GearAdvent Day 7: Tent

My home on the road is the Nemo OSMO Dragonfly 2 Person Bikepacking tent. I had to buy this based on reviews but I am not sorry – this is a wonderful, easy, fun tent that lets me look at the stars on a clear night but has also protected me in an all-night torrential downpour.

The main criteria when I was picking a tent to take on the bike:

• The volume it would take up on the bike, and how to attach it. I’m not a gram-counter when it comes to weight, but of course I don’t love the idea of hauling a giant, ten pount package.
• Comfort in camp. The rides I am doing are intended to be enjoyable rather than fast or grueling.
• Freestanding – for me it was important that the tent can stand on its own on any surface without necessarily being staked down, since there are places to camp inside shelters and so on.
• Had to have a side entrance rather than crawling in the end.
• Tall enough for me to sit up fully inside.

The Dragonfly hits all those and then some. It comes in a small green drybag (pictured on the bike) with two built in straps to attach it to either handlebars, or in my case I’m using the seat. It has very clever poles and connectors that snap together in a way that is simple – even self-explanatory. No need to puzzle over tent instructions while setting up camp – I just toss it on the ground and the poles and straps are color coded.

A couple things I learned in this search –

• What is a “Bikepacking” tent?

Since this sport has become so popular in the last few years, the outdoor companies heard the wish to make a tent easier to carry, especially between the handlebars of a touring or mountain bike. The main obstacle was the length of the tent pole segments, so a “bikepacking” version of a tent is just one where the poles are divided into much shorter pole sections. Many companies including Nemo sell a “regular” version of a tent and the same tent with the short pole setup as a bike-friendly option.

• Always get the two person tent for one person

This was sort of funny – the one person versions of these tents are almost comically small, a couple inches larger than a bivy. Traveling alone? Get the 2. Two people? Get the 3. Etc.

It also came with a nice set of tent stakes, rather than the cheap coat-hanger style ones – as expected with its possibly insane price. And that might be the one down-side: this is a deluxe tent but it has a deluxe price. I was careful to wait for a sale at least 20% off.

If you want to learn more, this is a good review: Nemo Dragonfly Bikepack Tent Review – BIKEPACKING.com