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NEMO Meta 2P

rated 4.5 of 5 stars

The Meta 2P has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best three-season tents for 2024.

photo: NEMO Meta 2P three-season tent

I have the Meta 2P. I recieved it on July 27th, and have slept in it every night since then. I LOVE this tent, it is by far the best tent I have ever purchased, and in my opinion is worth every single penny I paid for it.

Set up was extremely easy, I had the tent up in about 6 minutes. One minor thing I noted. The two webbing straps that you stake out to tension the grommet for the trekking pole tip. You put the tent stake through a metal ring on the end of that strap. You have to pay attention to make sure the tent stake grooves grip the ring or when you start tensioning the tent with the trekking poles it will pop free. It took me a minute to figure out what was happening. It just takes a little attention to detail, no biggy. I am thinking about using a different style tent stake for the webbing straps, one with more of a hook rather than a tiny little groove. Like I said, very minor issue.

So 5 nights so far in the Meta.

Night 1: Was a light rain, I had the vestibules fully open (tied back) and the tent stayed completely dry. It also breathed quite well, the temp was 71.

Night 2: Severe thunderstorm, this was the test of all tests lol. Temp low 60s, winds sustained at 20-30mph, with gusts probally upwards of 60-80. And heavy, heavy, heavy rain for about a 3 hour period, and a light to moderate rain for the rest of the night after that. For this night I had the vestibules half open, each only attached at the buckle point on each side, and the other half tied back. When the whipping winds started up I would occassionally get a little spray into the tent from the half open vestibules, But I pretty much expected this I just wanted to see how well the tent would perform in this setup. This tent is absolutely bomb proof. During the whole storm the tent barely moved, it held up like a champ. In the morning I went inside and watched the news and found out tons of trees had been uprooted in my town! I knew those winds were bad!

Night 3: Clear, with a temp of 58. A very comfortable night, both vestibules fully closed. Tent still breathed remarkably well. No evidence of condensation in the morning.

Night 4: Clear with a temp of 61, vestibules fully open, a super comfy night. No evidence of condensation in the morning.

Night 5: Passing showers, temp 60s, vestibules fully closed. Pretty comfy night, ventillation was ok. Would have been better if there was a wind, there wasn't really one to speak of. No evidence of condenation in the morning.

A few of the things I noticed during my 5 night test. The wall vents inside the tent do not always stay fully open. Not sure if this was a setup issue, i.e. maybe It needs to be just a little taughter. Will mess around with that later. But in the meantime I put a tiny piece of open cell foam around the little tension line that alows you to cinch the the vent closed. This holds it fully open quite nicely.

Now I want to be clear here, the vent opening itself on the outside of the tent where the guy line is is fully open, just on the inside of the tent one half of it would be open and the other half would be pulled against the tent fabric hence being closed. Both sides of the tent were like this. The foam remidied it however.

The only other thing I noticed was the webbing strap issue that I mentioned earlier. Otherwise, this tent is GREAT. Lots of room inside, I am 5'11" about 210. With my sleeping pad and bag and me, and my wife beside me we had about a foot or so between us. Plenty of room to sit up straight. Laying down I have about 6-8 inches clearance on either side of the tent from hitting the wall.
The tent setup included the Meta 2P obviously, the tent stakes it came with, Black Diamond Alpine carbon cork trekking poles fully extended. The footprint and the paw print.

Footprint, works like any other footprint. Gets the job done, easy to attach.

Pawprint: I LOVE this thing, it is so soft and comfy. It's like having a high quality bed sheet. I got it mainly so my husky won't damage the tent floor. But it makes the tent that much more comfy, and takes the otherwise slickness away from the tent floor. The instructions recommended putting sleeping pads under the pawprint. This worked out great because it kept them in place perfectly. It would probally also provide just a little bit more insulation from cold ground since its essentially trapping a pocket of air between the tent floor and the pawprint. The pawprint attaches easily with 4 snap buttons, one in each corner of the tent.

