Why We Chose the Nemo Dagger OSMO: Good space-to-weight, sustainably made, innovative design

The Nemo Dagger OSMO is the 2022 update to one of the U.S. company’s most popular backpacking tents, with new design details added along with a brand new fabric that, from what we’ve seen, is super impressive. 

Who Is The Nemo Dagger OSMO For?

This is a tent that’s designed for backpackers who want something that’s light to carry, that can be split between backpacks, that has the space and comfort for liveability and the durability and protection for peace of mind on any wild nights out on the trail.

The model pictured here is the two-person version but there’s also a three-person version available too. 

Design

The way this is designed gives plenty of space for two people to lie down, sit up, stow kit and organise kit. Masses of space, actually. It’s a very liveable tent. The two porches on either side are both large enough to stow kit and to cook from and the single hubbed pole structure, which forks at each end, creates a high ceiling and steep-sided walls. 

It’s inner-pitched first. You simply plug the ends of the main tent pole into each grommet and do the same for the top crossing pole, then you can hang up the mesh using the series of little hooks/clips. The corners of the flysheet are then clipped onto the corners of the inner – colour-coding makes this an absolute breeze, by the way – then you peg out the porches and the other stake points. 

Materials and Construction

This is one of the first tents to feature Nemo’s new OSMO fabric, a PFC-free and 100% recycled yarn that mixes both polyester and nylon. According to the brand it took more than 100 different prototypes to get this fabric right and the finished product now brings 4x more water repellency than standard tent fabrics and 3x less stretch – that means it can keep its structure when it gets wet and doesn’t end up sagging. 

Another nice touch on the eco front is the addition of a dye-free pole bag that’s made from a fabric produced using 1.6 plastic bottles. 

Features

Nemo are a great brand for innovation and there’s certainly plenty of cool stuff going on here. You’ve got two internal pockets – one on either side of the tent – that will diffuse the light of a headtorch stowed inside them, creating a warm glow. There’s a removable ‘Landing Zone’ to keep your porch kit from coming into contact with the ground when it’s wet and there are handy little one-handed tabs that hold the doors when they’re rolled back.