User Review: NEMO Morpho AR

NEMO Morpho AR
Above: The current Morpho AR, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed December 9, 2008 by cparekh

Rating:
Design: 3-4 Season Singlewall Backpacking Tent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Very Easy and Quick
Weight: 4 pounds
Price Paid: $320

This is the tent that I have been seeking for years. It has everything that I wanted.

1) It is roomy enough for two people plus gear. I have always used a 3 person tent, because most 2 person tents are too small.

2) It is lightweight and packs small. The biggest problem with 3 person tents is that they often weigh 8 or 9 lbs and take up half your pack. This tent packs down small, not much larger than a synthetic 20 degree sleeping bag--including the tent floor. This tent is less than 5 lbs with the extra floor, and there are no hard surfaces (poles), so it can be stuffed anywhere into your pack. Of course, it is single wall, so one person will carry the whole thing, but that is no problem.

3) It is easy to set up. Many tents with poles are still confusing when you get out into the field and haven't set it up in some time. (Do the poles cross, where does the stupid orange pole go, is there an order to assembling the poles, etc.) With the Morpho, you just attach the pump, and pump for about 30 second. The tent just pops up. Then you do the other pole, and you are ready to go. This can be done from inside the tent as well, which takes longer, but is great when it is pouring rain.

4) It meets all standards for water and wind proofness. Complete water and wind proofing is a necessity, and the Morpho meets these standards. It has 4 corner and 4 additional stake out point. I would recommend buying 4 additional stakes as there are guy-out loops on the tent, and if you use the supplied guy-lines, you will need 4 extra stakes. When fully staked and guyed, this tent is bombproof. Because this tent is so solid, you really can use it as a 3.5 season tent, meaning it can be used year-round outside of alpine mountaineering use. If you purchase the option PawPrint, you have thicker insulation on the floor to keep the cold out.

One drawback is that the tent is not free-standing. You must be able to stake out at least the four main points or the tent will fall in on itself. This means that you need to bring appropriate stakes for the snow or sand, if that is where you are going to set up. If you camp on rock, I would bring some cord to tie to the stake out points and put heavy rocks on the cord.

The light diffuser inside the tent is ingenious. You put your head lamp or flashlight in there, and it produces a "bulb" which evenly illuminates the tent. Also the door are of the tent is quite versatile in that you can lock it down for snow or rain, pull back the fly and have a mesh canopy, or pull back the floor and have a bare ground vestibule (at the expense of interior space). This option is nice if you need to cook from inside the tent as this is safer and will keep from spilling on the floor of the tent. All of these changes can be done from inside the tent, and can be constantly changed as your needs change throughout the day.

One tip: the tent is designed to either face into or away from the wind. I find it better to face away (i.e. the door on the leeward side). This keep the wind hitting the part of the tent where your feet are and there are no doors or zipper on that side, so it is more solid. The only problem with this is that there is a rear vent which cannot be closed, as far as I can tell. You probably will not ever close it anyway, because you need it for airflow, but you still would like the option to do so.

Finally, for those of you who are wary or the airbeams--don't be. They are solid and pretty much puncture proof. In the scheme of things, a puncture will be far more rare than a broken pole, and unlike a broken pole, a puncture is completely field repairable to 100 percent. With a broken pole, you have to use the splint and have a less-functional tent until you buy a new pole.

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Where to Buy

Buy Online We found the Morpho AR at 4 online stores:

Store

Product Description

Price

Morpho AR Air Supported Tent

$394.95

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