This morning I received a Morpho AR tent by NEMO equipment. I ordered it from campsaver.com in Utah. I'm not affiliated in any way but I have to recommend them. Their prices are very competitive ($100 less than retail) and their customer service was excellent. They even shipped by USPS instead of their usual UPS method when I expressed concerns about shipping to Canada using UPS.

Today I'm setting it up for the first time. It needs a bit of first time set-up and, of course, needs to be tested before it's ready to go.

Also, I'm trying something new with this post and will do a bit of a pre-review in installments as I set it up for the first time in my living room. I don't want to forget to mention anything and as a bonus you're all spared having to read one of my huge posts all in one sitting.

Out of the box it was a bit larger and heavier than I'd expected but not bad for a roomy, rugged 2 person tent by my experience (this is no UL gram-weenie tent!). I don't mind the size or the weight since it's a 2 man, there should always be another pack to share the load.

The stuff sack it comes in appears to be waterproof roll top style bag with 2 compression straps...very nice! Maybe size won't be an issue after all. That means that technically I could lash it to the outside of a pack if I absolutely had to.

The ground sheet seems to be typical of quality ground sheets. It wasn't included but didn't cost very much extra to get.

The foot pump is an interesting device but looks to be quality hardware. I was worried about it's bulk until I compressed it to it's packing size. It packs very flat and weighs less than the ground sheet by a noticeable amount.

Next...lets see what's inside the bag...

The more I dig, the more I'm impressed.

Inside were the 2 air 'beams'. One large and one small. These are tubes of reinforced plastic, cloth, and Velcro. They attach to the inside of the tent and actually hold the tubes which hold the air. A tube was loaded into each one all ready to be installed.

Inside the peg pouch I found more surprises. The 8 tent pegs are lightweight aluminum in a '+' or cross style and each has a loop of cord for easy removal. They're light and appear to be incredibly strong. Also inside were reflective guy lines. The really impressive part is that there were also 2 spare tubes (one large and one small) AND a patch kit which included spare o-rings for the air valves. I'd heard that some of this kit came included but I honestly didn't expect it to be so thorough.

Inside the rolled up tent were very idiot proof quick-instructions for the first set up instructing me to stake out the tent first. I couldn't do that so I weighted the corners with bar bells over top of the ground sheet.

I crawled inside and attached the air beams using the velcro straps and pumped it up. It takes 20-30 stomps to get each beam up and firm. The entire process took me less time than I've ever spent setting up any tent...and the future set ups will be even faster because the beams will already be installed.

The beams air up to 9psi but can handle a whole lot more for safety reasons. You could fall on this tent and it would spring right back up. All the seams are thoroughly stitched. You'd have to do something really bone headed to damage them. Each of the beams also has a hanging hook in the center for lights or gear...I pulled pretty hard on them and the beams didn't buckle. There are also plenty of mesh gear bags on the inside for keys and stuff.

After some final adjustments to the vents and velcro, I got inside and was impressed at how long it is. I can lay down, stretch my hands over my head without feet or finger tips hitting either end of the tent. The head part of the tent can be retracted a bit so you can increase vestibule area at the cost of the space inside the tent. It's tall enough for both my wife and I to sit up in with enough room to play cards...plenty enough for me. It's also plenty wide enough as we can both lay down inside and each have our own space to toss and turn in.

I was expecting it to be muggy inside but after a few minutes I could feel a breeze thanks to an open patio door...I thought I was imagining things. Outside, this tent will not have ventilation problems unless maybe the air is perfectly still and it's +30C outside. The side vents prop open and the rear vent has 2 plastic ribs to make sure it stays open to the air. The material is supposed to breath somewhat as well.

My wife and I tried it out complete with sleeping bag and while this is NOT a free standing tent, 4 small bar bells at the corners held it up the whole time without a hint of it collapsing.

The final thing which impressed me was the attention to little details. The stake loops are adjustable in length so you don't have to get your stakes perfect and you don't have to worry about a buckled floor because you can't put stakes in straight. The tie backs for the mesh and fly are adjustable so you can tie them back and then also adjust them tight so they won't come loose. There are at least 10 guy points...way more than you'd need during normal use. You can inflate the beams from the outside through waterproof zippers OR from the inside of the weather is nasty. It's rare that a tent has so much attention to detail.

It IS stitched in China but final assembly and testing is done in the US...and each tent is hand tested before being shipped. I can't find a warranty card but I think it has a lifetime warranty.

<pictures are coming...they're taking for ever to upload today>

Next...will it all fit back in the bag?!...

Taking this tent down by the instructions provided by NEMO make setting it up seem like a real chore.

Deflate the beams (It was tricky to do through the zippers but you don't have to do it through the zippers...I just wanted to test), roll the tent up side to side to get all the air out, then stuff it into the sack foot first.

Then you compress the bag, roll the top closed and clip and slip the straps tight. Took minutes.

it's smaller now than it was and I think I could have squeezed more air out of the bag...with practice I'm sure I will. With the head of the tent being mostly mesh, the tent itself traps very little air. I left the peg bag and foot print out of the bag so that I could squeeze it smaller and because I've never been a fan of packing pegs along with the tent...especially when squishing the tent bag is part of the take down instructions.

I'd like to thank everybody who threw in their 2 cents when I was looking for advice on tents. Even though I went my own way, your collective advice helped me make the most educated decision I could about this purchase.

Can't wait for more pics, I have never heard of this tent before...

Finally uploaded. Here's the remaining photo's:

The goodies in the peg bag:


The air beams before they're installed:


The foot print. I like how the edges clip to the straps...very stealthy. It even came with 4 spare clips!


Great shot showing the inflated rear beam, the clip, the huge rear vent, and my fat head:


I don't have a good shot of the whole thing once fully inflated. Being in my living room I couldn't get a really good angle on it...that'll have to wait for the great out doors to do that...should be soon now that the weather here is getting so nice so fast.

http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo08-morpho-tent

So far, so good. We will await the outdoor photo...

i herd about it in something I was listning to about the outdoor reataler show thingy and i thought it was an awsome tent...still want one

I've come across it on internet searches for tents, but thought it might be a little far fetched and impractical, but it's looking good so far.

Thanks for sharing the picts, Hacksaw!

Looks great so far!

How about the inner dimensions? Does the tent look like it will be roomy enough for two people without being too crowded?

The inside is coffin shaped like you can see by the outline of the foot print. At it's widest point my wife and I can lay down side by side flat on our backs without touching each other or the wall. The foot of the tent is also plenty wide and tall for feet.

As I mentioned before it's tall enough to sit up in between the beams even at the low side. Almost tall enough to kneel in...doing things inside the tent like changing clothes shouldn't be too hard.

It's not going to hold a ton of gear once we're in. Time will tell on that one, but even if packs have to sit outside, I'm fine with that. The vestibule is adjustable at the cost of tent space which is a feature I like. I can make the 'bule just big enough for boots and still have enough room inside for at least one pack.