or windproofness, except to say a UL item needs to be judged relative to other items in the same UL category. There are compromises made to shave weight.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

The 15D fabric used in the floor is NOT adequately waterproof when pressure is applied. The hydrostatic head is too low to prevent water from coming in when the fabric is kneeled on. The 10D fabric used on the fly seems rainproof

From Nemo’s site:
Fly Fabric       10D Sil/PeU Nylon Ripstop (1200 mm)

Floor Fabric   15D Sil/PeU Nylon Ripstop (1200 mm)

Nemo is certainly not the only one with specs like these but shaving a few ounces has consequences…

 

[S Long]

Luckily for me, I didn’t buy the tent. It is my cousin’s and he was generous enough to loan it to me (I now owe him a few stakes). I think it’s foolish to use fabrics with that low a hydrostatic head on shelters that will see actual use AS shelters from the elements. I usually cowboy camp, but when I need a shelter I expect it to protect me from getting wet! Chasing numbers is great on a spreadsheet and for marketing purposes, but I would gladly sacrifice a few ounces to not have to carry an extra “footprint” for my tent and to have something that doesn’t leak in heavy rain. Am I mistaken in believing that some manufacturers only consider a fabric rainproof if it has a HH of 1500mm or higher? Too bad common sense has no place in the marketing world. I would also never consider buying one of Big Agnes’ new DCF shelters. The sacrifice in durability to get the weights that low is not a tradeoff I’m willing to make (especially for the price of the shelter). I’m glad the Hornet has worked well for some people, but it doesn’t meet my requirements for an adequate shelter where I camp (due to user error, design flaws or compromises, or whatever).

[JCH]

“Too bad common sense has no place in the marketing world. I would also never consider buying one of Big Agnes’ new DCF shelters. The sacrifice in durability to get the weights that low is not a tradeoff I’m willing to make”

A few thoughts…

First, has common sense EVER had a place in the marketing world.  One of my favorite quotes from Dilbert: “What we do may seem like criminal fraud, but it’s not…it’s Marketing!”

So is it possible we have arrived at a point where UL concepts are sufficiently mainstream (in this case meaning that “most” backpackers see the value in UL and embrace it) that the marketing machines are promoting delicate, short-lived shelters to an audience not fully educated on what it takes to use and care for such a shelter?

Or…has UL backpacking entered a phase where there are enough participants from the “well-heeled” demographic, who are prepared to replace a $800 shelter each year, that corporations have identified the potential for profit and chosen to exploit that potential?

It seems clear that some of these mass-market shelters using bleeding edge material weights (BA’s DCF shelters are a good example) are not designed to, or expected to, last very long.  Perhaps that is OK with the targeted audience?  Perhaps the reputation these shelter will earn (whatever that turns out to be) is something the big corporations are comfortable with?

In other words, does all this really just fit the way capitalism functions?

[Author]

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