Reviews for

Nomad Lite Tent

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Lite - N - Airy   Tent

Below are photos and my thoughts on my first camping trip with the Nomad Lite

The photos were taken by Michael Connick

So your telling me my entire shelter is all in this little sack?  I got screwed big time on this swindle deal.

Here's the whole 1.5 pound Nomad Lite in stuff sack

Its not going to be big enough I know it.   I mean their just isn't going to be enough room in this shelter.

Tent pegs are placed at foot and head of Nomad Lite

I didn't use a ground cloth this day.  The ground is sand and drains water very well.

I'm claustrophobic and you want me to sleep in there?

Opening entrance to install hiking staffs as support fo Nomad Lite

At this point when the 2 tent pegs are in place and the rains were coming, you can crawl into tent and extend hiking staffs completely out of the rain. 

Or was I just catching a power nap?

Installing spreader bar at foot of Nomad Lite

The hiking staffs were in place at this time.

This shelter is plenty big enough for little old me.  I knew it all the time.  I just knew it was the right choice.

Nomad Lite set up and ready to go

In fair weather you can use Nomad Lite just this way without vestible set up

The vestible wasn't set up as yet and the noseeum entrance was drapped off to side secured to velcro strip provided it allows for easier entry and exit from Nomad Lite

It really looks huge in this picture.  I probably could carry more gear with such a large shelter? 

Rear sides of Nomad Lite

You can see noseeum window with awning and short shock cord to secure awning in inclement weather by attaching shock cord hook to loop in awning

Head end Foot end

There is more room in this tent than I had when I was in the USN for 3 years 11 months and 17 days but then again who was counting the days?  Boy was I smart in making the decision to buy this tent or what?

Nomad Lite all set up and ready for use

As soon as Michael's finishes taking these pictures I'm taking another power nap.

Vestible is secured to pole and held in place with shock cors and tent peg.

Have foot end facing prevailing winds offers the least resistance to winds and rain.

With hiking staffs installed the Nomad Lite is free standing.  If needed after you've set up Nomad Lite you can move it by removing tent peg at head, foot, and vestible and rotate it or move it else where.  Once it is relocated just put the 3 tent pegs back into position. 