Tent is easy to pack into its waterproof compression sack, very nice I might add.

I am very pleased with this tent. I would recommend to anyone. I would rate this 4.5 out of 5, due to the two minor issues I noted with the stap and vent. I paid $319 from mountain plus, this included the tent, footprint, and pawprint. Total weight with everything needed and that I used for my setup comes in at 4lbs 9oz. This can easily be dropped down by not using the pawprint or footprint. Base tent, stuffsack, stakes, repair kit, weigh in at 2.9lbs.

This is far better than my old tent that was like 9lbs 12oz.

Use the Meta 2P! It is the best tent I have ever had the pleasure of using.

Design: 3 season ultralight trekking pole tent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Can't get easier, time from digging the stuff sack out to fully set up is about 4-6mins
Weight: 2.9lbs
Price Paid: $319

The NEMO Meta 2 is an excellent tent for two people the overall weight with Nemo stakes, ground cloth and water proof stuff sack is 4lbs 6oz. This is a strong lightweight large tent for two people myself and fiance sleep very comfortable in it with plenty of gear. The two large vestibule allow easy storage of packs and stoves. I was able to get the total weight of the tent to 3lbs 5oz by using a silbylon stuff sack a 2mil painters cloth foot print and not using the stuff sack for my stacks (small patch of nylon for the spiked end and two rubber bands for the stakes).

Pros

  • High space-to-weight ratio (gobs of room for 3lbs 5oz)
  • Extremely stable in high winds
  • Trekking pole setup (allow for duel purpose on my trekking poles)
  • Plenty of adjustment for rain sag

Cons

  • Stuff sack is too heavy
  • Adjustment required to counter rain sag

Setup: The tent is a simple set stake out off six points place trekking poles and extend then guy out side baffles for ventilation. To increase the side walls I used the second set of trekking poles to go out and down for the guy outs.

Stability: I spent many a winter night on top of a ridge line in high winds and light sleet and snow, does not budge this rock solid design. When all guy lines are set up you wouldn't know it was storming out.

Weather Resistance: No a drop... Thanks to the large vestibules there is no fear of splash back inside the tent.

Ventilation: Great ventilation when it is high temps in a rain storm in summer it with no breeze this thing creates its own.

Room & Storage: More than enough to hold two and in a pinch you can get three (but it is tight with three).

Packability: Small light profile fits in the pack like a glove.

Source: bought it used
Price Paid: $200

For a 2-door and vestibule tent, this is lightweight and small in size. The A-frame shape limits where you can sit upright and condensation on the single-wall design may get some items wet. The vents on the slanted sides seem ineffective and the guy lines that "open" them are poorly placed. Vestibule doors open wide for a great view and ventilation when not raining.

Pros

  • 2 doors and vestibules
  • Somewhat easy setup
  • Roomy
  • Sturdy
  • Weight 4 lb (+stakes and footprint)
  • Size 8" x 11"

Cons

  • Requires 2 exact stake spots + 6 adjustable stake spots
  • Slanted walls may contact head and sleeping bag
  • Sidewall vents are inefficient
  • Limited storage pockets
  • Items in vestibules unlikely to stay completely dry during rain

Setup is OK: (1) Place footprint on ground (2) Lay tent over footprint with all doors closed (3) Connect your corner stakes, 4, to tent corners and into ground tilted away from tent (4) adjust for tautness (5) install first compressed trekking pole into lower grommet (6) extend to raise tent (7) repeat with second pole (8) stake out door sides (9) stake out vent sides (10) Add tension on to stakes.

EDIT: You must FIRST identify where the stakes at the bottom of your doors will go because these are not adjustable (unless you add adjustable guy lines, which I've done). All other stakes (corners and side walls) are somewhat adjustable.

Stability is great: As long as you use all of the taut lines, the tent will hold well.

Ventilation: The ventilation could be improved by enlarging the vents on the side of the tent or adding taut lines that open the vents more. The guy lines on the side need to be pulled upward (attached to a tree?) to put the walls of the tent in a good position.

