New in for the review is the Nemo Gogo LE one-person, single-skin tent, which uses Nemo's innovative Airbeam technology instead of conventional poles.
Nemo Equipment is an American tent brand that's just arrived in the UK for this spring and what marks it out is the use of what the company calls Nemo Air-Supported Technology. In simple terms, some of the companies tents have replaced conventional poles with an inflatable tube or beam made from a toughened fabric and inflated by a simple lightweight integrated pump arrangement.
The advantage isn't so much weight saving, but toughness and convenience. Our test tent came with the beam already installed, so erection was just a case of pegging out the corners, plugging in the pump and inflating the Airbeam, which takes a minute or so and can be done from inside the tent if it's hammering down with rain.
The plus points are that in high winds, the Airbeam will deform rather than breaking catastrophically. They go up very quickly with no fiddling poles through sleeves needed and, finally, because there are no poles, you can simply roll or fold the whole tent to whatever shape or size you need – ideal for small spaces like kayaks, say the makers.
At this point you're thinking, what if it punctures? Well, that's what we thought too. But to be fair, the beam is in two parts, like a bicycle tyre, so you can always replace the thinner inner if needed or possibly patch it, plus the outer feels really tough, the base where the beam contacts the floor, is abrasion resistant and logically, we can't see any reason why you should puncture the beam unless you're lamentably reckless with your crampons, cooking implements or juggling hedgehogs for fun.
The rest of the tent has some really neat touches too. The LE version is 6 inches longer than the standard Gogo and features an extra side door. That's a nice touch both for venting and because you can store your pack in the vestibule area and use the side door as an alternative exit if needed.
It's a proper vestibule too, with plenty of cooking space, doors opening either way and an inner mesh door for insect protection. It's single-skinned, but trades ultimate lightness for sturdy build, space and features. The weight, complete, in the watertight stuff bag with roll-over closure and complete with pegs, pump and guys is a real 1180 grammes in a neat, 16.5 x 18 com package.
Inside the front is roomy enough for a tent of this type, but the rear sits low and long, which means you may need to use a waterproof shell jacket or similar to keep the toe of your sleeping bag dry. Build quality feels good - the main fabric is PU coated, we think, while the vestibule uses a lighter Sil-PU Nylon fabric.
First impressions are that it's low enough to be stable, the useable vestibule is a bit of a novelty for a bivvy tent and the Airbeam seems tough, stable and very convenient. the extra length should suit tall people too. Is there enough venting? Will the fabric be breathable enough for UK use? We'll let you know once we've given it a bit of a thrashing. Price is £235, so not cheap.
In the mean time, there's more information at www.nemoequipment.com.
