mams99

A little over a year ago I was able to buy a 1 person Nemo Dragonfly. There were no 2 person tents available at the time and I NEEDED a tent then. It's a great tent, but I felt something a little roomier would be nicer like if I had to sit out a rainstorm and didn't want to feel too confined/cramped.

But while I'm looking at the sales, I'm asking myself, "do I really need a double? The single worked and it's just adding weight and bulk.

I had hoped my teen son would go bike camping with me, but he has ZERO interest in it (neither does my partner).

Has anyone used the Nemo Dragonfly 1 person and felt it was fine?

indyfabz

Sounds like YOU might not feel it’s fine. How you feel is what matters.

imi

Nothing wrong with having two tents (if you can afford it). Then if someone wants to come along, or you’re expecting stormy weather, then you’re all set.

At the moment I have a 1-man, 1.5 man (Hilleberg Soulu my primary tent), a 2-man, and a 3-man.
But there again I’m a cyclist and a guitarist (n+1) 😆

If you’re wondering about the 1.5 man tent, this is what Hilleberg calls the Soulu. For me the extra 0.5 is of course a guitar.

mev

You are in a much better position to know whether the tent you already have is adequate for your needs than the rest of us who are not you and don't have this tent.

I did have a related situation. On my trip across Russia I thought I had purchased a new two person REI Hubba Hubba tent and was surprised to unpack it and discover a one person Hubba tent. Not sure how that happened but my mistake for not setting it up until the trip.

So that is the tent I used for two+ months until my brother came to Lake Baikal to join for a few months. I had him bring a two person Hubba Hubba tent and my sister-in-law brought back the one person tent (she just visited us at Baikal but didn't cycle).

So over five months of that trip I could compare (a) one person + solo tent (b) two people + double tent and (c) one person + double tent.

For me: all things being equal I preferred a double tent than solo tent but could certainly do fine with the solo tent. Both tents had large enough vestibules that gear wasn't an issue and the sit up height was nearly identical. However, with some extended time in the tent due to a rain day or two as well as regions with intense insects I liked having just a bit more room vs. slightly less weight.

Your preferences may differ.

Tourist in MSN

I did a couple bike tours with a one person tent. No more.

Two years ago I did a backpacking trip with a new really tiny very light one person tent and loved it for backpacking, even though I could not get all my gear into the tent. Then one morning with a steady light rain, had to pack up my backpack out in the rain because I could not pack it inside the tent, everything got wet while I packed my backpack in the rain.

Now I only bike tour with two person tents. If I want to be ultra light like backpacking, if the forecast is for no rain, I take the one person tent, if there is a good chance I will be packing my backpack on a rainy morning, bring a two person tent.

If you like it, keep the one person tent but buy a two person tent for when you might want the extra room. And having a second tent, if your teen decides to go on a trip with you, you already have the second tent to loan out. With a two person tent, I can have all my gear in the tent (some in the vestibule) and I can pack my panniers inside the tent during the rain on a raining morning, so the last thing I have to do before I leave my site it take down the empty tent and pack that away in the last pannier to load.

Backpacking where the weight is on my back and on my feet, I want the lightest weight practical. Bike touring where the weight is on my wheels, I only notice the weight on uphills, I do not mind carrying more weight. There are former racers on this forum that disagree, they want the lightest everything all of the time but I am not a former or current racer.

imi

Mev: Where is this? Just so I know to NEVER go there! 😬

mev

The west Siberian plain between the Ural Mountains and Lake Baikal. The area has a lot of marshy areas along the road. I've cycled in other places (e.g. Dempster Highway) with local areas of intense mosquitoes. However this part of Siberia in June/July was different because bugs were there day after day for four weeks.

While riding I kept moving enough to keep most bugs away and could swat most of the large horse flies that would land and bite. Camping was different. So the first thing we did when stopping was put on rain jackets and mosquito nets before putting up our tents. Once tents were up, I would go in, squish bugs that made it in and then stay in the tent until time to depart the next morning.

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imi

Good grief! Thanks for the info Mev 👍 Fortunately that part of the world is not -and now never will be - on my bucket list 😬

Awesome photo!

mams99

I was actually just going to come back to this thread to respond to something similar. The tent I have is GREAT (the single Nemo dragonfly) and it has a nice landing area for gear, BUT... to access it, you have to open the door to the tent. There isn't room to have any panniers or bags in the tent. I have space for small things inside the tent, but if I want to get dressed in new clothes, etc., I have to open the door. I live and camp/bike mostly in the mid-atlantic region and will probably bike pretty extensively in mostly mosquito-laden areas.

