Camp Out with Nemo

Spring has finally sprung and warmer weather campers have started to emerge from hibernation (myself included). After months of planning adventures and getting giddy about heading into the hills, I feel I’m finally ready to pack the bag up and head out. To add to the buzz of planning camping trips for the year, Nemo products have landed at our store and are proving to be a real asset to your camping kit, and I have compiled a few reasons why.

First of all, Nemo is an outdoor specialist brand that designs innovative products such as tents, sleeping pads, sleeping bags and camping accessories and use predominately 100% recycled materials. They use a variety of unique designs and ideas which separate them from majority of the other camping brands available on the market. Features that Nemo construct their products with allow them to be ultralight without eliminating warmth, pack size and comfort. A product already proving popular for us at the moment is the Tensor sleeping pad which comes as a Tensor All Season and a Tensor Extreme.

The Tensor All Season is a lightweight 4 season backpacking mat that weighs from 480g (Size: Regular Mummy) to 664g (Size: Long Wide) and offers a R-Value of 5.4. What separates Nemo mats from others on the market is its innovative design, which is 2 ultra-thin metallized Thermal Mirror film that reflects your body heat back towards you. Keeping the mat silent is its clever floating construction which eliminates the crinkling sound found in other mats. Durability wise, the mat is constructed with a combination of 20D nylon on the top and 40D nylon on the bottom, whilst this offers a fighting chance on punctures, the mat is not invincible which is why it comes with a puncture repair kit should you require it out in the field. The Tensor Extreme is Nemo’s top of the line ultra warm, ultra light mat that is said to be one of the best warmth to weight mat on the market right now. Weighing from 554g (Size: Regular Mummy) to 746g (Size: Long Wide), this mat also offers a R-Value of 8.5, giving you a super warm night sleep in colder evenings. To obtain this high R-Value whilst keeping the weight down, Nemo fit this mat with 4 Thermal Mirror film, whilst using the same floating construction feature found in the Tensor All Season. This again keeps the mat silent for you to enjoy a quiet night sleep.

Not only is Nemo changing the sleeping pad game, they are also producing innovative tents, that come with some seriously neat designs. The Dagger OSMO is Nemo’s best seller, and the features will tell you why. This lightweight tent weighs just 1.82kg (Size: 2 Person) and comes with Nemo’s Divvy Cube which is a stuff sack that allows you to split the tent between 2 people, which is handy if you’re heading into the hills as a pair. The OSMO fabric is PFAS-free (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance) which meets flame retardancy standards without the use of added chemicals, and is also woven from 100% recycled yarns. The OSMO includes some brilliant features to make tent sharing less hassle, including 2 large doors either side of the tent so you’re not having to climb over one another to exit the tent and plenty of inner storage for phones, lights and food. Another handy feature that the tents have is a vestibule storage area, which is essentially a sheet that clips into the corner of the vestibule so you can keep items off of the ground when storing them outside.

To complete the full Nemo trio, a perfect match would be the Nemo Riff sleeping bags. These bags are a lightweight 800 fill power down sleeping bag, weighing in at 1190g (Riff 15 – Size: Regular) and 915g (Riff 30 – Size: Regular). The Riff is made with 100% recycled polyester Ripstop which is coated in DWR. On these bags you’ll find the hood and foot box are reinforced with waterproof material which helps prevent condensation from soaking into the sleeping bags fabric. The shape on the Riff is a spoon shape, which offers you more room at the elbows and knees, creating a more versatile sleeping bag that caters for multiple sleeping positions. To help maintain a perfect temperature, the Riff has 2 zips along the front called Thermo Gills. These Thermo Gill vents allow you create a gap in the baffle which allows heat to escape the bag if you find yourself overheating. If you find yourself starting to get a little cold, the Riff also includes a Blanket Fold design that can create a seal around your neck, stopping any heat from vacating the bag. This sleeping bag is part of the Endless Promise range, which is Nemo’s stand against throwing out old kit. Each Endless Promise product has been engineered for total recyclability, meaning once you have finished with this product, it can be returned back to Nemo so that it can become something new.

I also feel like I have to mention Nemo’s handy and brilliant accessories. The Fillo Pillow is something I will definitely be taking out with me on my camps. Whilst there are lighter and more compact pillows on the market, the Fillo offers a much comfier night without compromising too much weight and pack size. Weighing in at 260g, this pillow is constructed with an inflatable baffled core, topped with a thick luxury foam. After the trip is over, the outer cover is machine washable keeping the pillow fresh. The pillow also comes included with an internal stuff sack for easy storage and packability. Nemo also offers other accessories such as the Nemo Chipper (a compact sit mat), the Nemo Switchback Insulated (a folding closed cell foam mat – R Value: 2.0) and the Nemo Helio LX Pressure Shower.

My overall take on Nemo is that every product has had copious amounts of research and time dedicated to getting the final result right. The innovation and thought process that has gone into making each product is making Nemo a superior brand in the camping industry, and well worth having in your kit.