Calling All Rainbow Users!!!

Curious… Didn’t you sell your Rainbow a few months ago?

Truth be told, yes, I sold my first-generation Rainbow and then put in a "special order" with Henry for a new one. Henry will use breathable, uncoated nylon in place of all mesh material. I will then add mesh-backed, zippable windows on the door, the perimeters and at the top for "tunable" venting. I estimate this will increase tent weight from 2 lbs to 2.5 lbs or under.

With windows unzipped, my customized Rainbow should approach the regular model in venting capability. But with windows zipped up selectively, then the tent can also be used at sandy beaches, as well as in colder temps where winds blow all through the night.

I am thinking this could serve as an extremely versatile, all-season tent for just 2.5 lbs.

But this is also why I am interesting in other people's experiences with the Rainbow in cold and/or high humidity areas.

I love my DR. Amazing verstaility for the weight. BUT, I did have trouble with it during a pretty wicked storm in the N. Casades NP in late September. Four days of pouring rain mixed with snow with only a couple hours of let up. The bathtub floor pinups were insufficent, even though we were camped on one of the gravel beds, and we experienced a great deal of misting during the heaviest downpours. Since the temps ranged from 10 – 35, condenstation was also bad, but that was to be expected, and some of the drainage was mitigated by different approaches to pitching. The misting, though, was troubling to such a degree that I will probably opt for a different tent next time I expect similar conditions. I just don't trust its ability to handle heavy, heavy rain. There was so much water the shell of my antelope could not fend it off.

I own a TT Contrail and hope it never "mists" in a torrential downpour. But with Silnylon I can see the possibility.

Eric

I was fortunate enough to spend several nights inside my Contrail under very heavy and prolonged rainstorms last October, starting at around bed time (7-8 PM) and lasting till 3-5AM. I had some minor misting that did not bother me but one night a few hours after the rain started the misting was starting to dampen my bag. So I wiped the fly, got rid of the condensation and the misting stopped. The rain continued at the same intensity. Several hours later I wiped again,the very minor misting that had started again , stopped. So I tend to think that misting inside a TT is just the rain knocking the condensation off the fly. A "hose test" I did after seam sealing the Rainbow left the inside totally dry and I don't think that silnylon wets out or changes it's "waterproffness" after prolonged rain exposure.
Franco

With misting and silnylon, I don't think it is the amount of water, but rather the pressure or force of water hitting a fly that is completely saturated. Maybe someone could comment on that further. Even after thorough wiping to eliminate the possibility of condensation, a very fine mist still did make it through the silnylon, which is probably why they don't claim its totally waterproof.

Double Rainbow

Stability: OK with added trekking pole props and tie-outs. Before these were added we had the tent flatten in a strong down draft, but it WAS gale force winds we're talking about here. Used it two weekends in VERY strong gusty winds and it was fine. Required 12 stakes and lots of extra spectra cord to fully stabilise though.

Ventilation: Good when opened out completely with a breeze, otherwise pretty bad condensation. We get condensation often. Fortunately the tent is big enough that we can usually avoid touching the walls. This is a big improvement over our previous CloudBurst were touching the walls was inevitable. The extra condesation liner doesn't work, at least not for two people. The condensation just rolls off the sides of the liner at the apex of the tent, which then drips on both sleeping bags.

Rain porches: Brilliant, indispensible, luxury