Tell me about your experience with the lunar solo

I have used the Lunar Solo, Tarptent Rainbow, and recently purchased The One.

I don't have any "real world" experience with The One yet to recommend it over the Lunar (or not). But I am curious about your 'hang up' regarding spinnaker itself.

Spinnaker is lighter than silnyon. It doesn't expand when wet like silnylon and it's supposedly even more waterproof (no "misting" as with silnylon). The one downside is the more expensive price.

Comparing the specs between the Lunar and the One, the Lunar has much more square footage. At your height, you'll have plenty of space to spread out your hiking clothes at the foot end (to better air them out) — and you'll also have plenty of space for small gear items at the "gear nook". OTOH, the One has more headroom — although the Lunar's is certainly adequate.

The One's length is shorter, but adequate for anyone up to 6'. However, there's really no space at the end to lay and air out your clothing like with the Lunar. The "gear nook" area is also smaller.

If you NEVER use hiking poles and plan to use dedicated tent poles, then the weight differential is only about 2 ounces or so, because the One requires two poles instead of just one. OTOH, if you carry hiking poles anyway, then the One can save you 8-9 ounces — which is nice.

Finally, the Lunar is more prone to condensation — as compared to the Rainbow, and I expect more so than the One as well — due to the Lunar's small top vent.

I had the Lunar Solo E, and it is a great tent for the weight. Good space. The only down sides were I never really figured out how to get a taught pitch to begin with (definitely takes more practice than any of the HS tarptents I've tried), and this is exacerbated by the amount that silnylon sags as it cools or gets wet. Less than taught pitch + extra sagging wasn't a good look. the condensation is not too different from any other tarptent I've tried. I would think grey is a more neutral/stealthy colour, but I don't know how verdant your part of the world is.

Hey Benjamin,

I'm hesitant about the spinnaker because of the fact that it can be sliced with a fingernail and the fact that if I pitch it too tight and a gust of wind comes it COULD cause the fabric to fail. I like all the other features of spinnaker of course, but I'm afraid that my inexperience with setting up shelter will be a problem. I've never thought too hard about site selection and I feel like I may need practice before going with a fabric that requires me to have more knowledge about this. Am I wrong here? I just feel like spinnaker is not the best fabric for a total beginner, in the sense that my others tents have been freestanding and my site selection was never really a worry.

Also, are the vestibules in the one big enough to cook under when it's raining? I would either use a canister stove or some alcohol stove. I know that the lunar solo has vestibules that are big enough to cook in with them both closed! (Nevermind, I see that the vestibule is 10.4 sq ft, which is as big as the lunar solo) I do use trekking poles, so The One would be a pretty sweet shelter if it weren't for my fears of spinnaker…and also the fact that I see how much tents get improved over the years so it's hard buying a first run of something because I just imagine it getting better and better if only I waited..

The spinnaker is not that fragile at all. But I'll defer to folks with "real world" experience to add their comments.

As for cooking underneath the vestibule, I don't think that will be a problem at all if we do it carefully. However, for me anyway, I would definitely opt for canister stove (which provides much better flame control) over an alcohol stove — and risk flame flare up's!

I bought and returned the ONE
It is a smallish shelter – too small for me.
And the setup is a little finicky, no big deal, but I just prefer my 9×7 BMW tarp and a bivy.

Spinnaker on the other hand is the way to go.

My friend bought the original squall classic and it is fabulous. It has a massive area + easy pitch.

I have used CloudBurst for many years and really can't stand the way it performs very wet weather because of the silnylon stretch.

> hesitant about the spinnaker because of the fact that it can be sliced with a fingernail

Hmm… the spinnaker I have the most experience with is what Gossamer Gear has been using. I have certainly not had a problem with fingernails slicing it open. I wouldn't recommend heavy abrasive conditions, but you don't have to worry about putting your finger through it.

> and the fact that if I pitch it too tight and a gust of wind comes it COULD cause the fabric to fail.

Yes, spinaker has less stretch than sil-nylon which means that it is more likely to fail catastrophically. I have (and know several other people) who have used a spinaker shelter in 50mph winds without failure. There are some people who have reported spinaker shelters failing in less conditions, though all the reports I have seen were about stitching failure rather than fabric failures.

> spinaker not for total beginers…

I would most likely agree with this. On the other hand… it doesn't sound like you are a total beginner. Sounds like you have some experience and are working to deepen your knowledge, experience, and skills.

> cooking…

Haven't tried to cook under "The One's" vestibule so I have nothing to report one way or the other. It seems like it would be roomy enough to cook under the vestibule if care was used.

–Mark

PS: The first weekend I used "The One" I had trouble moving around without brushing against the walls. I found this suprising, because I could use the spinnshelter in a full lock down pitch without problems and because Glenn's 6'6" frame seems to fit and I am just 5'10". The problem was that the geometry was very different from what I was used to. The second weekend (and every trip since) I had no trouble bumping into the one's walls, and found the space felt very generous. It just took a bit of adjustment. Your milage might very.