This is my thoughts on first camping use with the Nomad Lite

Hi Folks,
I christened my Nomad Lite Saturday night and I’m here to tell you this tent is awesome.
All that Kurt has been touting is true and then some. I’ll have pictures up on my web site
in a day or 2 showing details on tent.
I have no financial interest in Kurt’s business and have not been promised or expect a
reward for submitting this report. The only reason I’m doing this is to pass on information
to other hikers about a piece of equipment I own and use.
As advertised the Nomad Lite is 1 1/2 pounds or 24 ounces for you ounce weenies:)
It comes in a stow bag about 18” long by 3”. This stow bag holds tent and 3 poles. The
tent alone could be stored in a stow bag 6” by 3”. The color of the stow bag is the same
as the color of the tent. The 3 tent poles came in a stow bag that is about 18” by 2”.
Mine came in a black nylon. It also comes with a shock cord for securing vestible poles in
place. The floor of all tents are black in color. A variety of colors are available for walls
and roof. I chose the silver/grey color.
How I set up Nomad Lite Tent:
It is a very easy design for setting up this tent. The first time it took me maybe 5 minutes.
After doing it 1/2 dozen times it takes around 3 minutes. After more practice I can see 2
minutes being the time needed to set this tent up properly. You get detailed instructions
with tent. That are easy to read and understand. I’m not a good written direction person
and I had no real problem following these directions at all.
1. Remove tent from stow bag.
2. Place ground cloth down.
3. Using 2 stakes, one at head and one at foot, place them in webbed loops. Not tight
have some slack.
4. Using 2 hiking staffs place them in the assigned location inside the tent. Both staff
points are secured in a plastic elbow near front entrance. At this point tent is secure in the
upright location.
5. 1 of the 3 poles that comes with tent is placed in brackets near the foot of the tent. This
is called a spreader bar. It widens the foot of the tent so that is is more room inside.
6. The 2 other poles attach together and the tip is placed through the grommet in the
vestible roof. Pull the vestible taunt and attach shock cord to pole tip and secure with 2
tent pegs. Loops are preinstalled in shock cord.
7. The side window with noseeum has a bendable wire sewn into window awning. This
awning has a loop sewn in it. Attach shock cord that has plastic hook to loop and window
awning is now secure.
8. Entrance way has a large piece of noseeum with velcro attached to edge. Just run your
finger over edge and opening is bug secured.
9. Inside tent just to the left of opening is a 4” long shock cord with a plastic hook. You
can roll up the noseeum to top of opening and pass the shock cord under it and attach
hook to small webbed loop. This keeps noseeum completely out of way when not needed.
I hung my rope lanyard attached to my flashlight there. It allowed me easy access to flash
light if needed during night.
10. You can also undo the bottom section of noseeum and attach it to 6” velcro strip
attached to exterior of tent. This allows for noseeum to cover about 1/3 the opening when
not needed. It also makes for easy access in and out of tent.
11. You can roll up vestible and with a attached shock cord secure it against top of tent
for star gazing when wanted.
12. With 2 hiking staffs set up inside tent and 2 tent pegs at top and foot of tent the tent is
basically free standing.
When you set the tent up have the foot section facing prevailing winds. This will greatly
assist in keeping rain from coming in entrance way. After I had set my tent up the winds
changed direction and all I had to do is pull out one peg from foot or head of tent and
swing the tent around. You then need to set up vestible pole and pegs and reset your
ground cloth. Having the foot face the wind allows for the wind to go up the slooping
body of tent buffing it a lot less than if solid side was facing wind. You also can feel the
breeze come in the side window inside tent.
I’m 5’10” 185 pounds. I placed my sleeping pad on the floor of the tent with sleeping bag
on top of it. My Duraflex Journey pack was laying next to windowed wall on floor. My
shoes went by window at foot of tent. This window is completely protected by vestible
section of tent. At the head of the tent I put my clothes I would be wearing in am. On the
side by the entrance up to head of tent I put some doda’s and stuff. There is a good
amount of room inside of tent for 1 person and all their gear. I had my winter gear list
with me with some extras and had room to spare. As far as 2 people sleeping inside the
tent I don’t know about that. One all gear would be stored outside tent. It could be
stored easily under vestible for sure. Doing this will still offer considerable weather
protection for packs. If I was to sleep with 2 people. It would have to be with my wife.
It is very tight quartered for 2 people but in a pinch could be done. Like I said I would
much rather it be my wife laying beside me.
Quality of workmanship in Nomad Lite Tent:
1. Stitching looked very professtional and neat. If you ask how many stitches per inch
my answer is a lot;)
2. Seams were all very neatly and fully sealed with whatever substance Kurt uses.
3. Everything looked like it fit quite well into place.
4. The fabric is almost translucent.
All in all I am quite impressed with the quality of workmanship with this tent.
First field test of Nomad Lite Tent:
Night time temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees on January 23, 1999. Figure that one
will you? End of January and its 50 degrees during the night. As a matter of fact
Saturday’s high was 67 degrees in Jersey.
Weather forecast heavy rains with winds gusting to 40 mph. Tent was set up next to a
river in a open area with pine trees around perimeter. Rain scheduled to start around
midnight and continuing throughout the night. Tent was set up around 4 pm and around 8
pm the winds picked up gusts I would put at 35 mph. Rains came right at midnight. First
time I can remember the weather report being that correct. The gusts of wind buffed the
tent with no ill effects. They swirled around the tent at times I thought I was going to be
lifted off the ground. No rain at all entered tent. None at all. I had vestible fully set up
and it stayed secure throughout the night. I’m claustrophobic and this didn’t happen
inside this tent at all. It rained extremly hard and the wind pelted the exterior of the tent
with the rain. No rain entered through the side window and the awning stayed intact
during the whole night. Some condensation occurred inside tent. It wasn’t dripping down
the sides of the tent and the floor of the tent remained dry throughout this night. Except
for some condensation under sleeping pad. I wasn’t using ground cloth this night.
In the morning the rain let up around 7 am and didn’t continue till 8 am. I was able sit up
comfortable inside tent to reload my pack with all my gear. You can tose and turn all you
want in this tent and be fine. I know this as that is my normal way of sleeping.
Taking down Nomad Lite Tent:
1. Remove spreader bar from inside
2. Remove vestible from pole support. Even if raining the interior stays dry this way. The
entire entrance is now covered by vestible.
3. Remove 2 hiking staffs.
4. Tent is now flat on ground.
5. Store in stow bag.  I suggest you put the head end of tent in first and start stuffing.  This way the air can be expelled from interior of tent via entrance and foot vent.  If you store tent feet first the air billows at the head section.
As the tent exterior was wet as was stow bag I stored mine with side compression straps
of pack. If it was going to be set up for another night of camping I can see where you
would have the dry up water from inside of tent after you set it up again. This is very
common when storing a wet tent and having to set it up again the following night for use.
Been there, done that and got the shirt to prove it.
My conclusion of test with the Nomad Lite Tent:
I am totally impressed with this tent. It survived a night of heavy rain with wind gusts of
35 mph in flying colors according to my book. I couldn’t have asked for better
circumstances to try this tent out for the first time.
Michael Connick http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/ was camping with me and he
called Kurt up and ordered one for himself. Unless somebody else comes up with a
similarly designed tent that is lighter I’ll be taking this tent on my AT thru-hike this year.
Have a good one.
John O

Lite - N - Airy Review

I have the prototype of the Nomad Lite-N-Airy, which I purchased. I
have
no connection with Wanderlust Gear.