I can either sell the Nemo single or keep it if my kid actually ever does want to come along (or a friend). Being able to have more things inside the tent with me if there is space for it, would be nice.

mams99

Thanks all... I am glad I posted and I'm glad I slept on the idea one more night. The mosquito issue was one I faced the last time I went out and I had totally forgotten that! Yes, that tent is perfectly fine if I don't deal with rain and I don't need too much gear in the tent with me, but considering I live in the mid-atlantic, there's always rain. Not use a rain fly? I WISH.

Tourist in MSN

The inside of my two person tent looks like this.



Have plenty of room to have my sleeping bag in the middle, two panniers on each side, etc. Can sit up in it to get dressed and for when I am packing or unpacking panniers, etc.

If you had one with a side opening, organization has to be a bit different than one where the door is at my head like mine.

This specific tent is out of production. But there are tons of choices out there.

mams99

This was very useful. With the one person I had a bit of room above my head or below my feet, but basically nothing to the sides. That's a real PITA if I need to get something from a pannier.

mams99

Ok Nemo Dragonfly 2 person is now ordered. Now to find time to ride and camp!

veganbikes

I am going to throw a wrench in the gears get a 3 person tent and really live it up. I got the Copper Spur UL3 Bikepacking tent and it is a perfect tent, not super heavy and can easily be strapped to the bike should you need it.

Winter time probably a little big for a single person but for 2 and gear it is just right.

Pratt

I have used a NEMO Hornet 2-person tent for about 5 years and it has been very satisfactory. Nominally for two people, they had better be petite, flexible and mutually affectionate. For one person it is great, I can get all my gear in it without crowding. It has zipper doors on each side. Through several thunderstorms it has been dry (knock on wood) It is so light that switching to a one holer would only be a technical, not noticeable, weight saving. My satisfaction may be colored by memories of what we slept in half century ago, and thought was great.

mams99

I wish Nemo made a 3 person bike packing tent. I really love the Dragonfly and the landing gear area. I looked at their 3 person regular tent that is very similar to the Dragonfly, but as I just said below to another person, my chance of actually having a need for sharing a tent is about zero. My partner would rather always find a hotel to sleep in.

That's just it - the two person is really for one person for most tents. It can work in a pinch for two, but for this particular tent, it's too narrow for two sleeping pads according to reviewers and then the issue of "where to put gear" is back to the same issue. Since I think I have about zero chance of ever convincing my partner of going on one of these trips with me, I'll stick to a 2 person. If my wildest dreams do come true for a quick trip I have a family size tent we could split the weight on and be more comfortable. (Of course, that family size tent we have also needs two people to put it up easily.)

RB1-luvr

2 person tents for me. I like the extra room for my gear.

Tourist in MSN

I used to do canoe trips with an old college friend, he had a three person tent that worked well for the two of us. But otherwise, I have no need for a tent bigger than a two person tent.

I do have really big tent, maybe four person that I got at a great price at an REI scratch and dent sale, but when I got it I was thinking of only using it for car camping. I can't remember if I can stand in it or not, but it might be that big. I did not need it but do not regret having it, the price on it was begging me to take it home.

I mentioned earlier on this thread that for backpacking, I will take a really light tent and if the weather looks good, a one person tent that will not hold all my gear. I am planning a backpacking trip for late summer, nine days (eight nights) without opportunity for re-supply, so that will probably be close to 15 pounds of food in my pack. Thus, I want everything else to be as light as possible. I think the one person tent may be used, even if the forecast is not that great, to trim a few grams and some volume to maybe allow a smaller lighter pack.

But for bike touring where the weight is on my wheels, not on my feet, I want a two person tent, happy to carry a bit more weight. Especially if it is a weeks long trip, not just days.

gauvins

I've had to purchase another tent after losing the pole kit from my BA Tiger Wall UL1. Nemo Hornet Osmo 2 person was one of two alternatives available on my route.

Very happy. (1) It is a "bikepacking tent" meaning that poles fold to less than a foot, therefore short enough to fit *inside* your pannier rather than falling off the rack somewhere in an otherwise beautiful countryside. (2) Two vestibules is plenty to protect your gear from the rain in an otherwise beautiful countryside, a feature to which I can attest. (3) The doors design is clever : D shaped can be opened/closed one handed.

