For families who want to do overnight backpacking trips or groups who need to set up a base camp, a larger tent is usually required. In both cases, this is a common scenario: the group carries their gear to a central location where a camp is established, from which day trips are launched. Tents used for this purpose are selected for their space, features, and comfort. They should be lightweight (if you are the parent you might have the whole thing in your pack), suitable for backpacking, easy to set up and enter/exit, and possess good wind stability, bug, and storm resistance. Tents in this category can also be used for car camping.
The Nemo Pentalite is a four-person, three-season, single-wall, five-sided pyramid tent. With the optional nest, the Pentalite converts from a floorless shelter to a fully enclosed, bug-proof shelter with bathtub floor and vestibule, while maintaining a rectangular sleeping area.
A versatile shelter with a unique design, the Pentalite manages to bring something new to the realm of pyramid tent design: a large floorspace and optional full bug protection without a full-height inner bug net. The size, weight savings, and flexibility of this design make it a good candidate for a group backpacking, car camping, or base camp use. So far, so good, right?
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Design and Features
- Performance
- Comparisons
- Assessment
# WORDS: 2400
# PHOTOS: 8
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Nemo Pentalite Review
Under 'design and features,' second sentence, says 'although it is free-standing….'
It's not a free-standing shelter, as the 'specifications' note.
Also, could you use your trekking poles as the center pole to reduce weight? I assume you could.
Thanks for a great review.
Nice catch, Doug! The error has been fixed.
You are right Doug, that is an error. We will get that fixed!
Yes, you could use trekking poles as the center pole if you had a way to lash them together. We don't use trekking poles, so sometimes I forget about that.
Black Diamond makes a "pole link converter" to turn two trekking poles in to a bigger tent pole. Handy, but it does leave the points exposed on both ends, so you might want to carry rubber tips so you don't poke a hole in your tent. $5, 35g, but you'll probably have to order it and pay shipping. I've never seen these in stores.
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/shelters/pole-link-converter/
Or you can use the Ron Bell method with a few feet of guy line. I can't find a link to that right now. Roughly, you overlap the two poles, points down, then put a small loop over the point of the upper pole, thread the line through the strap of the lower pole, tie it off somehow (hmm, need to try this), then wrap the remaining line around the two poles.
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