Tents

Nemo Hornet 2P Tent | Review

A lightweight, easy to pitch tent that’ll provide acres of space for single person missions, or just enough space for a cosy two person trip

Why We Chose The Nemo Hornet 2P Tent: great ventilation, fast to pitch, lightweight

Although a newcomer to the Outdoors Magic review pages, New Hampshire-based Nemo Equipment (meaning New England Mountain Equipment) have been making tents, bivys and a great deal of other camping equipment for the past 18 years over in the States.

The brand began after founder Cam Brensinger noticed a gap in the market for better bivy shelter designs having been frustrated at the amount of poorly designed options out there that couldn’t do the job for him on his nights pitched up on the side of Mount Washington.

Who Is The Hornet 2P For?

This is a great option for lightweight backpacking or bikepacking, offering a decent amount of room for two people plus their kit. Two-person tents that are pushing the sub-1kg barrier are usually short of headroom and lack two entrances and vestibules, but that’s not the case here.

Nemo have been making camping equipment for the past 18 years. Photo: Mike Brindley

Build

The single forked pole design makes for an easy pitch, while Nemo’s own ‘Flybar’ extends headroom space by giving two additional attachment points for the inner thus widening the width of the roof. This simple freestanding design can either be pitched inner only, or with a lightweight flysheet.

The flysheet is 10D and PU and silicone coated nylon, with a large cutout at the head of the tent which keeps the overall weight down while increasing ventilation as well. The bathtub groundsheet reaches up high enough to protect the exposed section that this section creates.

Two large doors (large for this size of tent) are found on either side of the tent. When zipped up, they provide two spacious vestibules that offer enough room to leave a backpack, boots, and still enough cooking space per person.

Features

To help to increase space inside the tent and to keep your feet away from any potential condensation, two carbon fibre struts are added into the corners of the inner at the bottom end. When pegged down these make a big difference. Further space inside the inner can be achieved by using two ‘volumizing guyouts’ that sit on either side of the tent. These thin cords attach the inner to the fly, pulling the inner out, creating a little more width.

The Hornet 2P features two doors and two spacious vestibules. Photo: Jordan Tiernan

The single forked pole design makes for an easy pitch. Photo: Mike Brindley

The inner is made from a mesh in its upper reaches, with a nearly opaque privacy mesh rising almost halfway up the sides. On the top of the inner, Nemo has used what they claim is a black mesh that turns virtually transparent at night for stargazing.

A last note on the inner – and another example of Nemo’s careful design thinking – is the placement of two stash pockets at either end of the inner, along with ‘Light Pockets’ at the roof. Place your head torch up here and the fabric will give your tent a diffused even glow like a lantern.

All of this stuffs into a nifty 50 x 14 cm ‘Divvy’ stuff sack. Split into separate compartments, this gives you the option to divide the inner and outer between you and a friend.

Tester’s Verdict

Jordan Tiernan, Outdoors Magic Staff Writer

“I took the Hornet 2P to the South Downs for a two night wild camping trip right at the end of lockdown – a great way to end three months confinement within the walls of my apartment. It turned out to be a great tent to see us through this trip.

We found the Hornet 2P to be a cosy two person tent. Photo: Jordan Tiernan

“The first thing to mention is that I wouldn’t call this a roomy two person tent. There are far roomier two person tents out there, like the Big Agnes Copper Spur for instance. I was on the trip with my partner, so there weren’t any issues with us getting cosy (even after enduring lockdown together). I’d call this a roomy single person tent, or a cosy two person tent, and I think the 1.08kg weight represents this.

“The Hornet 2P is extremely quick and easy to pitch; just a single forked pole clicks into three corners at ground level, before you snap in five attachment points at the top. The fly is also a breeze to attach.

“Once up, the tent is fairly stable, even in strong winds. We did experience some pretty high gusts during one night, which were visibly flexing a corner of the forked pole quite substantially, but the pole would spring back to where it should be (until another gust hit).

The Hornet 2P features a 10D silicone coated fly. Photo: Jordan Tiernan

“This didn’t cause an issue or concern as the tent remained upright throughout. Something that caused a little more frustration was the sound of the flysheet flapping in the wind – at some point it sounded like a jumbo jet was taking off behind us. I’m not sure if this flapping sound could be stopped, we ensured that we pegged the tent (and guylines) down properly, it was perhaps just one of those quirks the tent has.

“One final note on the ventilation – given the high winds we experienced over the two nights, ventilation felt very good. There was no condensation build up over night and you could really feel an increased airflow where the cutout in the fly sits at the top of the tent.

“All in all, I’ve been left impressed with the Hornet 2P. I’d certainly reach for it as our go-to ultra-lightweight two person tent for myself and my partner (I’d like something roomier if i were to go away with one of my OM colleagues though…) Seeing the effect the wind had on the tent, I’d certainly be a little more considerate as to where I pitch it in future I think.”