Room & Storage: Two vestibules are nice but you have to get the doors low to the ground to ensure nothing gets wet (this hinders ventilation, however).

Packability: The pack size is great, 8 x 11 inches.

Background

I also have the MSR Elixir 3p (7 lbs, 8" x 23"), which is heavier but much roomier. I like both of these, but the 3 lb and size difference definitely makes a difference on multi-day trips.

Source: bought it used
Price Paid: $150

Really light single skin hiking pole tent. Very spacious inside and dry in heavy rain. Good as a tent for backpacking if you hike with poles, as it removes the need for carrying tent poles.

Pros

  • Light
  • Pole placement eyelets
  • Good breathability

Cons

  • Waterproof compression sack, doesn't compress as it's water (air) proof

A little about me: 22, 6ft 3in, tent used as my shelter 1-4 nights a week as I am an outdoor education guide. Owned since October 12. 

Setup is nice and fast. I use a footprint which clips onto the tent base. Peg out pegs then put in the poles and adjust for the right height to make the tent taut.

I have had no issues with wind or rain, really nice and strong setup, good stakes come standard.

The gap between the footprint and the tent can have water pool in, the floor remains dry inside.

Ventilation can be improved when staking out the flap guy cords by putting a stick under the cord to lift up the flap.

Excellent room inside, really spacious, can have 2 big 6ft plus people camping comfortable, and not having to spoon for lack of floor space. 2 large vestibules provide ample storage room.

Tent packs down nice and small, if the waterproof bag is ditched for a light compression sack size can be improved drastically making it an excellent option when space is an issue.

The tent works fine as per all of the manufactures claims. I have used it regularly as I am a guide, and it hasn't let me down.

Seems to be fairly durable when used with the footprint, as can only be expected from a lightweight tent, its not a tent I would use for industrial purposes as it doesn't have the durability, but if you love it, it will return you with excellent shelter, just like any piece of gear.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $300-400 can't remember exactly

Very lightweight and compact.

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Very sturdy
  • Great design

Cons

  • Condensation

I just got back from backpacking in Wisconsin. This was my first experience with the Meta 2P.

Setup was a breeze. Followed the instructions attached to the bag (not that they were needed) and had the tent up in a few short minutes. It started raining shortly after. From my initial setup I had the hiking polls set at around 130cm. This created a huge gap under the vestibules, which allowed rain easier access to my gear. This was disappointing at first, until I realized I could drop the polls to 120cm to lower the vestibule bottom to just a couple inches off the ground.

Second thing I noticed, the large NeoAir (2.5" thickness) along with my 6'0" does not provide as much room as I had hoped (I was a lot higher off the ground and had the roof lower than usual). My head and toes were maybe 1-2" from the slanted roof on each side. The Z-Rest would be a much better match with this tent and someone taller since it is a fraction of the thickness.

Anyways, this caused issues because when I sat up in the morning my head brushed across the top of the tent and I had a shower of water fall on my sleeping bag and all over me. At first I was disappointed with the tent and my expectations. Then I found out when I got home that the temperature had dropped to 26°F that early morning, and the humidity was 100% most the night. Not to mention I could have raised the roof back up allowing for more circulation inside the tent. By 8am it had all evaporated.

On a more positive note, this is one of the most sturdy tents I have owned, 2nd to TNF Mountain-24 bomb shelter. It is very lightweight, compact, super easy setup and take down.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $240

Ordered this tent from and received it with an accompanying footprint in a matter of days.

Set it up last night for the first time quickly and easily, propped up with Black Diamond Trail Shock poles. Guyed out both vents, crawled in, zippered up both vestibules and went to sleep. I woke in the morning to a pretty intense downpour, which was awesome; I got to see how it stood up to 'inclement weather' right away. The rain continued throughout the morning so I stayed put and finished my book.

