Nemo Dagger 2 Tent Review
PURCHASED AUGUST 2020, LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2020
Some highlights and trips since purchasing the tent:
Backpacking in the Alpine Lake Wilderness: We backpacked for a few nights on and off the Pacific Crest Trail in the Alpine Lake Wilderness in Washington. The tent withstood light rain and steady winds. The nights were in the low 40s and we immediately noticed this tent trapped heat really, really well to the point that condensation formed on the inside of the rainfly. The tent does have two vents you can open in each door, which we did the second night but I don’t think we opened them far enough.
WHAT I LOVE:
The weight. This tent weighs 3lbs 5oz and it makes such a different having a lightweight tent while backpacking!
All the poles are connected and color coded to match each corner of the tent, so set up takes no time at all. It takes less than 5 minutes with two people working together.
The headspace is amazing. There’s so much room to sit up and move around inside the tent!
There are two vestibule areas created from the rain fly outside each door which is great for storing gear, wet shoes, etc.
There are two doors so you don't have to wake your hiking buddy/partner when you need to get up at night.
The tent itself has all mesh in the walls so you can enjoy your surroundings when the rain fly is off.
The rain fly has two vents in the top for continuous ventilation so even when it's completely zipped up there's a way for the body heat to escape.
31 square feet inside the tent is the perfect amount of space for Michael and I and the length is great for Michael (90 inches) so his feet and heads aren’t crammed into the ends (Michael is 6'1 and I am 5'1).
WHAT I DON'T LOVE:
You have to steak the tent so it is very taut to make sure the rainfly does not droop down and touch the tent. While it’s not an issue now, I worry about the longevity of the tent with having to stake it out so tightly.
There’s really no way around it - this tent is expensive cashing in at a whopping $430.
OVERALL:
We haven’t tested it that much (we’ve only been able to take it on three trips now) but so far I would HIGHLY recommend this tent. The light weight, easy set up and vestibule room make this tent worth the price point but what will really be the ultimate test is how durable this tent ends up being! I’ll update this gear review as the years wear on and we have more time to test it.