Help me choose between these double person tarptents.

Regarding the lunar duo, what exactly do you mean when you say "lacks in the pillow area"?
How big IS your head?

"Best option for going solo with a big tent and it has decent room in the "pillow area" which is where our shoulders will be next to each other."

As stated in the first tent I started describing. My head is normal I think :)

"As stated in the first tent I started describing. My head is normal I think :)"

OK. Now that we're done discussing the physical attributes of your head, please explain "The Shining" complex. If it involves running through a snowy labyrinth of trees, give me a few minutes to make some popcorn before you start!

Ah, okay then.
We own and love an SMD lunar duo. It's our primary tent for the temperate months. Plenty of room for us (our heads—and shoulders are normal-size, too). ;-)

haha..geez…I didn't think I was so unclear! The shining complex…I don't wanna go stir crazy while cooped up in a tent if I'm stuck sitting out a storm. Any other questions or can we can onto the tents!

I've been looking at the same thing lately, and don't have first hand experience – but given your criteria, I'd look at the TT Cloudburst II (CB). Here is my reasoning:

– The CB is 1 ounce less weight than the double rainbow (DR),
– The CB's floor is 18" wider at the head end than the DR – for more room in the chest / shoulder (pillow) area.
– The CB has more vertical walls than the Squall II which Henry says gives a lot more elbow room – but the CB still has a smaller footprint. (The Squall II's double pole configuration has more elbow room than the lighter Squall Classic.)
– The CB's wide entry door is so big, I think either person could climb in/out in the middle of the night without waking their partner.
– I've heard the two pole configuration of the CB sways less in windy storms than the DR.
– The CB has storm flaps along the sides that can be battenned down in really nasty weather.
– The DR looses a few inches of it's 52" width when the floor is clipped up into the bathtub shape. Might seem too narrow to your partner if they are used to 2 person double wall tents.

On the other hand, many things seem great on paper…

Hey John,

Your reasoning sounds great. I will check that out as I never really considered it for some reason…

Thanks for sharing what you're thoughts!

I hate to start something here…but all these comments on the Cloudburst II tarptent are sooooo very different from what I saw in person on a 3 day camp out here on island recently.

Has anyone here commenting actually used it?

The reason I say this is…set up next to my Luna Duo there is no way you could feel this tent is easy to get in and out of. Or any elbow room at all.

The two young lovebirds that were using it, were of average height 5'11" and 5'7" on the trim size…and they looked crowded in that tent. Always hitting the sides and only could sit up just barely in the front of it only. They were from Canada and it will hold up better in light snow of course.

It reminded me of my Squall only with a rounded front instead of the peaked ^

Henry does excellent work, and creates wonderful tents, but you must bare in mind, if you are large or expect to sit up with lots of headroom or if you are stuck in a 9 hour rainstorm…you better be content to be comfortable just laying there.

Bows out somewhat gracefully….

I own both the DR and the CB. The CB *appears* to have more pillow room, but it is between difficult and impossible not to brush up against the sides of this tent when there's two of you. This is not a problem with the DR. The DR also comes with optional apex grommets that allow you to use your treking poles for additional support in bad weather (just like the Lunar Duo), and if you have to wait out a storm, there's nothing quite like the dual vestiblues and option of using the rain porches in the DR. The CB is much more tricky to get in and out of, especially if your single vestibule is full of gear. The DR can be vented better than the CB too, due to the rain porch option.

I have no experience with the other tents you are considering.

I have used the CB as my main 2 person shelter for some years and I completely agree with Alison on these points:

– It is between difficult and impossible not to brush up against the sides of this tent when there's two of you. You will find this to be a real bummer when it is VERY wet

– The CB is much more tricky to get in and out of, especially if your single vestibule is full of gear.

I would add that when it is really wet, i.e. days of wet, you will find it a very constricitng shelter. This does not happen much where I live, but I would definitely recommend something else for those conditions.

Remember that being hard up against mesh will not wet you out like being hard up against silnylon tent walls.

Alright..so the cloudburst is not being considered anymore. Any other thoughts?

I'm really glad this forum is here – the CB looked better than the DR on paper…

The rain porches on the DR sound nice, but is the shelter wide enough for two people when in bath-tub floor mode ?

Also, do the sloping walls of the DR allow 2 people to sit up on their own pad – without both moving to the center ?

In general, does the DR have any less room for two tent-bound people to move around than the SD Lightning, or REI Quarter Dome ? How about compared to the MSR Hubba Hubba ?

Thanks.

I have A DR that my girlfriend and I use. plenty of space for 2. 2 porches work well. not been tent bound but i wouldn't be too concerned if I had to. I had the first generation before the current one. very different shelters in my opinion. this version feels like it could take a decent wind. it pitches taut easily (gen 1 didn't in my experience) has the option to use poles to increase wind stability as well as further guyout points, though I'd prefer guyouts with greater reinforcement, i'm thinking the guyouts off the ridge pole mostly.
leave the liner behind to cut down weight.
it was a PITA to seal! thin coats multiple times in several spots.
when i got the shelter i wasn't too bothered about the freestanding possibilities but the first time I used it was alpine and at the end of a long tiring day we would have been pretty stuck without this option. haven't needed it since.

> The rain porches on the DR sound nice, but is the shelter
> wide enough for two people when in bath-tub floor mode ?

Yes

> Also, do the sloping walls of the DR allow 2 people to sit
> up on their own pad – without both moving to the center ?

With care, yes… but when I have shared the DR with someone else and we want to sit up to play cards, we move to the center… much easier that way.

> In general, does the DR have any less room for two
> tent-bound people to move around than the SD Lightning

The DR feels smaller than the DR Lightning… even though they look close to the same size on paper. maybe the dr walls slanted more, or maybe it was just a psychological difference of a double wall (brushing against the canopy isn't a problem) vs single wall (you get wet if careless.

As far as which shelter. They are all reasonable choices. What would sway me would be:

DR: if I planned to push the envelope in terms of nasty weather (get the wind stabilizer pullout added) or might make use of he free standing option

Refuge: if I was focused on minimizing weight

Duo: If I wanted maximum space for sitting around in the shelter.

–Mark

For my wife and I, the clincher was using the DR in freestanding mode. One time, I noticed that the water from snow melting was getting too close to the DR; it was simple to pick it up and move it to a better place. Moreover, in the morning it's very convenient to pick it up and put it in the sun for drying (as opposed to taking it down and putting it on rocks/bushes/trees).
The two doors are great (!) as are the two vestibules.
Plenty of room for us (but we haven't had to sit out a storm yet).
Hope this helps!

– JV