Sixteen hours of rainforest rain, and Emma never had to crawl out at 2 AM to tighten a sagging fly. That one night is why the Dagger OSMO tops our guide. It scores 89 out of 100 and ranks #1 in our best backpacking tents guide as our best overall backpacking tent.
Best Overall Backpacking Tent
NEMO Dagger OSMO 2P
- Weight (our scale): 4 lb 2 oz packed
- Floor: 90 x 50 in rectangle
- Pad fit (our test): two 25 in pads
- Doors: 2
Bottom Line : Slightly heavier than its rivals, but Emma called its zero-sag OSMO fly a revelation: bone dry and drum-tight through 16 hours of Olympic rainforest rain, with no 2 AM re-tensioning.
Pros
- OSMO fly stayed drum-tight through 16 hours of rain
- True 90 x 50 in rectangle: two 25 in pads fit wall to wall
- Stayed taut in 35 mph coastal wind
- Very low condensation
Cons
- 4 lb 2 oz is a pound more than the Copper Spur
- Corner anchors are fiddly with cold fingers
- The mesh gear tub collects wet forest litter
On the Hoh River Trail
Emma pitched the Dagger on the Hoh River Trail in Olympic National Park in mid-September, through 16 hours of continuous mist and heavy rain. She woke up bone dry. The OSMO fly held its tension all night, so it never touched the inner tent and never wicked water through.
The coast threw 35 mph wind at it as well. The broad sides stayed taut, held by the corner anchors, and the wide gap between fly and inner kept condensation very low.
Inside, the floor is a true 90 x 50 inch rectangle. Two 25 inch rectangular pads fit wall to wall with no overlap, which few tents this light manage. It pitched in 3 minutes 30 seconds and weighed 4 lb 2 oz on Emma's scale, including the Landing Zone gear tub.
Where It Asks Something of You
It weighs a little more than the lightest tents here: 12 oz more than the Hubba Hubba LT 2 and a pound more than the Copper Spur. That weight is the rectangle and the extra room, and Emma thinks it's worth carrying.
Two small things. The ball-and-socket corner anchors are hard to pop out with numb fingers, and in the wet forest the mesh gear tub collected so much litter that Emma had to brush it out on its own.
Spec Sheet vs Our Test
3x less stretch when wet. NEMO says its OSMO poly-nylon fabric has 3x less stretch when wet. That's the claim that matters most to a backpacker, because stretch is what makes a fly sag onto the inner tent. Emma's 16 hours in the Olympic rainforest backed it up: no sag and no 2 AM re-tensioning. If you camp in wet places, this is the feature you're paying for.
Category-leading interior space. NEMO says it raised the door, peak and shoulder heights to stay the category leader for usable space. Emma's test was simpler: the pad test. Two 25 inch rectangular pads lay flat side by side on the 90 x 50 inch floor, which they didn't in the Copper Spur, Tiger Wall or Telos. For two people on wide pads, that's real.
A bigger vestibule. NEMO says a strut adds 22% to the vestibule. We didn't measure it, but the vestibule and the Landing Zone tub swallowed the gear. The tub's downside is that it gathers wet forest litter.
Should You Buy the NEMO Dagger OSMO 2P?
Yes, if you hike where it rains or you sleep on wide pads. It's the tent Emma and Ryan both put first, because the fly that stays tight through a long wet night fixes the worst part of backpacking in bad weather.
If weight matters more than rain, look at the MSR Hubba Hubba LT 2, which scored a point higher overall thanks to its lighter weight and quicker pitch, or the Copper Spur if you're on 20 inch pads.
Compare With
- MSR Hubba Hubba LT 2: our highest-rated tent.
- Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2: our most livable for the weight.
- Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Plus: our best for wind and wet shoulder seasons.
- Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 2: our best for short walk-ins and dogs.
- MSR Elixir 2: our most durable.
- Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2: our lightest two-person tent.
- ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 2: our best budget tent.
- Kelty Late Start 2P: our fastest pitch.
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1: our best solo tent.
- Naturehike Cloud Up 2: our best budget ultralight.
See all 11, and how we tested them, in our best backpacking tents guide. For family and car-camping tents, start at our camping tents hub.
Editor's Note, 17 October 2026: New review, from the field notes of Emma, who tested this tent for our backpacking tent guide and weighed it on her own scale.
Our Testers
This review was edited by Sean Williams and tested by Emma Williams.
- Sean Williams, Editor-in-Chief. Sean built the team of researchers and testers behind our reviews and sets the rule the site runs on: we buy what we test, and we say what we found.
- Ryan Williams, Lead Tester. Ryan reviewed the rankings against Emma's notes and agreed the Dagger belongs at #1.
- Emma Williams, Editor and Tester. Emma leads our tent, camp kitchen and footwear testing, mostly in wet weather, and tested every tent in this guide.
