[An Honest Review] NEMO Dragonfly Bike Pack 1P: It's a waste to keep it just for touring! A comfortable and convenient freestanding tent for hiking

NEMO is an American outdoor manufacturer that continues to amaze us with its inventive and innovative outdoor gear. This time, we will be reviewing the Dragonfly Bike Pack 1P .

You might be wondering, "Oh, Outdoorgearzine has started reviewing bikepacking gear?" While this tent, as its name suggests, is designed for bikepackers, it's actually based on the Dragonfly™ Ultralight Backpacking Tent, a backpacking tent sold in the United States. This model, adapted for bikepacking, has some subtle tweaks not found in regular mountaineering tents, but even with these in mind—or even worse, it's not an exaggeration to say that these are convenient features not found in other mountaineering or backpacking tents—its appeal lies in its novel, comfortable feel

Let's take a quick look at what kind of tent the Dragonfly Bikepack is, and what makes it a great tent for not only bikepackers but backpackers alike

NEMO Dragonfly Bike Pack 1P Overview

The NEMO Dragonfly Bikepack 1P is a freestanding, double-wall tent adapted from the Dragonfly™ ultralight backpacking tent, originally released in the United States, for optimal comfort when camping on a bike. Striking the ideal balance between lightness and livability, the tent boasts a carefully designed freestanding structure, a spacious interior, a large vestibule, and versatile storage. While incorporating NEMO's accumulated know-how in backpacking tents, the inner tent, fly, poles, and even the storage bag are all specifically designed for bikers. Lightweight and functional enough for backpacking, this versatile tent truly embodies the NEMO signature.

Recommended points

• Indoor comfort
• Convenient storage spaces scattered throughout the building
• Large vestibule and landing zone
• Waterproof compression storage bag that can be attached to the handlebars
• Compact storage (especially with short poles)

Points of concern

• Weather resistance (especially rain)
• Durability is a bit questionable for serious mountain climbing
• The legroom is a little narrow
• Mesh model only

Main specifications and evaluation

Dragonfly Bike Pack 1P Detailed Review

A compact and lightweight tent designed for bikepackers

The set includes an inner tent, fly, poles, nine pegs, and four guy lines. There are three storage bags: one for the tent and poles, one for the poles, and one for the pegs. However, because the poles fold up short, they can all be stored in the main storage bag. The peg bag is a little large and sturdy, so it may be possible to store bicycle tools in addition to the pegs

Storage is divided into the inner tent, fly, poles, and pegs, but all can be stored within the main body

There are two sets of poles: the main pole splits into two at both ends, and the other sub-pole is used to expand the ceiling space. The pole material is DAC's reliable Featherlite® NSL 8.5mm. There are nine pegs in total, just enough to ensure you won't run out of space even if you use all the included guy lines. While not particularly lightweight at 19g each, the sturdy construction makes them less likely to come loose and makes them extremely durable

The pegs are not light, but they are made to be sturdy, so they are unlikely to break easily

The inner tent is entirely mesh except for the floor, making it highly breathable, but the floor is made of durable 30D fabric for increased durability and wind resistance

The inner tent is mostly made of mesh fabric

Although this is a typical motorcycle part, the fly is a stealth design with a dark color and no reflective material whatsoever. This is a theft prevention design that makes it difficult to be spotted from the outside even when camping outdoors

A dark colored fly that blends in with the darkness

Finally, the weight of each part. The minimum weight (inner tent, fly, and poles) was 1006g, just over 1000g. Including the pegs and storage bag, it was 1303g. The breakdown is: inner tent 323g, fly 306g, main storage bag 81g, poles + storage bag 389g (377g + 12g), pegs + storage bag 187g (19.5g x 9 + storage bag 12.8g)

Intuitive setup, typical of NEMO

Now let's get setting up

The entrance is on the long side, so first check the position and then lay the inner tent flat

Check the location of the entrance and lay the inner tent flat

Next, extend the poles and secure them to the four corners of the inner tent. As you can see in the photo, both ends of the poles are forked, but each end is a different color: yellow on the right and gray on the left, facing the entrance

Fix the pole

The colors of the inner tent corners and the parts where the poles are secured are the same, so you can intuitively avoid making a mistake. This is very helpful when working in the dark or when you are tired. Once you have secured the poles, hook them onto the poles and raise the inner tent

The part that secures the pole and the pole itself are the same color, so it's hard to make a mistake

The short sub-pole is connected to the inner tent by crossing it over the main pole and then hooking it in. Thanks to this sub-pole, the ceiling space is quite spacious. It's rare to find a solo tent with such a wide ceiling, right?