Zero condensation on the roof or walls, even with both vestibules closed all night and about 5-6 hours of steady rain in the morning. When I packed the tent up I noticed a good litre or two of water had pooled _between_ the footprint and tent floor. Bad location to pitch I suppose. Anyway I had been laying on this pool of trapped water for hours without the slightest idea. It was dry as a bone inside. Zero leakage, zero seepage, zero osmosis.

Cons: I can only think of three, all of which I knew full well when making the purchase...

1) High cost. Yikes!

2) The need for trekking poles. This is awesome because the lack of tent poles significantly saves on weight and pack space, but on the flip-side, say, on a bike trip or whatever, having to carry along trekking poles would be cumbersome. Also, a big pole running vertically down the centre of either door (effectively dividing the door area in two) takes getting used to. Larger people may find navigating in and out of the tent a bit of a pain.

3) Nemo is a new(ish) company, and as such their products aren't carried everywhere. I had to order mine from another country and got nailed with duty fees.

I am glad I purchased this tent. It's super spacious for one, comfy for two, is light as a feather (assuming you carry trekking poles), pitches taught and stable, is condensation-free and weather tight. Amazing. I also find the shade of green particularly pleasing to the eye, but that's just me ^^

Design: 4-season trekking pole tent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Simple to set up with one; doubly so with two.
Weight: 3.4 lbs packed
Price Paid: 319 USD (on sale)

Great product. Very high quality! Light weight. Highly recommended!

Pros

  • Light weight
  • Uses trekking poles as tent supports
  • (2) Outside vestibules for keeping your gear dry
  • Good quality

Cons

  • Needs water repellent spray
  • Water weighs it down a little (see Cons #1)

This is a great tent that uses trekking poles as the supports, cutting down on pack weight. The quality is there. This is a fantastic tent. I am 5' 7" and it is very roomy for my wife and I.

The vestibules are really handy for keeping our gear dry. We had a hard rain this last weekend and it kept us dry for the most part, just don't touch the material (we have not sprayed it with water repellent yet).

Also,  pick up the footprint for it.  You will need it. It works with the tent/stake set up. Save yourself the hassle of coming up with your own tarp set up. It's well worth the extra $$. 

Also Google search for this tent and click "shopping" for the google options. You can find this tent for cheaper than $350-$400!

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $250 amazon

Great tent, light weight.

Pros

  • light
  • easy to set up

Cons

  • a couple of more vents would be nice
  • guy lines did not pull in the right places. It's maybe me still learning

I bought this tent with some reservations due to the single wall and I have heard some stories that it would leak and build up heavy condensation.

My full grown son and I used this tent for a week in Yosemite and we left the doors open. The temps were high at night so condensation was not a problem. So far it has been a super tent. I will be replacing the stakes with some MSR stakes. Those seem to hold things down a bit better.  

I will update all of you some more. Next summer two weeks in New Mexico Philmont Scout Ranch and we will have some rain so it will be a good test. 

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $249 mountain gear

Perfect for the conservative type packing for two.

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Versatile poles

Cons

  • Lengthy setup
  • Condensation

Great tent. Super lightweight and I love that your trek poles double as the tent poles! Very roomy for two people. The tent takes several minutes to set up, but it's no worry. Condensation can also become an issue if you do not fully open your vents.

Source: bought it used
Price Paid: $125

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Specs

Price MSRP: $399.95
Historic Range: $239.97-$399.95
Reviewers Paid: $125.00-$319.00
Minimum Weight 2 lb 15 oz / 1.3 kg
Packed Weight 3 lb 9 oz / 1.5 kg
Floor Dimensions 96 in x 53 in / 244 cm x 135 cm
Interior Height 43 in / 109 cm
Floor Area 37 sq ft / 3.5 sq m
Vestibule Area 22 sq ft / 2.0 sq m
Packed Size 5 in x 7 in / 13 cm x 18 cm
Tent Shell Fabric No-See-Um Mesh and 20D PU Nylon
Fly / Vestibule Fabric 20D PU Nylon
Floor Fabric 30D PU Nylon

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