Review: Nemo Dagger Osmo Tent (2025)

Nemo’s Osmo tents have long been WIRED favorites. The proprietary, hybrid Osmo fabric is a blend of nylon and polyester, with dual coatings (silicone on the outside, poly on the inside) that offer the weatherproofing of polyester with much of the durability of nylon. The Osmo Dagger we reviewed several years ago is still going strong.

Earlier this year Nemo revamped the entire Dagger Osmo tent to be fully Bluesign compliant (previously just the fabric was). It now offers slightly more headroom, thanks to a pole redesign. The new model is also $30 cheaper.

Fabric Osmosis

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Nemo's Osmo fabric first arrived in 2022 after two years of research, development, and testing. Where most tents are either nylon or polyester, Osmo is a proprietary blend of both. Nemo's product development director, Gabriel Rosenbrien, told WIRED in that one of the company's goals with Osmo was to find a way to overcome the stretching of nylon (which absorbs water and sags), while also avoiding the downsides of polyester—namely, that it's not quite a strong as nylon.

This is bit of an oversimplification. Factors such as the coating used, the density and type of weave, and other design choices make comparing nylon and polyester something of an apples-to-oranges prospect. In general, both nylon and polyester have strengths and weaknesses. Osmo is Nemo's attempt to pull in the strengths of both while avoiding the weaknesses, and I think the company has succeeded.

I have spent 25 nights now in the previous model and a week in the new one, including one of the heaviest rains I've ever experienced, and I've found Osmo to be plenty durable and great at shedding the rain.

New for 2025

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Coming in at just under 4 pounds, the Dagger is on the heavy side for what it is, but split between two people the weight is acceptable for what you get. This is an especially livable backcountry tent that's roomier than most.

At 88 inches long and 50 inches wide, there's just room for two 25-inch sleeping pads, something you won't pull off with most ultralight tents. Lengthwise, I had plenty of room without touching the ends with my bag hood or footbox. I'm 5' 11", but anyone up to about 6'3" would likely be fine. Another nice aspect is that the foot end of the tent doesn't taper inward, which means even at your feet your bag has almost no contact with the sides, making it easier to avoid any condensation.

There hasn't been much condensation in my experience, though. There's plenty of mesh at the top (which is also great for staring up at the stars on those clear nights when you don't need the fly), which allows for plenty of airflow. Even on some humid Midwestern nights, condensation coming off the rainfly was not an issue. The Osmo fabric's polyester content also ensures that the there is very little sag, even after wet nights.

Another aspect that makes the Dagger feel roomy are the very steep sidewalls, which are pretty much vertical thanks to the mid-center cross pole. As part of the 2025 redesign, the interior height is now 43 inches. This is the tallest freestanding tent that I'm aware of, beating the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 ($408), which tops out at 40 inches, and Nemo's Hornet 2P ($450) which, while lighter, is also only 40 inches tall.

Unchanged from last year is the nice, deep bathtub floor, which comes up about 6 inches, offering good protection from rain back-splash and any runoff from pitching your tent in the wrong place. If you're selecting your pitch site well, this shouldn't happen, but sometimes circumstances intervene and it's dark or you're the last person to the group site and don't have first pick.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

If you look at the photos, you'll notice that the rainfly arcs up at each end of the tent. This saves a bit on weight and improves ventilation, but it was one area that worried me when I reviewed the 3-person version years ago. Thankfully this has never been an issue, the bathtub floor (which is what is exposed below the fly) has proved plenty waterproof in my use.

Speaking of bathtub floors, there is a clip-in vestibule floor that's also a bathtub shape. Nemo calls this the Landing Zone. It's a little extra triangle of fabric that covers about half the vestibule and protects any gear you've stored there from back-splash and any water that might come under the fly. There are stays in the rainfly to help it maintain its bathtub shape.

The Landing Zone weighs next to nothing (1.7 ounces) and makes the vestibule much more usable, keeping your gear dry even if the ground gets wet. It's a nice feature I've come to appreciate on rainy days.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

What I really like about Nemo's tents over other options, like the Copper Spur tents, is the attention to detail. The Landing Zone, the ceiling headlamp pocket (which turn your headlight into a lantern, complete with reddish light), the quick clip fly attachment, the fact that the near vertical sidewalls mean the doors can use a straight zipper (which you can open with one hand), the nice hooks that allow you to roll the vestibule and inner doors out of the way … all adds up to a living experience that trumps most other tents I've tested.

There are a couple of trade-offs here. The big one is weight. This is not the tent for ultralight backpackers, thru-hikers, or anyone looking for a very low-weight, minimalist structure. If that's you, look to tarps and non-freestanding tents like the Lunar Solo. Again, though, split between two people, I think a 4-pound tent like the Dagger is perfectly acceptable.

The other trade-off: The Nemo is toward the high end of the price spectrum. In my experience, the combination of high quality materials, durability, and attention to detail make the Dagger Osmo 2P worth the investment.