“The One” vs Lunar Solo

[Dave Myers]

I am new to ultralight backpacking and am looking at getting my first "real" tent. What camping I have done previously has been with just a crappy Wal Mart tent.

I have pretty much narrowed my choices down to either "The One" from Gossamer Gear or a Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo.

To this point I have been leaning to the Lunar Solo simply because it is slightly less expensive and for a few dollars more they will seam seal it so I know it will be done right as opposed to trying to do it myself and screwing it up.

Both of these tents are supposed to be fairly easy to pitch but I'm wondering if anyone out there has any experience with both tents and can tell me which would be easier for an inexperienced backpacker to set up. I live in an area that often sees high winds so I need something that is going to be easy to set up to stand up to that.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[S P]

Did you consider anything from Tarptent?

If so, what criteria did you use to not consider a Tarptent vs the one and lunar solo?

[Brad Fisher]

Dave,

I have the GG One and the Tarptent Moment. Both are very good tents in my opinion. I used both on a trip in the Smokies a few weeks ago and they handle 2 inches of rain one night without issue.

Pro/Cons:
– Tarptent setups up very fast. GG requires more effort and a lot of stakes.
– GG is a little noisy in the wind, but seems to be getting better
– Tarptent is cheaper
– Tarptent has more useable room in my opinion

Tarptent Moment is my favorite single man tent at the moment.

Brad

[Dave Myers]

I had considered the Contrail but found this post that suggests it would not withstand wind as well I would like.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=17299

I had also considered the Rainbow as well but it is a few oz heavier than both the One and Lunar Solo. Also in one of the reader reviews from BPL it was said that some of the plastic parts in high stress areas were flimsy.

I considered the Moment but preferred the idea of using my trekking poles and the Moment requires a separate pole.

Anyway that was my reasoning but I would certainly be open to suggestions. Like I said I am inexperienced and so if it turns out I was too hasty or ill informed in ruling out one of the above I'd be glad to know.

[Wallace Hunter]

TT Moment +1

I have it and I am vastly impressed with roominess and easy setup. My favorite solo tent I have ever owned.

[Dave Myers]

Brad,

Thanks for the comments. More usable room is great. Given that that is two posts favorable to tarptent I think I was rash in excluding them from consideration. I've gone back and looked at the Moment and read through the BPL reader reviews. So some of the points that seem to be in favor for the Moment are:

1) Less expensive
2) More usable room
3) Easier and faster set up

Do you know if Tarptent does the seam sealing or is that something I will have to do myself with the Moment? Also how does the ventilation and condensation compare between the One and Moment?

Thanks again for the great info.

[Wallace Hunter]

I believe that you can get it here:

http://tinyurl.com/3o5ue5

This is the link that Henry sent me via email when I asked him the same question.

[S P]

If you email Henry (I believe he is out of the country for a little bit, but maybe someone is watching the shop/email), he will email you back a link for seam sealing to include it in your shopping cart.

If you want to use your trekking poles, look at the new 2010 sublite sil.

http://www.tarptent.com/subliteSil2010.html

It would be very stable in winds and now has a vestibule.

[Franco Darioli]

Here is my quick video on seam sealing the Moment. You only need to do the top seams not the side and bottom ones.
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7309058/19079793
Franco

[Dave Myers]

Thanks all of you for all the input it has been a huge help. I am now very strongly leaning toward the Moment as my choice of tent.

Franco, the seam sealing video is awesome. Thanks for putting that out there. That will be a huge help. I also saw your sub 1 minute set up videos of this tent as well as the video tour. I was really impressed with the tent after those videos. Looks like the tent is very easy to set up, sturdy, and looked more roomy than my initial impression.

Again, thank you all for the advice and information so far.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I have The One and the Lunar Duo.

The One is taller inside than the Lunar Duo but both have ample space for sitting upright.

Both take only 6 stakes to set up.

The first time I set up the Lunar Duo it seemed hard to do. But I got the hang of it. I do not like the spreader things. They make it hard to set up and take down and add weight. One morning the tent was covered in condensation that turned to ice and I could not get the spreaders out because my hands froze.

The One seemed complicated to set up for a long time. I finally got some instruction at the PCT kickoff from Glenn at Gossamer Gear. I wasn't pulling the back pole out at an angle far away enough. Once I got it that the back pole leans far enough to make the front peak much higher than the back peak, I had no more problems.

I love my One. Hiking the PCT I saw a lot of other tents but I never had tent envy. I had to use a Contrail for half of Oregon and all of Washington. I did not like it as much as The One. The Contrail had very little room for me to sit up inside. I'm only 5'3". I would brush up against the wet sides when packing up in the morning.

The Contrail does okay in the wind if you set it up with the tail end into the wind. If you set the sides into the wind they bow in a lot. The One is noisy in the wind at first but after a while the fabric softens and it's quieter. I have no experience with the Lunar Duo in the wind by my guess is it would be more wind-worthy than The One and quieter.

I think I camped with a guy who had a Moment. He was very happy with it. Still no tent envy for me, though.

[Dave Myers]

Piper,

Thanks for jumping in. It is good to hear from someone who has experience with both tents. From what I am hearing it seems that the One is a bit more time consuming and a bit more complicated to set up.

Since I am just starting out I am trying to keep everything as simple as I can and it seems the Moment fits the bill there. Also I have a very limited budget and the Moment is significantly less expensive than the one. If there was a huge gain in performance for the One over the Moment it would be worth it but it seems from what everyone has said that they are both great tents. Given that and the simplicity of the Moment I really think that is how I am going to end up going.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge about the One.

[Ben Gregory]

If you want to use your poles, perhaps you should consider the tarptent sublite or new sublite sil?

Apparently they're quite roomy and easy to set up.

[Brad Fisher]

Dave,
You have the seam sealing video so you should be set. It really is an easy process.

Brad

[Dave Myers]

Thank you all for the help and advice. I have ordered my Tarptent Moment.

Now the hard part is waiting for it to arrive!

[Jeffs Eleven]

>Now the hard part is waiting for it to arrive!

perhaps a new moniker?

[David Ure]

Here is a picture to keep you 'patient,' Mr. Wolf.

[Rakesh Malik]

You'll most likely have a shorter wait for a TarpTent product than for an MLD product :)

[D G]

Nice Pitch David.

What kind of stakes are you using in the sand?

[David Ure]

Hi Daniel,

I used two 8" MSR Easton Stakes. A little heavy but guaranteed tight pitch.

[Dave Myers]

That looks great David!

Jeff, just because I am patient doesn't make it easy lol. So I still stand by my statement that waiting is the hard part…but wait I will :)

[Roy Thornton]

I have both, and loan out the lunar solo.

The one is lighter, and seems to have less condensation. The lunar solo has more room inside, but if you're doing lightweight you don't have much stuff anyway.

I like either, but the fact that I loan out the lunar solo probably tells you where my vote is.

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