TT Rainbow in action

Hi Franco, Great pics! Makes me really want to get over to Oz for some long distance walks.

I ordered my Rainbow last week. The more I see your pictures the more I look forward to its arrival.

Are you lying down in the second pciture? If so, that’s a lot of extra space!

Franco the Roo didn’t join you? Or was it Franco the Croc who joined you for dinner? (oh, that’s right… too far south…)

Hi Franco:

Thanks for the pics! How long and hard did it rain? Continuous showers or intermittent drizzle?

Your “vestibule” flaps seem to reach almost to the floor. Is that correct or is it camera angle? Seems like mine has quite a gap (2 ft perhaps?).

Was it windy at all? If so, did it feel breezy inside the tent?

Finally, in condensation department, how did the Rainbow compare to the BD Firstlight?

The vestibule “gap”, when the Rainbow is used with trekking poles, is 10″ above ground (at the pullout connection to the guyline) and 20″ out from the netting wall/door / 24″ from the floor edge. If not used with trekking poles, the whole shelter will drop about an inch so 10″ drops to 9″. Above specs assume that you pull the beak out under full tension as designed.

-H

Henry,

I’ve been looking at the floorless version of the Rainbow on your website. What advice would you give a potential buyer (in this case me) as to floorless vs. floored version of the Rainbow?

I’m thinking not having a floor makes it easier to pitch in stealth locations in my neck of the woods as rocks, roots, etc would not be as much of an issue for a floorless shelter. We do however get a lot of rain and the water might flow “through” the tent (and hopefully not over the polycryo or tyvek ground cloth) instead of under the floor. I’m figuring that in this respect, it’s not much different than a tarp. Any ideas/advice? Something I forgettin’?

Hi Paul,

I think the floored vs. floorless issues are the same as for any of our other models. For floorless, just like any tarp camping, best practice is to stay away from driplines and try to camp where water can either soak in or run away from the site. Baring that, there are 4 clips imbedded into the roof corners on all models that you can use in “floorless mode” to rig an interior groundsheet in such a way that you pick all the edges up off the ground and prevent water from potentially running over the top. Easier, I think, to just pick a decent site. I’ve never found that very hard to do.

-H

Hi
It drizzled and rained hard on and off.
I was a bit worried that the Lighthouse would wet out but it did not. I had a bit more condensation than in the BD, however had no drips or “misting” and could have opened up the vestibule a bit more, as HS mentioned above about the two standard set ups.
I took the picture with my gear spread
out just for something to do, the mat is as I have it when I sleep, so you do have all that extra room (Prolite 4 W Regular size).
My friend Adam has received his Rainbow and with that there were the two Tyvek groundsheets we ordered and the carbon fiber strut (nice).
PJ as for the floorless version for the difference in weight I would not bother, the floor as it is feels stronger than the BD version, if you are thinking of views or ventilation, you can set it up higher than I do (remember the brick under the arch pole pic ) , but of course it is personal preference and what HS says is worth a lot more than my personal opinion.

Miguel. Franco the roo is safe and happy back to his home. The bush fire that raged around the park was stopped before it burned everything, 16 fire trucks and 3 helicopters did the job. One that we call Elvis is on loan from the USA (Thanks)
Elvis is a Sky Crane, 9,000 litres of water in one drop.

Franco

Thank you, Henry and Franco. Very helpful, as always.

I think Henry should appoint Franco as the official tarptent goodwill ambassador to Oz! :)

Yes, Franco I annoint you the official Tarptent Goodwill Ambassador for the Land Down Under. Your duties include Roo collecting, tramping throught the bush, and, of course, discovering and publishing all the hidden Rainbow secrets for the world to see.

Hey, now that you have a new job, I want it!!

Hi Henry,
Thanks for the appointment, no need to pay me, I am already taxed enough.
We only met a few other walkers, one of them was very interested in the Rainbow, his comment was “it’s only the weight of a 1litre carton of milk”. He spent a damp night under is 3.5kg Salewa……..
Franco
Will send you a couple of ideas this week end. Run away.

Franco, Congrats on the Appointment. Well deserved I might ad (sic – pun intended). Also, thanks for the comments on floor vs. floorless. In this case, it’s not the weight. It’s ease of pitching it in a nice spot which might have a somewhat sizeable root or rock in one corner of the site. I figure that, in this respect, pitching it will be not much different than pitching the 2nd-hand, 1st-Gen. floorless Squall I have. Depending upon where I hike & bivy (site differences in different locations) during rainy and/or buggy seasons, I would use either the Lunar Solo ‘e’ (floored) or the floorless Rainbow.