I tested the Nomad Lite-N-Airy on my through hike of Vermont's 270-mile
Long Trail. I spent almost every night on the trail in my Nomad during
the
trip and encountered rain and cold temps at times. I have used it on 3
short trips since I returned from the Long trail. I am 5'7" and about
145
lb.

Description:
The Nomad Lite-N-Airy is the same interior size and shape as the current
standard Nomad design. The difference with the Lite-N-Airy is that
there
are awnings on both sides and mesh bug netting on both sides. The two
sides are mirror images but on the backside the "door mesh" doesn't
open.
This design provides improved ventilation over the standard Nomad and
provides a view out either side. With both Awnings rolled up you can
stargaze more of the sky while protected from bugs. It provides the
benefits of a tarp with out the drawbacks. It does take more space to
setup the double-sided Nomad than it does for the standard Nomad because
of the second awning. I ordered my Nomad in the silver-gray color, which
is a low impact color that blends in well. A fair amount of light passes
through to the interior with this color and is pleasing.

Setup:
Setup is fast and easy. Stake out each end. Open the door and get inside
with your trekking poles and set them up. There is a pipe fitting at
the
peak in which you place the tips of your poles. Then with the handles of
your poles in the corners, you extend the poles to place tension on the
walls and spread the floor full width. Outside once again, you assemble
the awning support poles and using the shock cord stake out each awning.
That is a total of only 4 stakes! If you are tall enough that you need
the spreader bars you would insert them also. I am 5'7" and I don't use
the spreader bars. I recommend you try using the Nomad without them if
you
can. Without the spreader bars you save a bit of weight and setup time.
Using the spreader bars will provide more interior space in the ends but
will increase the likelihood of condensation in the ends where the wall
fabric is pushed up into contact with the awnings. After the Lite-N-Airy
is setup you can temporarily remove your trekking poles to assist with
camp chores like hanging your food and the Nomad Lite-N-Airy will stay
up.

I found a neat way to pack the Nomad so it stays dry while you set it up
in rain. Take the Nomad down, but leave it in position on the ground
cloth
with the netting fully covered by the awning. Grab the ground cloth
where
it pokes out from under the Nomad at the tracking pole positions and
fold
each side past the middle so there is a 1/3 overlap. Grab the Nomad and
ground cloth at one of the ends and fold it over to the other end. Now
roll the Nomad up starting from the pointed end. The trapped air gets
out
easily as you finish rolling. The ground sheet now encloses and protects
the Nomad. Place the poles and stakes in their sleeve and roll the last
inch of ground cloth over them. Slide everything into the stuff sack.
When you set up the Nomad in rain it is protected by the ground sheet
while you stake the ends. Next you flip the ground sheet off the Nomad
and
pull the awning over you. Now open the Nomad door and setup the
trekking
poles.

