This spring, my teen son and I have been on a mission to find the most user-friendly trekking pole backpacking tent. Our family anticipates logging a lot of backcountry nights this summer, many of which will be on the Pacific Crest Trail, and we want to pack light. Since my son and his friend use trekking poles while hiking, they were determined to find a pole-free tent to shave as much weight off their load as possible.
The Nemo Meta LE trekking pole tent weights two pounds, three ounces, and fits two people comfortably. Yes, really…comfortably. I realize this is a rarity. However, the Meta LE has a unique floor design, that actually provides more headroom than average. The footprint is 88″ by 53″, with 32 square feet of room, plus 18 square feet of vestibule (nine and nine). The height when pitched is 41 inches. When I sit inside, my head doesn’t come close to brushing the top. I can also stretch out while lying down and not touch the sides of the tent, even with my arms extended (I’m 5’4″). The tent utilizes the trekking poles you’re already carrying; it takes two poles to set up, one on either end. When erect, the side flaps extend to form a vestibule big enough to fit several backpacks and pairs of shoes. You can also roll this fabric back out of the way if you don’t want it.
Often, what you gain in a pole-free ultra-lightweight tent you lose in convenience. Pole-free tents have to be staked and are often a two-man job to set up. I worried my teen and his friend would find the Nemo Meta to be cumbersome to pitch, but this proved not the case. After only one test run on the lawn, they were able to set up the Meta LE in under five minutes during a spring camping trip, using the needed stakes and guy lines in somewhat hard soil. The trekking poles fit into place very easily in the assigned pockets of the tent, and stay very secure. We haven’t tested the tent in high wind, but during average spring conditions here in Oregon (which isn’t exactly tropical), we had no issues.
The Meta LE is single-walled, which is a common characteristic of ultra-lightweight tents. Sometimes, this feature can cause condensation to build up during the night. Thanks to two big ventilation slips at the top of the Meta LE, we’ve had no issues with this. We love that we don’t have to carry a separate fly (the single wall of the Meta LE is waterproof) and that the whole tent fits very easily in the supplied drawstring stuff sack. In fact, we can fit it in a smaller stuff sack we already have at home.
The only caveat concerning the Meta LE is the necessity of staking it (and use of guy lines) in order to set it up, but this is a characteristic of any trekking-pole tent, and not a Nemo issue. Just know going into it that while you’ll save on weight, you will need to stake the tent every night (tough in rocky soil). I also miss having a fully mesh tent for stargazing at night; since the Meta LE is single walled, only the doors are mesh for visibility.
The Nemo Meta LE is by far the easiest trekking-pole tent to set up we’ve found, and also the roomiest. For $329, the value is absolutely there. You can also find it at REI and Backcountry.