NEMO Stargaze Chairs, Tents and Camp Tables

What NEMO makes for campers and hunters

On this site, NEMO Equipment covers three things: tents, camp chairs and one camp table. The grid above shows what's on Amazon right now, filtered by type. It changes week to week, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed today.

The tents run from the Aurora Highrise, a family tent you can stand up in, down to the Hornet Elite OSMO, which the maker builds for people who count ounces. The chairs run the same direction: the Stargaze EVO-X is the heavy, plush one, and the Moonlite is the one that fits in a backpack.

NEMO's own site also sells sleeping pads, sleeping bags, blankets and camp showers. This site doesn't list those.

Rule of thumb for reading the specs below: NEMO gives two tent weights. "Minimum weight" is the tent stripped to the parts you can't sleep without. "Packed weight" is everything in the bag: stakes, guylines, stuff sack. I quote packed weight, because that's the number your shoulders meet.

The NEMO Stargaze and the other reclining chairs

The chair names sort by how far you'll carry them and how far you want to lean back.

Stargaze: the swinging recliner

The NEMO Stargaze reclining camp chair hangs its seat from a frame on tensioned straps, so it swings a little and tilts back when you lean. The maker calls this auto-recline: no levers, you just shift your weight. It lists the chair at 7 lb 13 oz minimum weight, with an aluminum frame, a padded headrest you can move up or down, and side pouches for a phone or keys.

It's a chair you assemble. NEMO says the current version has a redesigned pole setup with fewer steps, and the poles are curved to give broad shoulders more room. It packs into a carry case about 26.5 inches long.

Here's the thing about a swinging seat at a fire ring: it moves when you reach for the coffee. That's the design, not a flaw. Set your cup on the table, not the ground.

Stargaze EVO-X: the folding version

The EVO-X keeps the swing and the auto-recline but trades the aluminum poles for a steel frame that unfolds in one motion. No assembly. The maker lists it at 13 lb 12 oz, a 300-pound weight capacity, and a packed length of 40 inches, with six points of ground contact and flared feet.

That's a lot of chair. It's the one you leave by the truck, not the one you carry to a ridge. Plain and simple.

Moonlite: the backpacking chair

The Moonlite is the light one: 1 lb 15 oz on the maker's spec sheet, packing to about 14.5 inches long. It recline-adjusts with a pulley built into the armrest straps; you pull the buckles to lean back and pull again while sitting up to come forward. The seat clips to the frame with ball-and-socket connectors, and NEMO says the webbing and mesh are 100% post-consumer recycled material.

It sits lower and smaller than the Stargaze (the maker's dimensions are 20 by 20 by 25 inches). Fine for a lunch break. My knees have opinions about low chairs by the second morning, and they're usually right.

Satellite: the high-back recliner

The Satellite sits between the two: 3 lb 9 oz, a high back with a padded headrest, and a recline system in the armrests. Its carry case unfolds flat under the chair to add footing on sand or soft ground, which the maker calls Platform Pack.

Moonlander: the table that goes with them

The Moonlander is a small camp table with two heights. Flat on the ground, it's a low tray for a picnic blanket. Twist-lock the aluminum legs in, and it's a side table at chair height. NEMO lists it at 4 lb 13 oz, says the top is heat-resistant and cleans easily, and says it fits a backpack's laptop sleeve. Bigger tables are on the camping table page.

NEMO tents, from family size to ultralight

Aurora Highrise: the standing-height tent

The Aurora Highrise is NEMO's family tent. The 4-person version has a 75-inch peak height, a floor of 90 by 100 inches, two doors and two vestibules, and a packed weight of 15 lb 14 oz. The floor is 150D polyester, a heavier fabric than any other tent on this page. NEMO says its fabrics meet flame-retardant standards without harmful chemicals.

Seventy-five inches is 6 foot 3. Most of the crew can stand up straight to pull on boots, which is the whole reason you'd pick a tent like this. It's built for a campsite you drive to. More tents in this class are on the 4 person tent and car camping tent pages.

Aurora: the roomy backpacking tent

The Aurora (without "Highrise") is a freestanding 2- or 3-person tent with near-vertical walls, two doors and a footprint included in the box. Packed weight is 5 lb 10 oz for the 2P and 6 lb 14 oz for the 3P, per the maker. Peak height is 44 inches on the 2P. The maker lists backpacking and car camping as its uses. It's the heaviest of NEMO's backpacking tents here, and the roomiest for that weight.

Dagger OSMO: the livable backpacker

The Dagger OSMO is freestanding, with two doors and two vestibules. NEMO lists the 2P at 3 lb 15 oz packed and 43 inches tall, the 3P at 4 lb 7 oz and 44 inches. The vestibules on the 2P are 12.1 square feet each. It comes with a Landing Zone storage tub for muddy boots, and the maker says the Dagger was the first backpacking tent certified as a bluesign product at launch.

Dragonfly OSMO and Dragonfly Bikepack OSMO

The Dragonfly is lighter than the Dagger and still freestanding. Packed weights from the maker: 2 lb 12 oz (1P), 3 lb 5 oz (2P), 3 lb 15 oz (3P). Peak heights run 40 to 42 inches. A crossbar at the top spreads the roof, which NEMO says gives near-horizontal headroom across the tent, not only at the center. The 1P has one door; the 2P and 3P have two.