OK PJ. I get your point. Here in the land of Oz we always have mosquitoes, I designed a little gadget that keeps bears away however it does not keep those damn bloodsucker from molesting me.
Franco
AGAFTT
I always wanted to have letters after my name, other than from debt collectors

Henry:
A question. As you probably know 6 moons recommends that the Lunar works best with longer stakes, recommending 10″ Eastons so that the netting skirt can stand up better, thus insuring better ventilation and more “headroom” around the perimeter.
I was wondering if the same might work with the Rainbow, using 4 longer stakes like the Eastons to lift the corner pullouts thus creating better ventilation and more headroom at the perimeter. Am I wrong in thinking this might work?

Hi
This is how it can be done, very easy.
Same stakes, just a stone or piece of wood under the arch pole. Also the beak can be guyed out without modification and be left partialy open using the two velcro mini strips half way up,next to where the guy line starts in the second picture.

Franco
BTW Guying out the beak has been enough for me with over 90% humidity.

Hi Mitchell,

I don’t think stake length really makes any difference on the Rainbow. I will say that with respect to headroom near the perimeter stake length would not be applicable anyway because the walls are so steep already and every square inch of floor space is well below the roof fabric.

-H

OK. I’ve been lurking in the Rainbow threads for some time now and I have to say I’m pretty much sold.

But there’s a couple of things I haven’t been able to fully understand from either the Tarptent site or the discussions:

1) What is the floor material?
2) In the non-sewn-in version, is there no floor included at all? I see references at the Tarptent site to the floor being detachable. Can I get a detachable floor or is the choice sewn-in or Tyvek?

Franco: what part of Oz are you in? Maybe my wife and I will run into you on our next visit (we come down every couple of years to see the rest of the family).

thanks for the info and all the entertainment!
vv
J.O.

Welcome to planet Rainbow.
Henry will likely reply but in brief the floor is made of the same stuff as the top, silnylon, just a different colour (black) and in the floorless version you can attach your own.
I am in Melbourne.
For your pleasure, I will post later on today pictures of three nice little features that I have not shown so far. ( I am charging the batt at the moment)
Franco

The site says “Hybrid bathtub floor walls clip up to interior roof corners when needed in stormy weather.”

So…is that the sewn-in floor that you can clip up or not as weather dictates? Or can you get a Rainbow silnylon floor that is detachable?

What floor setup do you use with yours?

And howdy to Melbourne! I’ve not been there…the rels are all in Bondi and vicinity.

many thanks,
vv
J.O.

<trying to delete accidental double post>

The sewn in floor can be clipped up to give it that bath-tub look, or you can leave it down for extra room. When it is down you can squeeze in two medium size persons or an adult and a child.
For you dog lovers, there is room at the end.
I use the built in floor version because we have too many bugs here. Once you are zipped in, say goodbye to the little critters. ( memo to one self:next time kill the bloodsucking monsters already inside…)
Please keep in mind that my comments are just my opinion and like bums (…) we all have one and sometimes they stink.
Here are some other features that I like:

A small pocket so that I don’t crush my glasses.

A little hoop for my light

And another way to increase the air flow, two tiny strips of press tape (Velcro) to keep the beak from flapping.
( I have modified the shot to make the Velcro more visible)
Franco

Hi Jaime,

Our fault for confusing language. The “hybrid” part of the floor design isn’t that it’s detachable from the tent body altogether but rather that the floor walls clip up to and unclip from the interior roof corners. In bad weather you clip them up and they function pretty much like a standard bathtub (4″ high) floor. In good weather you can unclip to get extra floor space and ventilation. The netting perimeter is always there (and sewn to the floor edge) and the floors are inset from all the driplines.

Hope that helps.

-H

Oh _now_ I get it!

Being here in the PNW (rain- and bug-ville), sounds like I want to order the sewn-in version then.

thanks ver much for the clarification!
vv
J.O.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks now, and just joined today.

Franco, thanks for all your post regarding the Rainbow. I just ordered mine today. It really looks like just the ticket.

Thanks

Hi
You are very welcome, I think that you have just doubled my commission.(I used to get nothing before)
Tomorrow I will be setting up the Rainbow in the largest local outdoor shop for one of their staff members (next to Sierra/BD/Bibler/MSR and Macpac)It will be fun to watch the reaction from the staff.
Franco

Paul, any thoughts on the differences btw the Lunar Solo’e and the Rainbow? Anyone else caught between the two?