NEMO Equipment Inc.

Switch Tent: 2-Person 3-Season

Just buy one

I have had the Switch for about a year now. Super comfortable and roomy, it’s a palace for one or a home for two. Easy to get in an out of the vertical walls help a lot. Can stand up to decent winds and rain. Have never had any leaks out performed other more expensive tents

Nemo Switch 2P- Amazing Value

I bought the Nemo Switch 2P with the footprint last spring and have spent seven nights in it for off road moto camping. It’s quirky and versatile, but that’s what makes it cool. It’s really nice to be able to stand in a tent to get dressed, lay down a sleeping pad, etc, the height definitely adds some airiness with the massive doors. The genius of this tent comes from its versatility. Having the ability to sit under the ’porch’ to get out of the sun or rain to cook or relax is unbeatable. The inner tent can be either fully left out of the equation, or partially unclipped for a bit more room while sheltering. I bought it to the beach a couple times to use as a sunshade, abs thinking about adding the Victory floor carpet. All that headroom does come at a cost- weight and packability. The Switch 2P is in the middle of car camping Venn diagram. At 6lbs, it’s a pit porky, and it’s far from the most compact tent I’ve used. Most ultralight two person tents will come in at 3-5lbs and 1/2-3/4 the size of the Switch 2P when packed. I really wish the poles broke down into smaller sections to make the packed size shorter and easier to fit into panniers, but you can’t have it all. I’d give it a 4.5 if I could do 1/2 stars. If it included the ground sheet, better stakes, smaller pole sections and a bit lighter, I’d easily give it five stars, but I sure can’t complain given the price.

Almost, still a great fairweather design.

This would be an ideal car camping tent if it had one more short pole along the centerline of the roof. As it stands, the roof is fairly flat and prone to pooling. Not a great choice for heavy rain. But, a very cool design for fairweather pursuits. Nice to put up the inner body with the fly already up. Super versatile and liveable. I mostly use it as a shade tent at the beach. It’s a great addition to the quiver but I wouldn’t want this as my only option.

Nemo People

We did not know when we set out to buy our camping gear that we were going to wind up "Nemo people", meaning most of our equipment is from Nemo. We have only used the Switch on one camping trip so far and it worked flawlessly. We chose this tent because of its versatility to also be used as a sun shade, which we might end up using more than the tent itself. The tent is longer so even once your sleeping pads are in, you still have room to store bags or other equipment inside the tent. We bought 6 foot tent poles to prop the front tent flap up and create more shade. Worked perfectly and the tent came with plenty of line to secure them. We also bought the Victory blanket to go with the tent/sun shade, which was a nice added touch and made the tent feel homey. We haven't tested in the rain, but are happy with our purchase so far!

So versatile…and roomy

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

2p Switch

Height:

5' 7"

Weight:

170

I bought this for summer kayak camping trips. I’ve tried it out out in our backyard a few times and this thing is amazing. Its easy to setup by myself. Will easily fit a 1 person cot/pad/sleeping bag and all my gear nightstand, bag, portable toilet inside….or use my double sleeping mat w/ nightstand (all gear in the vestibules) The taller front frame allows the awning to be pitched higher with tarp poles and makes it seem so much larger and provides a great outdoor space. I haven’t used this as a shelter alone, but I did set it up once and I could see it coming in a handy on the beach, lake, or river edge or even watching your kids game on the sidelines. As for camping… it’s perfect for one, cozy for cuddling couples, tight fit for buddies.

Bicycle fits in vestibule!

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

2p

Height:

5' 4"

Weight:

160

I bought this for bike tours and it did not disappoint. First, this arthritic old body prefers not to crawl out of a tent.At 57 inches high, I at 64 inches can just hunch a bit and walk in and out! Second, my expensive ebike fits nicely inside the larger vestibule, protected from wind, rain, and potential thieves. When the bike is secured, I use the other vestibule to come and go. Plenty of room for a cot and gear bags inside. If you appreciate extra height, this tent has it all.