The Bikepack version has the same floor plan but packs into a short, round dry bag (16 inches long) sized for bicycle handlebars. NEMO lists backpacking and kayak or canoe trips as its uses. Packed, it weighs 3 lb 2 oz (1P) or 3 lb 12 oz (2P), a little more than the backpacking version because of that bag.

Hornet OSMO and Hornet Elite OSMO: the ultralight pair

The Hornets are semi-freestanding: the poles hold up most of the tent, but you need stakes to finish the shape. That's how they save weight. The Hornet OSMO is listed at 2 lb 4 oz (1P), 2 lb 8 oz (2P) and 3 lb 5 oz (3P) packed. Its canopy is 15D nylon ripstop, the thinnest fabric on this page.

The Hornet Elite OSMO goes further: DAC Featherlite poles, a canopy of no-see-um mesh under the fly, and 1 lb 13 oz packed for the 1P, 2 lb 1 oz for the 2P. The 2P's peak height is 37 inches. That's sitting room, not dressing room.

Kunai: the 3–4 season tent

The Kunai is the odd one out. NEMO calls it a 3–4 season backpacking tent and lists mountaineering, backpacking and winter camping as its uses. It's freestanding, with DAC poles, a tapered profile the maker says sheds wind, rain and snow, and one door with one vestibule. Packed weights: 4 lb 5 oz (2P) and 5 lb 10 oz (3P). The floor is listed at a 3000 mm water rating, the highest on any NEMO tent here.

Switch

The Switch multi-configuration 2-person tent and shelter is in the grid too. Its details there come from the Amazon listing.

What OSMO means on a NEMO tent

OSMO is NEMO's own name for the fabric on the Dagger, Dragonfly and Hornet tents. The maker says it has lifetime water repellency, three times less stretch when wet than similar fabrics, no PFAS chemicals, and that it's made from 100% recycled yarns. On the spec sheets, the OSMO rainflies are rated 1200 to 1500 mm and the OSMO floors 1200 to 2000 mm.

Those millimeter numbers are a water-column rating: higher means the fabric resists more water pressure before it leaks through. Waterproof tents from other brands are on the waterproof tent page.

How to choose within the NEMO lineup

Start with how far the tent travels

If the tent goes from the truck to a flat spot 50 feet away, packed weight hardly matters. Take the Aurora Highrise or the Aurora, and spend the weight on headroom. If it rides on your back for miles, the Dragonfly, Hornet and Hornet Elite are the ones the maker built for that.

Then count doors

My one opinion on this page: if two people share a tent, get two doors. Every 2P and 3P tent in NEMO's backpacking lineup here has two doors and two vestibules, except the Kunai, which has one. One door means somebody climbs over somebody at 4:30 a.m. to find their boots. Ask me which side of the tent I sleep on. (The door side. I've earned it.)

Then check the floor width

NEMO's capacity labels are honest about bodies, not gear. The 2P floors in this lineup run about 50 to 53 inches wide at the head end, and several taper toward the foot (the Hornet 2P goes from 51 down to 43 inches). Two adults fit. Add two duffels and a wet dog, and it turns into a negotiation. If you want room for the duffels, buy one size up. The camping tent page covers capacity across brands.

For chairs: setup style first

Pick the chair by how you want to set it up. Assemble poles (Stargaze, Moonlite, Satellite) and you save weight. Unfold in one motion (EVO-X) and you carry steel. Then check the weight capacity NEMO lists for the model you're looking at. More chairs are on the camping chair and ultralight camping chair pages.

Care and storage, per NEMO

NEMO's care guide is short and worth following:

• Wipe light dirt with a wet cloth
• Hand-wash heavy dirt with a technical fabric wash, never a washing machine
• Never machine-dry; heat can melt the fabrics
• Dry the tent fully before storing it
• Store it loosely in a breathable sack, not compressed in its stuff sack
• Keep zippers clean, especially after sand or salt air

Small tears can be patched with an adhesive repair patch, on both sides for mesh. Bigger repairs go to NEMO's repair service. The storage rule is the one people skip. A tent rolled up damp in October smells like October all winter.

A fuel-burning heater, stove or lantern doesn't belong inside a tent you sleep in. The CPSC warns against using them in tents because of carbon monoxide. If you want heat inside, that's a different kind of tent; see the hot tent page.

NEMO warranty basics

NEMO lists a lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship and materials, for the original purchaser, with proof of purchase from an authorized dealer. Used gear and garage-sale finds don't qualify. Normal wear, misuse, neglect and unauthorized modifications aren't covered. NEMO repairs or replaces covered gear at its discretion, and offers credit only when the product is no longer made.

US claims start online; you get a return number and send the item clean and dry. NEMO says claims take two to six weeks.

Who's behind NEMO

NEMO says it's headquartered in Dover, New Hampshire. Its about page says founder Cam Brensinger had the idea in 2002 after a bad night in a bivy on Mount Washington. He started the company in the spring of his senior year at the Rhode Island School of Design and debuted the brand publicly in 2004. The name comes from Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, and the company points out it also reads as New England Mountain Outfitters. NEMO describes itself as founder owned. This page doesn't cover where the tents and chairs are made.

Write the tent's packed weight and capacity on the stuff sack in marker. Next September, you'll pick the right bag off the shelf on the first try.