Thoughts on tent before I pull the trigger

It's heavier and probably more tent than you are looking for, but the MSR CR2 would be a good size and probably could get your employee deal on one. I'm not sure how big of a factor that is. You'd be looking at an extra pound of weight over the Moment, but you'd also get a double wall tent and a lot more headroom so it depends on your priorities.

You really ned to take a close look at the TarpTent Moment. I had a Contrail for 3 years but, as nice as it was, I like the Moment much better.

The Contrail is definitely a palace — bigger inside than the Moment. Your dog can curl up at the bottom where it tapers down.

Honestly, the Contrail is fine in wet weather. Try to avoid pitching near water, and you won't get much condensation, except perhaps on very windy nights. In windy weather, pitch with the narrow end into the wind, and pitch the bottom low.

Really, it's a fine tent for the weight and the price — my workhorse tent.

Stargazer

I have a Great Dane who is my hiking partner and he fits easily inside my 1.63 pound Appy Trails Mark III with me, my pack, and room to spare. If youve never checked it out, its hard to beat for $99 and then just use a cheap tyvek ground sheet. That way if your dog does damage the floor (ground sheet) just get a new one. At least give it a glance, ive been super impressed with mine.
appytrails.com

I just got a Lunar Duo with the 70D floor and durability of the floor doesn't seem like it will be an issue with the dogs. I keep their nails trimmed and they have always behaved in the tent. Once it gets warm they sleep outside (unless it is pouring rain).

You could always get a piece of tyvek and make your dog carry it. Stick that inside your tent and limit his actions to that piece of tyvek. (i assume your dag has a pack)

Hi Quinn I have a TT rainshadow 2 and the floor has held up fine to dogs nails so far however the first day of hiking usually on granite pretty much smooths the sharp edges on the nails. I bought the tent for me a girl friend and two dogs 60 and 30 lbs. To help you on the space issue I think the main factor is how well the dog behaves and by the fact that you have him in your pack (hopefully without resorting to duct tape) he seems well behaved. Ive had one 30lb dog and me 5'10" 220lbs in a msr zoid 1 with all gear tight but it works The X and I used a walrus zoid 2 with two dogs and all equipment inside other than cooking gear and managed.So if your dog can fit in an Ather 60??? andcan be calm and curl up and sleep I think I could make a Moment,contrail or even a six moons wild oasis work all of which Im considering as I no longer have a wife or GF just three dogs which I only take one at a time. My bigger consern and advise would be trail ettiqite (sorry for the miss spell) with the dogs not letting them run up to people off leash and or jump on them not every one knows your dog is friendly and not all care. There are a lot of people scared of dogs out there. I do hike with my dog off leash but with every person we run into my dog is called to me we step off trail he/ she is put on leash and into a sit stay and we and does not jump or lung at the other hiker if the other person wishes to meet my dog(s) that is ok but it is their chose not the dogs. I dont expect anyone to know my dog is under control I PROVE IT every time And by the number of comments of Thanks and appreciation, compliments to me and my dogs and storys I hear and things I see when I meet others with dogs I feel most should not be on the trail or their owner. Clean up after them as you should keep them quiet and polite as you should yourself and I hope others will welcome you and your dog on the trail. Sorry for my long 2 cents I just started about a tent. Im thinkin a contrail take care Mark

Well don't shoot yourself over a tent dude… ; )

"So basically anything else I should take into consideration before I purchase something. I think I'm leaning more towards the TT Rainbow right now."

Since you work at REI, you might take a look at the MSR Hubba Hubba. That way you could take advantage of your employee discount(30% ?). As regards Tarptents, maybe take a look at the Scarp 2. Lots of room and, since it is double wall, it will manage condensation better than the Double Rainbow in humid conditions. Same goes for the Hubba Hubba.

The MSR Hubba Hubba is another good choice, but it is kinda heavy. I think mine is a hair over 4 pounds. Also being almost all mesh, it might be a little fragile with your dog going in and out alot. I would love to hear how it works if you get the contrail, i almost bought one but figured me and a 150 lb dog was a wee much.

Hubba Hubba -1 I had the Hubba Hubba with my dog…

My dog didn't get any rest in it at all since at night you can't really see the mesh and he would lay awake all night long just smelling at the air and "protecting" the tent. With one of those "get away from here" "woof" noises every 30 minutes it got annoying for me as well.

This made us always put up the fly so that his den instincts would kick in and he would sleep better …and we would sleep better.

My Hubba Hubba happened to also leak through the seams in the floor and the fly. No good for the PNW.

Have you thought about going the Copper Spur UL2 route? I'm sure you can get a discount on that… Heck REI has a 20% off on all full priced items right now.

