TARPTENT OR SIX MOON DESIGNS

[GREG SCOTT]

Would you reccomend the purchase of the henry shires tarptent double rainbow or the six moon designs lunar duo?

[EndoftheTrail]

No need to use all caps…

But answering your question… both are great tarptents. Not a show stopper either way, but for two people sharing, I would give my nod to the SMD Lunar Duo. It has 54" width (with bathtub floor) whereas the Tarptent Dr has only 48" (with bathtub floor) — which is tighter for two people. You can get an extra 4 inches' width on the DR by undoing the bathtub and making the floor flat instead — but then, of course, no bath tub protection.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Both are good designs and you can't go wrong with either tent. But I pefer the Double Rainbow for reasons of stability (IMHO) and the option of a liner for cooler weather. Plus the D R can be made frestandig IF both people carry hiking poles or the optional ground level poles for this function.

[Jason Delso]

This thread has 7 pages of discussion on this exact topic that might be useful to you…

[BlackHatGuy]

"Would you reccomend the purchase of the henry shires tarptent double rainbow or the six moon designs lunar duo?"

Yes.

[Nick Gatel]

Well done, Doug!

:)

[GREG SCOTT]

For those of you that posted, I appreciate your comments. For those of you that find my grasp of the English language to be lacking, please don't bother to post on my threads.

:)

[Mike S]

Both are great tents. I own a Lunar Duo because i am 6'6" and the space in it is unrivaled for the weight.

[David Ure]

If you become a member, you can read the reviews.

[Karple T]

I looked at both for a long time and went with the Lunar Duo after watching the videos on You Tube for both and I found a better deal on a Duo from Gear Swap.

The angled walls, less headroom and smaller vestibule of the TT were the differences that made me choose the Duo.

I made a removable interior ceiling just like the rainbow has for my Duo for cold weather and it was very simple to install and only added a few ounces.

There are lots of ways to pitch without being able to put in stakes so don't let that freestanding difference dissuade you from the Duo.

As it has been stated you would not go wrong with either so maybe just look for the best deal on one.

Read the other threads on this site about them.

[David Ure]

In a nutshell: Go for the Six Moons if you want maximum space. Go for the Tarptent if you want maximum wind performance. I have always found Tarptents better made in terms of sewing quality but YMMV.

[EndoftheTrail]

Several have commented on the DR as being better in strong winds. Can y'all elaborate on this?

[Ryley Breiddal]

Ben, I'm not an owner of either, but an observer of both numerous times on the PCT. The default for the DRainbow seemed to be a very tight pitch, whereas your average Lunar Duo looked like a kite. Tons of deflection, every little breeze kicking it around.

I'm sure with a well chosen site and a perfect pitch that wouldn't be the case… but on average, that doesn't seem to happen :)

[EndoftheTrail]

Good, bad or ugly — I think comments like this will be useful to OP.

I used to own a Lunar Solo (but not Duo). A properly taut set up was "tricky" the first time or two — but then becomes totally 'slam dunk'. What about the Lunar Duo?

And when both are set up properly, what are the wind experiences?

[Chris S]

I was trying to decide between these two tents a few months ago and ended up with the double rainbow. While the lunar duo appears to be more spacious, the double rainbow is by no means too small. I use a large neoair and long sleeping bag and my girlfriend has a regular sized sleeping pad and bag and we have plenty of room.

[Ken Bennett]

We owned a Double Rainbow and traded it for a Lunar Duo. The extra interior room is significant. Much more than you might expect.

[EndoftheTrail]

Well Ken, since you've had direct experience with both… what about their performance in the wind?

[Guy Sanders]

Craig, not to hijack thread but could you share your design for the removable interior ceiling. I too have a Lunar Duo and would be interested in this!

[Franco Darioli]

Greg
There is a Qantas staff joke about what to do when the answer to "tea or coffee?" is "yes ,please" and that is to supply half and half….
But of course it is a joke.
Nobody (that I can see) was making fun of you, it was just a silly way of saying either shelter will do, pick the one you like…
Franco

[Jacob D]

I own both and have more experience with the Duo. IMO all differences are subtle other than the room available/footprint size. The space inside the Duo is amazing, but it comes with that darn big footprint too. This is the primary criteria to consider between these two tents. A cruddy location could equal a cruddy pitch… been there, done that.

Regarding use in wind, if we're talking about light to moderate winds there is little difference as far as I'm concerned.

A little OT, but since it was mentioned – I also have a Lunar Solo on hand and I have never got the hang of pitching that one. The Duo is much easier to pitch (IMO), so long as you can find a spot for it of course.

[Chris S]

One thing to note on the DR is that the 2010 version has more floor space than previous versions. Here's the reply I got when I inquired about that:

"The floor is 1" wider all the way around — flat floor width went from 56" to 58"; flat floor length went from 96" to 98"
The DR does fit two side-by-side 25" pads. In that case you would have roughly 4" bathtub sides and the length would be unchanged. In practice you wont really get the floor walls up that high along the long side (so more width, less height) but the long sides are well protected by the beaks/vestibules."

One thing to note on the LD is that it's $70 off in the bargain bin: http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/bargin-bin.html
EDIT: (credit to Steve McAllister for providing that link in the Gear Deals forum)

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