NEMO Blaze 2P

Great UL tent for two people. IMO better than Big Agnes or other ULs.

Just  back from a 4-day trip with this tent and I'm very impressed. The main plus: very roomy, one of the few UL tents which says it's 2P and can actually be used by 2P for several days running. 

My sweetheart and I are 5'7" and 5'8". We were both able to sit up fully in the tent, plenty of room to lie down without constantly bumping into each other, and the dual side doors were great for ingress/egress. On a clear night without the fly the full-mesh interior gave great star views. With the fly on, no condensation issues or cramped feeling. 

We had one afternoon of thundershowers and mild rain, stayed dry. Here, though, is my main concern about the tent: the rain fly doesn't come all the way down past the bathtub floor at foot/head of tent. The bathtub floor got a little wet but didn't leak into the tent. I think this will be fine for light-rain areas like Sierras but I'd hesitate relying on it if you're in heavy windy-rainy conditions: you'd probably be OK, but get a little damp. Maybe placing back with raincover on it in front of bathtub floor would help in a pinch. 

Other mild cons: 

• Not free-standing, requires two stakes. All told, though, when pitched this was a tauter nicer setup than my previous Big Agnes, and fly hooked in to the various tabs nicely. 
• One corner of bathtub foot of inner mesh sags slightly, not a big problem and can be guyed out  if wanted or even jury-rigged to attach to a tab of rainfly 
• Very thin fabric, of course, which comes with UL territory. You have to be careful with any of this breed. Definitely use a footprint — although I'd suggest using polypro for the weight and $$ savings (I purchased the over-pricey NEMO footprint because I was still trying out the tent, wasn't sure if I'd want to return it & wanted to make sure not to damage it. The NEMO footprint has some nice features but is a few ounces heavier, not to mention $$, and now that I've been out with the tent, I'd feel comfortably using polypro for footprint). 

Compared to other UL1P/2P  tents: 

• I previously was using a Big Agnes Copper Spur 2P which I returned because I didn't like the zippers, the way the lower portions of the tent sagged, and wanted more peak height. Also the BA was fine for 1P but cramped for 2P. 
• I've tried my friends' BA Fly Creek 2P and peak height is too low and sides of tent too narrow for 2P (manageable but not comfy). 
• For many years I used an MSR 1P Hubba — definitely more sturdy than either BA or NEMO, good peak height but very very narrow. Also at 3+ lb you can definitely feel the difference when you're trying to go more UL (as I am, now that I'm 66 — and boy does UL make a difference. Every ounce counts!)

I'm very happy with this tent. I like it enough I'm thinking about getting a 1P version for just myself (not sure I can justify spending the $$ for the extra 5 oz. weight savings, but I'm sure the 1P would be roomy enough). If the rainfly were a little lower to the ground I'd give it 5 stars. As is, I'd give it 4 1/2. It's definitely better than good.