Thanks to the sub-pole, the ceiling is quite spacious

Just put the fly on and you're done. The fly can be secured with a single touch, so you won't have any trouble. Nine pegs are included, and if you use four of the included guy lines, you'll end up with exactly nine. There's enough tension even without the guy lines, so unless there's strong wind or heavy rain, you probably won't need to use the guy lines to tension it

All that's left to do is cover it with fries and it's done

Features designed by bikepackers for bikepacking are scattered throughout (comfortable and convenient for hiking)

One of the designers of this tent is a bikepacker himself, and it seems to have incorporated the features he wanted in a tent for bikepacking

The first thing that makes it clear that it's designed for bikepackers is that the entire set can be attached to the handlebars. The storage bag is a waterproof roll-top style, so you can stuff everything in, compress it, and attach it directly to the handlebars. As shown in the photo, it can also be attached to drop bars, which are narrower than flat bars. The storage bag is made of thick, waterproof, and durable fabric, so the contents will not be affected by rain or stones flying from the road

The roll-top storage bag allows the entire tent to be attached to the handle

In the vestibule, you can create a space called a landing zone. You can place dirty items you don't want inside the tent, or conversely, protect your belongings from wetness and mud on the ground. This is a convenient place to store and organize items that you don't use inside the tent. It's an idea that only a cyclist could come up with

Half of the vestibule is a landing zone where you can store dirty clothes

The inner tent has daisy chains, which can be used for a variety of purposes, such as hanging wet gloves or dishes

The inner tent has daisy chains, which are convenient for hanging things

An interior space that is too comfortable for a single person

The legroom is a little narrow, but it's spacious enough for one person to sleep in. The floor space isn't that large, but you can organize your luggage using the landing zone in the vestibule, so it's sufficient

The room is spacious enough for one person to sleep in

The inner tent is made entirely of mesh, which provides excellent breathability, but the windproof floor fabric is of a moderate height, especially around the head area, so the wind won't blow through and brush your face while you sleep

The floor fabric of the head is set high

The ceiling is not only high thanks to the sub-pole, but also quite wide, which reduces the feeling of oppression and makes it more comfortable. It also has a large mesh pocket and a headlamp pocket that diffuses the light from your headlamp

There is a large mesh pocket on the ceiling

Although it is not large enough to store a bicycle, the vestibule is quite spacious, so even if you load the landing zone to the brim with luggage, there is still plenty of room to cook on the other side

The vestibule is quite spacious, and it looks like you could do anything from organizing your luggage to cooking

Thanks to this spacious vestibule, this solo tent feels quite voluminous

When viewed from the side, it has a volume that makes it hard to believe it is a solo tent

The floor fabric of the inner tent at the head end is set higher, so the fly is shorter, so I'm worried that if it rains heavily, the rain will hit it directly

The end of the fly closest to the head is quite high

The flies on the long side of the tent can all be rolled up, providing a very open feeling. You might even be able to do some bicycle maintenance from inside the tent

Summary: Recommended for these people

The product name includes the word "bike pack," so at first glance, this tent may seem unattractive to mountain climbing and hiking enthusiasts, but I hope that anyone who has read this far will understand that it would be premature to think that way

Even the base backpacking model is an excellent freestanding tent that strikes a high level of balance between weight, livability, and ease of use. Both models are available in the US, but unfortunately the backpacking model is not available in Japan. This bikepacking model is about 100g heavier in total, but it has many benefits that make it useful for hiking and mountain climbing, such as a waterproof and compressible storage bag, short poles that can be stored compactly, and daisy chains and landing zones for organizing your luggage. In fact, I personally think this model might be the more worthy choice

As expected, there may be some concerns about weather resistance and durability when it comes to serious mountaineering. However, for hikers looking for a lightweight tent that doesn't want to sacrifice livability (comfort), this is a very versatile, well-balanced tent that can be used for a wide range of activities, from bikepacking and touring trips to hiking, backpacking, and camping

Nemo Dragonfly Bike Pack 1-Piece Touring Tent (NM-DFBP-1P)

created by Rinker

NEMO

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