Excellent for Moto-Camping

Excellently designed for Moto-camping. This is a legitimate two-person tent (or a very comfortable one-person tent if you’re using a cot like I do. I was looking for a high quality tent for use when car-camping with the local scout troop when I came across this Nemo Switch. After a significant attempt at researching the tent I wasn’t able to find much information out there, so this will be a rather in-depth review. Design and Versatility: I was drawn to the tent because of its design. I like to take long motorcycle trips and camp along the way. This tent is small enough to pack easily on the bike (Indian Roadmaster), but large enough to be comfortable, and sturdy enough to withstand the myriad conditions encountered on the road. The two vestibule/door design allows for easy access from either side of the tent, which is great. I can guy out the roll top main vestibule with a couple of tarp poles and then back the bike under the awning to create some protection in poor weather (attach another small tarp to the poles and the bike is fully covered). The side wall design of the main vestibule keeps rain from getting into the tent when the awning is guyed out. The second door and vestibule then allow me to access the tent from the other side, without having to crawl around my bike. When not trying to protect the bike, the front vestibule is a great size to sit under in a camp chair (Helinox Chair Two rocker - plenty of room for two and a small camp table - Helinox table one) and I can even fit with the vestibule zipped closed. There are perfectly placed pockets at either end of the tent which happen to be at just the right hight for when you’re in a cot (so no leaning over to retrieve items from the pocket). There’s also several attachment points on the roof for tying a dry line or hanging a lantern. Set-up: Set-up is a breeze. I saw a previous review claiming the tent cannot be set up in the wind. This person must have zero experience with tent set-up because it is very easy. Simply clip one side under the poles, throw the fly over and clip it to the other side. Even in high winds it’s a piece of cake. Also, in foul weather, it is possible to set up the rain fly first, and then set up the shelter underneath to help keep everything inside dry. The pole design is relatively intuitive, but the Nemo set-up video makes it clear for anyone who might be struggling. Although, the instructions specify to input the silver pole first, and then nest the blue pole inside the silver pole, it’s much simpler to just reverse the process and start with the blue pole. Guy-out points are thoughtfully placed and well reinforced. The included guy lines are high visibility to avoid tripping. Using the guy lines ensured the tent shed water easily in the rain. Comfort:
The tent is easy to get into and out of. Even in poor weather, I’m able to get in and out without a bunch of water pouring onto me or, more importantly, into the tent. The size of the rear vestibule is substantial. This provides ample storage outside of the tent, but with protection from the elements, without the need to mess around near the bike. Inside the tent has a high vertical wall construction, which allows for the use of a full sized cot (Helinox Camp Cot One High). The cot does not touch any of the walls, and when laying on the cot, with a mattress pad, my sleeping bag does not make contact with the walls either. I can also sit up on the cot and have full clearance from the roof (I’m 69” tall). There is plenty of room to stretch out. If you’re sleeping on the ground the shelter is plenty wide for two wide mattress pads (25” wide pads) offering ample room for two people. The rectangular design allows for full room weather you sleep head-to-head or head-to-toe. Construction: The construction is very high quality, with the 68D poly floor and the rainfly, the tent will stand up to the rigors of daily set-up and tear down. The DAC poles are lightweight and strong. The shelter attachment points all seem well stitched and will stand up to some pretty hefty winds. I appreciate the gatekeeper door clips but was disappointed they are only on the front vestibule side panels. All other retention point uses loops and the sliding toggle. Still effective, just not as quick/easy as the gatekeepers. My rainfly is missing one of the retention straps for the main vestibule roll-up awning. I have written to Nemo but have not received a response back yet. I set the tent up and left it out through the rain. Even with the included vents in the rainfly left open, the tent was absolutely bone dry inside after 24 hours of some decent rain. Not only was the tent bone dry, but the ground under the vestibule was also dry. Dimensions: I measured the dimensions against Nemo’s stated dimensions and they are accurate. Peak Height (Front Vestibule): 57” Low height (Rear Vestibule): 51” Floor length: 81” Floor width: 51” Rear Vestibule Depth: 36” Rear Vestibule Max Width: 90” Front Vestibule Depth: 40” Front Vestibule Awning length (when extended parallel to the ground): 65” Add ons: Ground Sheet: I purchased the expensive Nemo footprint, which was unnecessary unless you have an OCD like need for your footprint to perfectly match the tent. For initial testing I used a redcamp footprint that was almost the perfect size, and it worked exactly as needed. It was also about $50 cheaper than the Nemo footprint. Tarp poles: I have tarp poles and trekking poles. The trekking poles are too low for a parallel awning, but are still useful if you want something a little lower for more protection. The tarp poles work great for parking the bike under the awning, or for just creating a higher awning to sit/stand under. Other thoughts: The stakes are beefy! These are some hefty stakes. They’re much heavier than they need to be, but once in the ground, they’re not going anywhere. There’s a blunt point on them, so not ideal for rocky or rooted ground. I personally just use my groundhog aluminum stakes to save weight. Vents: The vent design is interesting. There are three total vents in the fly, at each of the vestibule openings. Zip the double zipper down from the top a bit and use the attached standard to stretch open the vent. Extra fabric covers the opening enough to keep rain out while allowing fresh air in. No water got in during my test. I have not slept in the tent overnight yet, so I don’t know how effective this is at guarding against condensation. However, the overall design of the tent creates significant ventilation at the base to allow fresh air in, and I imagine condensation will not be an issue. (Based on lots of experience with multiple tent designs) This is a true three-season tent. Will keep you cool in the hot summer, and allow for good protection in anything but heavy snow. (Snow too easily drift up under the fly and likely build up on the relatively flat roof. This is not for use in the fourth season) Overall, a great product thus far. I’m anxious to really put it through it’s full paces, but my testing so far indicates it’s a quality tent, with an amazing design, which will work great for my primary application of Moto-camping.

Cool design, some solvable oversights

One thing to get out of the way: this is very difficult to set up in any kind of wind. Tried to set it up on windy days two separate times, once with an experienced camper, and we couldn't do it. If you have a tall tent, that's probably unavoidable, but it does limit its utility as a potential backpacking tent. There is one odd oversight: the included stakes are the most basic possible, just heavy steel rods bent into hook shapes. They didn't even have sharpened bottoms! I bent one trying to get it into dry soil. Replaced them with aluminum backpacking stakes. Also, do yourself a favor and get a pair of 10L stuff sacks. The inner tent and rainfly will each fit into one, and it makes it a lot easier to manage and pack whether it's in the included duffel or in your backpack. Honestly, I feel like it should have come that way, since the poles and stakes already come in their own individual bags, and the included duffel is low compression and really hard to fit into a backpack as a whole package. Get this along with a new set of stakes (at least 7, preferably 9) and a pair of stuff sacks, and it makes for a really cool, modular, roomy design.