Nemo Espri 2 Review

I have used this tent on several canoe and camping trips. I started out by having very mixed feelings but by now it's growing on me and every time I set it up again, I find something new to like. I have used the tent in torrential rain and windy conditions, no complaints. The Nemo Equipment Espri Ultralight Backpacking Tent comes with an interchangeable tent door and small vestibule. I have used it with the vestibule. There is a larger vestibule available for this tent (Espri 2P Trekking Pole Vestibule, trekking pole, separate pole or stick required) which I own but have not yet used.

Pros:

• Feels rock solid when erected, even without additional guy lines, for which several attachment points are provided. (Guy lines are provided, stakes for guy lines are not)
• Once you have mastered the setup, this tent is very quick to erect and tear down.
• Well ventilated
• Worked well in strong rain
• Worked well in strong wind
• Lightweight and compact
• Comes with eight good quality tent stakes (similar to MSR GroundHog Stake Kit) in a pouch rather than a plastic bag. Not sure that this is standard now, it's been a while since I purchased a tent.
• Nice to get a tent pole repair tube. I personally have not broken an aluminum pole yet, but I know it can happen.

Cons (many of which can be reduced or eliminated after repeated use):

• The permanently attached center connector takes some getting used to. The clip for attachment to tent has to point towards the ground and I have had to inverse the pole setup several times.
• The patent connectors are on the small side. The poles attach to plastic tent corner connectors via a ball (on poles) and socket (on tent corners) system. The rain fly attaches to that same connector via a hook. Both are rather small and have a very tight fit. There are several issues related to this:
• The tightness makes it hard to insert the tent poles and hook the fly during setup and harder to pull out and unhook during tear-down. Because of the small size of the parts, mud or grit in the works is a definite factor and exacerbates the tightness. If you don't want to step on the corners of your tent, you will need both hands to pull the pole from the socket and unhook the fly. Especially unhooking the rain fly with cold fingers is a pain. I found that twisting the hook will help. I assume that a little wear and tear on these parts may help.
• The rain fly attaches to the side walls of the tent via a tiny snap hook, which I like. I do not like that the snap hook is so small and the snap is so tight that it is next to impossible to unclip it during tear-down, especially with gloved or cold fingers. I am seriously considering to cut off part of the snap.
• If you are using this as a two person tent, there is very little room for gear inside the tent or in the very low-profile standard vestibule.

All in all, in spite of its shortcomings I do like this tent because of its sturdiness and light weight.