NEMO Equipment, Inc. Meta 2P

[group shelter]

Buggy climes can send campers fleeing to their tents, but the Bugout lets you congregate for blissfully insect-free meals and card games within mesh walls that don’t obscure scenic views. “Through clouds of mosquitoes and persistent drizzle, it was a relief to retreat inside so we could look over maps, plan our day, and cook,” declares our tester, who used this 81-square-foot party room for a week in the mosquito-filled Boundary Waters.

Watermelon-sized when packed, the floorless, four-sided shelter pitches with NEMO’s optional accessory poles ($45 and 15 oz. each) or just lashed to trees, using the 15-foot guylines (included). The 75-denier polyester “roof” funnels rain into smartly designed gutters that send runoff to the corners (so it doesn’t sheet down the walls). The superfine, DWR-treated mesh repelled precipitation in all but the windiest conditions. Six people can mingle comfortably inside, the 72-inch peak height lets most campers stand up fully, and two-way zippers at two corners facilitate easy exits. Prefer a hammock to a camp chair? Open the zippers to accommodate hammock straps, and you can swing and doze in bug-free bliss. $250; 4 lbs. 1 oz.; nemoequipment.com

Winner of Backpacker’s 2010 Editors’ Choice award, Meta 2P is a striking example of the efficiency and weight savings possible with well designed trekking pole tents. Constructed of 20 denier waterproof/non-breathable PU nylon. With 37 sq.ft. of interior space, a fully enclosed mesh tent, 2 doors and 2 vestibules, vents up high in the vestibules and side guy out vents for optimum ventilation, along with a unique system for easy setup, Meta 2P is unlike any other trekking pole tent you have used.