Performance:
I find my Nomad Lite-N-Airy to be the most practical backpacking shelter
for living outdoors I have used. The awning provides protected entry and
exit in any weather. There is more than enough space for all of my gear
inside. I can sit up with plenty of room to spare. I hang a white Photon
II Micro-Light from the pipe fitting area at the top of the Nomad, which
illuminates the interior for only a .25 oz in weight. This provides
better
light for much less weight than a candle lantern, which should never be
used. I can cook in any weather by placing the stove outside just beyond
the Awning while I stay protected under the awning (You don't want any
flame no matter how small near the Nomad body or under the awning as
stated in the directions). I am impressed with the strength and
durability
of this fabric. I am careful about avoiding punctures as I am with any
tent but have not needed to give my Nomad any special care. I have had
rain on a number of occasions and snow most recently. On one occasion
when
set up on bare dirt in heavy rain I encountered a very small amount of
splash back onto the screening. When setup on other ground surfaces
there
has not been any splash back. The light 1/2" or so of snow didn't bother
the Nomad. The Nomad Lite-N-Airy performs best in all conditions with
both
awnings fully raised. I have experimented with the half-lowered position
of the awnings but have not encountered any conditions, which needed
this.
Lowering the awnings or any configuration where the awnings will contact
the body will likely result in higher condensation in the areas of
contact. There is less condensation in a Lite-N-Airy than in the
standard
Nomad model. In September 2 other Nomad owners and I were set up in the
yard of the youth hostel near Harpers Ferry West Virginia. It did not
rain. I did not have any condensation at all while the others reported
condensation. In the woods near Mt. Mansfield VT in cold upper 40
degree
rain and fog with light
Wind gusts, wet me and wet pack went into the Nomad but did not have
significant condensation in the morning. The Nomad will fit in smaller
spots than you would think at first. A fair amount of each end can go
under bushes or trees and the same applies to the rear awning. One night
I
setup the Nomad near Skyline Pond in a spot that had clear space of only
7
or 8 feet wide and about the same depth. Fir trees surrounded it. I
staked
the ends of the Nomad under the small fir trees and ran the line for the
rear awning past the trunk of another. Weather protection is top notch.
After the Long trail, I had further opportunity to test the weather
protection in two Hurricane/Tropical storms, which provided heavy rains
and light winds at my home. I was dry and comfortable through 8" of
rainfall. The Nomad is impressively strong. I took my Nomad to an
unsheltered wind swept area during high gusty winds at the end of the
storm to see what would happen. I can't say how high the winds were but
anything not fastened down would blow away. With difficulty, I managed
to
get the Nomad up with the minimum 4 stakes but it needed more and I
hadn't
brought more. I had the foot of the Nomad facing into the wind and the
awning fabric was being flattened to the walls of the Nomad. I was
pondering this when the winds suddenly shifted 90 degrees and gusted. 3
titanium stakes were bent and pulled out. The unoccupied empty Nomad
lifted and a trekking pole was blown toward the center causing the Nomad
to go down. The shock cord and back awning pole once freed from tension
when the back stake let go vanished in the wind. Thankfully I was
holding
the door awning at the time or I would have been chasing the Nomad into
the lake. Instead of raising the back awning on the pole I should have
staked it directly down. The Nomad was completely undamaged despite this
abuse which is a testament to the quality of the construction and
materials. There are additional attachment points on the awnings and
ridge
line so you can attach additional lines and stakes. I now carry 2 extra
stakes to use if necessary in high winds.

Condensation:
Except when using the spreader bars or any configuration where the
Awnings
rest on the body I have not had any condensation on any surface that
amounted to more than brushing the wet nose of a dog. Every tent I have
owned has had condensation on some interior surfaces including the 3
double wall models. I define noticeable condensation as surfaces being
noticeably wetter than the air. In other words, if I can write my name
there is noticeable condensation by my definition. Any tent will have
noticeable condensation on some surfaces in high condensation
conditions.
I define Significant condensation as something you can mop up (not
enough
to drip or run) when you pass a thin cloth against the fabric after
which
you can see a wet spot on the cloth. I have had significant condensation
on some surfaces of my double wall tents and my Nomad under some
circumstances. In my Nomad this was only in the ends when the Awnings
rested on the walls. I define serious condensation as an amount large
enough to drip or run. I have never had serious condensation on interior
surfaces in my double wall tents or my Nomad Lite-N-Airy. I have never
had
any condensation on the floor of my Nomad. If you use configurations
that
keep the awnings off the body most of the interior will be dry most of
the
time. Overall, I think the Lite-N-Airy is as dry inside as any tent I
have
used and dryer than some.

Modifications I have made to customize to my preferences:
I use rubber tips on my trekking poles, which don't fit in the standard
pipe fitting in the Nomad. I could remove the rubber tips and use the
standard pipe fitting in the Nomad but I elected to replace the standard
fitting with a larger size so I can keep the rubber tips on my trekking
poles. To reduce the fiddle factor and speed setup, I tacked down the
reinforcement patches that are located where you place the trekking
poles
with a few dabs of SilNet. I prefer a zipper rather than the Velcro door
closure and will be installing one. I replaced the supplied stuff sack
with an LW Gear stuff sack because I prefer the draw string closure over
Velcro.

Weight:
With everything including my larger pipe fitting and excluding the
supplied ground sheet (Nomad Lite-N-Airy, 4 pole sections, 2 shock
cords,
6 titanium stakes and LW Gear stuff sack) 2 lb. 3 oz

All of the above plus supplied ground sheet is 2 lb. 9 oz

If one wanted to save weight the ground sheet can be cut smaller or
eliminated saving up to 6 oz. You could leave the back awning pole home
and use a stick or just tie the awning to a tree or bush saving 1.5 oz.

I am very pleased with my Nomad Lite-N-Airy Prototype. I don't think you
can buy a more convenient total shelter solution that performs this well
for near this weight.

Don Johnston
AKA "Photon"