Quinn
I just had a quick play with the Moment (wow..)
Depending exactly on your size and the size of your dog this could be a good choice.
In the pics you see a Neo Air mat deflated. Like this it is 72" long and 21" wide.
One end is against the end of the floor. At that point the fabric directly over your nose is about 20" away (could be the foot end..)
The other end of the mat is 13" from the end.
The Osprey pack is meant to simulate your dog and is 24" long , 15" wide.
Franco
My first set up attempt was 2:30 sec (from the never opened bag to full set up)
The next one 1:35 . I should get it down to about 1:15 but not likely less than the 58 sec for the Contrail.
In the bush (not in my backyard…) the Moment particularly when tired and in bad weather, should be faster.
franco@tarptent.com

Im only 5'7"
5'7" IS the ISSFT ( International Standard Size For Tents, my size actually…)
Knowing that, and having transferred the tent to my spare bedroom , I inflated the Neo. It is now 19.5" wide (that is 50cm the metric standard size)
That Tyvek you see there is 9" wide at each end, 18" in the middle and 45" long.
So you still have room for the pack inside or in the vestibule .
That reminded me about my liking for "extending" the vestibule and just discovered how it is done on this one. Neat…
The pen points to the Velcro strip where the floor normally sits. In the extended version it is about 28" wide.


Hard to tell in the top picture but the edge of the floor is about 10" away from the fly. This is important because it means that you still have room for air intake there.
The tent is in "freestanding" mode so the walls are not fully out as when pegged down correctly .

Franco
franco@tarptent.com
(ignore the masking tape. It is the floor plan of another tent)

I've got to say Franco I think you sold me on the moment it looks like its going to be just enough room for both me and mutt. Your pictures have been immensely helpful.

Seize the Moment!

But if you still have any doubts, I would recommend that you contact Henry about ordering both and have him go easy on the shipping charges. Then you can set both Moment and Rainbow up side by side for a real live comparison — and return one for a quick refund. Return postage shouldn't cost more than $15-16 — and IMO, well worth the small hassle to help you make the right decision.

Also, just some stuff I learned the hard way.

Before you let the pup in the tent put him on a camp towel (think door mat) wipe his paws down with another camp towel and use this moment to check the pads and overall run your hands over him to check for ticks and bugs before giving the "ok" release for him to go in the tent.

Here in th PNW my pitty has a tendency to track in lots of pine needles and little paw prins over my sleeping bag etc. This is just a nice way of keeping things clean and potentially bug free.

I'm sure sleeping on tracked in pebbles if your ten is on top of a rock can make little holes in the tent floor.

I take a small comb and comb my dog (Lab/Golden cross) before he goes into the tent. Helps keep down the flying hair (he sheds perpetually!) as well as removing dirt and possible ticks. The pack towel or a Handi-Wipe is also needed to remove mud or at least partially dry his coat. If the dog is wet, a breathable jacket helps both to keep him warm and to keep the wet fur from rubbing directly on your sleeping bag.

"My Hubba Hubba happened to also leak through the seams in the floor and the fly. No good for the PNW."

Sounds like you got a lemon. Why didn't you just exchange it or get a refund? Lots of happy Hubba Hubba owners up here in the PNW.

+1. Never heard of a Hubba Hubba being no good for PNW. Even the best brands can produce a lemon once in a while. You should pursue this with MSR's warranty dept.

I don't really have much to say, well nothing, other than I can't believe how helpful all you folk are – especially Franco, with his photos and tapes and pen… wow! What an ace set of people!

Thanks, but I am now making something from that ( I get a commission for the TT sold here in Australia) although when I was doing, for the last 5 years, exactly the same thing for nothing ( apart from having some fun) some questioned my reason for doing so.
As a matter of fact I started playing with the Moment yesterday , so it was new to me too. Pretty much what I expected but having the real thing was a bonus.
Franco
franco@tarptent.com

"My Hubba Hubba happened to also leak through the seams in the floor and the fly."

The Hubba Hubba has factory tape on all seams, so if in fact is leaking there, versus condensing, running to the seam, and dripping, it needs to go back to whomever.

As for the floor – if you kneel on wet spongy ground you can force moisture through the PU. If you kneel on a sleeping pad you'll avoid most of that problem. If you see puddling inside around the seam then I suspect someone had a bad day at the shop when your tent was going through.

We have stress-tested ours since '03 in hours long monsoonal rains, and floated it in poorly drained sites. It has always been a dry tent.

I reviewed the Hubba Hubba for this site and never had issues despite extensive testing in the Washington Cascades and coastal rainforests.

Check out the Seedhouse 2 SL review- it wouldn't be on my list.

However, the Moment and Scarp 1 are on my short list and I'm currently debating the two. Probably will end up with the Moment and glad to hear this conversation!

Doug

Doug:
Probably will end up with the Moment and glad to hear this conversation!

I love it when I'm unintentionally helpful :)

I just went back and read the review on the Seedhouse SL2 and other then the comments on the vestibule there wasn't a whole lot of negatives. You mean you wouldnt put on your list because of that, or is the weight of the tent what your talking about?