However, an A frame tent can "easily" be pitched with a stick found somewhere in the beautiful countryside. No quick fix for free-standings. If I'd be able to find a trekking pole tent, a Plex or Duplex, that would have been it.

Sigh... But the scenery is beautiful
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Tourist in MSN

Did you ask Big Agnes if they could sell you just the poles? If they said no, that would surprise me.

In the past several decades, the only tents that I bought new were trekking pole type tents. In all cases, I cut my own poles. Tent and poles in photo below for the tent I use for bike touring, I cut the poles to length for my Ortleib Front Roller panniers. Trekking pole rubber feet for each end of each pole.



But the downside of a tent like this is that it is not free standing, for when you set up the tent on a wooden platform. I had to jam sticks in between the floor planks to substitute for stakes. My tent is the one on the left.

gauvins

Yes yes, but I needed an immediate solution. Customer service is trying to locate a poleset from their stock. Worse comes to worst, I'll build a (pannier friendly) poleset from parts.

WRT trekking vs free standing - with my Duplex I was never in a situation where I couldn't set up camp. But it was often complicated. Platforms as you mention, and quite often hard packed sites designed for RVs.

Losing a poleset because it wasn't properly secured to the rack is just sign of my stupidity. Shouldn't happen again.

Tourist in MSN

Good luck with building a pole set. For the trekking pole type tents like I use, the poles do not flex, you do not want them to flex. But if your tent needs a pole set with flexible poles, that may be more complicated to put together yourself if you use aluminum. I think you can buy fiberglass tent poles which are heavy.

Before I bought some long tent poles to use as my stock for cutting future poles, I used some bigger diameter tent poles from the double A frame tent era decades ago. I bought a tent pole bag that had some webbing sewn to the side of it that allowed me to strap it to the rear rack quite securely.

john m flores 

To add to the collective knowledge base, I just did my first trip with my first really light tent, a Six Moons Design Lunar Solo 1 person bikepacking tent. It used a single, 5-section pole (vs. 3-section for a shorter packed length) and 6 stakeout points. It is single wall and not self-standing. It's kind of a 1.5 person tent - I had plenty of room beside my sleeping pad for clothes, bags, helmet, etc. It's compact and light - maybe a touch over 2 pounds (tent + stakes + pole + ground sheet).



I seam sealed it before my first trip with it. It held back the rains, but when you close the door (which you need to do in the rain), it doesn't ventilate all that well and I woke up to condensation a couple of mornings. Compared to a double wall tent where most of the tent beneath the fly is mesh, the only mesh on this tent is in the door, along the bottom edge, and a tiny hooded spot at the top of the door.

This is my first experience with a non- self-standing, single-wall tent so I think that I'm still on the learning curve with it. I do like the light weight and small size. Hopefully, I can get better and pitching and ventilating it on future trips.

Tourist in MSN

Six Moons makes a double wall equivalent to that. The tarp (Deschutes) and the mesh inner tent (Serenity) are sold separate, or as a bundle.
https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/produ...40374649520170
https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/produ...renity-nettent

I considered that bundle for a year or two, then I saw a cheap asian copy of that design at a campground I was camped at. The tent owner was really happy with it and I had a chance to look at hers. Then I bought the cheap asian one, on Amazon it is called a Lanshan 1, there are a couple different manufacturers that have the same Lanshan 1 tent. I wrote this after I used mine for one night. Mine, the brand is 3F.
https://m.bikeforums.net/showpost.ph...7&postcount=20

Two summers ago I used that Lanshan 1 tent for a two week backpacking trip. The only time I did not like it was the morning when there was a steady rain. I could not get my pack in the tent to pack up my pack, thus I had to pack my backpack out in the rain and all my gear got wet in the process of that. But that is how bivy campers do it so I should not complain too loudly.

I probably will use it again this summer, planning initially a nine day backpacking trip, immediately followed by a five day trip with a day or two in between for logistics. I like the fact that when I am touching the netting, it gives me a couple inches of warning that if I push any harder, I will end up touching the wet inner ceiling. Thus, I find it adequately dry inside.

They also make a single wall one like the one you have and sell that on Amazon too. You have to be careful on Amazon that you do not accidently buy the wrong one.

In posts 11 and 20 above, I also have photos of my bike touring tent which was made by Big Agnes. It is single wall, but since I only use it for solo camping, I can lie down in the middle where there is more room between me and the ceiling. Thus, I rarely touch the wet ceiling, so that tent works well for me. But that wet ceiling would be a disaster if I tried to use that two person tent for two instead of one person.