TT Double Rainbow 2010

[Franco Darioli]

Mr Shires is busy upgrading some of his shelters.
One mentioned in another thread is the Scarp 2, same upgrades as the Scarp 1 (hidden in the "Revised for 2010" link on the Scarp 1 page)
Another that should be out soon is the Double Rainbow 2010.
Henry, I think, has addressed all of those bits that some found inconvenient or annoying in the previous version.
So :
simplified "freestanding" mode
5" (from 4") bathtub floor
new loop and clip on both ends to raise the floor (idea stolen from the Moment)
Redesigned pole holder
Redesigned cross strut design (no more seam sealing dramas…)
Beefier pole sleeve (stolen from the Scarp)
Zip lower down to the edge, less tripping over entering/exiting the shelter.
Henry will have the new pics up sometime between now and 2015..
But this is what it looks like :

Franco

[EndoftheTrail]

5" (from 4") bathtub floor

Ah, much better for two sharing.

[Nick Truax]

Thanks Franco for the pics and update. Seems like Henry has been busy. Curious about the improved freestanding mode improvement. Any insights? Change in weight?

[Franco Darioli]

Sorry I do not know the new weight , provably not much more than before.
Here is a piture of the freestanding change. This was done to stop the likes of Ben mutilating the tent.
Franco

[Eric Blumensaadt]

…weddy, weddy interesting.

When can we expect Unobtainium poles? Nano thickness miracle waterproof coatings? Ceiling fans? And that greatest of ALL 'Merican inventions, netting CUPHOLDERS? :)

[Miguel Arboleda]

Henry seems to have addressed all of the annoyances that I had with my Rainbow all those years ago. Most especially the apex pole (which I had to completely slather in silicone to keep it from leaking) and the free-standing attachment, which annoyed me so much I cut them both off! The beefier pole sleeves and the sidewall raisers make a great difference, too. Do you know if by any chance he lowered the doors to the ground? That would make the Rainbow and Doube Rainbow perfect!

[Travis Leanna]

Miguel, I'm with you one the lowered doors. While I certainly appreciate the need to keep any shelter vented, once in a while ya just want to seal yourself in. But then again, next-to-perfect is pretty darn good also!

[David Ure]

Franco – nice stuff – will these cahnges be made to the Single person Rainbow? Any news / pics on the revised Sublite Sil?

[EndoftheTrail]

Travis:

Not that I really know, but I think Franco was writing about lower zip on the mesh door — so less tripping over the 'threshold' — not a lower-reaching vestibule. So you still can't 'seal yourself' in.

[Jonathan Ryan]

SOLD, I am def pulling the trigger on one of these for my wife and I this year.

[Bob Bankhead]

If you want a lower-reaching vestibule, just sew on some extra silnylon and a velcro closure strip.

[Robert Carver]

I'm glad I've held off on getting a Double Rainbow. Looks like this is the year. I might even upgrade my one person to the new Rainbow.

[Ryan Tucker]

i have been reading old DR post, etc…and thought this might be a good time to ask a question or two.

i am thinking about this for my wife and i.

will the 48 inch floor accommodate a cut down 25 inch wide large neo air and a regular neo air?

i read some place on here that the porch could be used as a bivy shelter in a pinch. anyone want to weigh in on this?

finally, what is the pole weight? i don't see it listed any where.

[Lynn Tramper]

"i read some place on here that the porch could be used as a bivy shelter in a pinch. anyone want to weigh in on this?"

That was me, and shame on me for not posting a photo, but the big caveat is that I extended my rain porches so they go the whole length of the vestibule. In this mode, you can pitch the porch and have someone bivy under it as long as the wind is blowing from the direction of the opposite vestibule (or not blowing at all).

"will the 48 inch floor accommodate a cut down 25 inch wide large neo air and a regular neo air?"
Yes.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> will the 48 inch floor accommodate a cut down 25 inch wide large neo air and a regular neo air?

Easily two 25" wide neoairs now. The full floor fabric width is now 58"(was 56") so two 25" pads leaves plenty of bathtub wall left over.

> what is the pole weight?

Sometime last summer, we switched over to the thicker walled Easton 0.340" pole (from the thinner walled 0.344"). The 0.340 pole is noticeably stiffer and more durable. It weighs 7.5 ounces (up from about 6 1/4 ounces for the 0.344). The 2010 DR body actually dropped a little weight so the overall listed weight of 40 ounces is unchanged.

[Travis Leanna]

Ben,
Oh, I though Miguel was talking about the vestibule door. But yes, I do see that Franco was talking about the mesh door.

[EndoftheTrail]

Oh I see. My bad.

[Travis Leanna]

Looks good, Henry! Glad to see the wheels are always turning over there at Tarptent!

[Franco Darioli]

Well I am glad that you sorted yourselves out whilst I was asleep.

David
There is some notice on the TT order page about the new version of the Sublite Sil.
Henry commented about that one somewhere but I have not seen a real one as yet.
All I can say is that for trekking pole users it will be a very viable alternative to the Contrail and the Moment now that it has a vestibule.
As for the lower reaching vestibule, it is still my oppinion that as it is it allows for some air flow, down to the ground would just trap ground evaporation causing more condensation.
Franco

[Travis Leanna]

Vestibuled Sublite Sil? Oh, man, I DON'T need another shelter. I DON'T need another shelter. While the Moment is really really cool, the 21 ounce Sublite, now with vestibule, is definitely a contender. But, I digress. This is a DR thread.

[Lynn Tramper]

"As for the lower reaching vestibule, it is still my oppinion that as it is it allows for some air flow, down to the ground would just trap ground evaporation causing more condensation."

It's easier to lift the vestibule a bit for improved ventilation than it is to make a too-short vestibule more weatherproof. Many is the time we have had to cross-stake at least one vestibule and/or dig a hole for the pole ends to keep nasty weather out. Would be nicer if this wasn't necessary, but it's honestly not that hard as to be a deal breaker for me. I really like the new cros strut design, and like most other folks, I would appreciate not having to cut off the free-standing feature of the previous modell! Now, are the tabs on the 2010 velcro, or toggles?? From a distance, they appear to still be velcro. The velcro was one pain-staking change I had to make, as it was too fiddly for my tastes, and was catching/snagging the inner mesh when the tent was packed.

[Ryan Tucker]

how do you modify the vestibule for the full rain porch? i ask for the potential of bivy sacking it when we take me 4 year old daughter on a few trips this summer. i was thinking i could bivy and my wife and daughter stay inside.

at this point we don't take the little one unless we are reasonably sure the weather isn't going to be terrible. i thought this set up would allow me to leave the BA Copper Spur UL 3 at home. :)

[Lynn Tramper]

You could ask Henry if he'd do a custom rain porch…you'd only need one. Otherwise you would have to take scissors to your brand new tent to remove the existing porch, use that as a guide to cut a longer version, then sew the longer version on, complete with velcro in all the right places.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Couldn't one make a wedge-shaped silnylon "gore" W/ matching zippers on each side (W/ zipper flap on one side of the wedge)?

Open the vestibule and zip in the new "extender".

Or is my recollection of the DR opened vestibule wrong?

[Lynn Tramper]

You could just add and extension to the existing rain porch, but it would add more weight and complexity. Ideally the extended rain porch would come from the production line rather than fiddling around with bits and pieces…

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