Double Rainbow vs. Lunar Duo

B itch, b itch, b itch… :)

Hi Ron,

Thanks for taking the time to personally explain SMD products and services – it's nice to see the company founder so personally involved. I realize SMD must have a constant email backlog and that it was a holiday weekend (hope you and your family had a nice one). I've been trying to reach SMD since last week to place an order for a Lunar Duo and possibly a Vamp, and just sent a few questions in order to place the order. Appreciate it very much if you could get email or PM me as soon as possible (I'd like to order in time for an upcoming trip).

My email is a gmail with my user name.

Thanks

I'm considering these two shelters and rather than create a new thread I figured I'd just add to this one. After reading through the above posts as well as a few others I'm leaning towards the Lunar Duo since it seems to have a bit more interior space, but would welcome any additional advice on these shelters or possibly other options….we're not opposed to the tarp/bivy option either.

A bit of background: I'm 6'2" and about 220, so the extra space is definitely nice. Virtually all my trips are with my girlfriend so I'm looking for a shelter that will accommodate both of us. Most of our trips are 3 season in the Sierras. We prefer bug/critter protection.

Regarding the DR liner, is this recommended if we decided to get that shelter? It's advertised as "adds warmth in winter or cooling in summer" but is bug proctection part of the equation or is the DR fully enclosed? The pictures on the Tarptent website make it look like there's a gap between the floor and the wall, but I can't tell for sure.

The double rainbow is fully bugproof/enclosed.
This was the first step for my wife from double skin tents.

I recently sold it because we moved to tarp and floorless shelters but for the time we used it, we didnt use the liner after a few hikes, we didnt feel the added benefit was measurable enough to be worth the weight.

Hi Fred, did you have a chance to use the DR + liner in the rain and cold?

TT DR liner..
"It's advertised as "adds warmth in winter or cooling in summer" "
The biggest advantage, from my point of view , would be that if you happen to hike in an area where there is a lot of condensation , rather than you wiping under the fly the liner will catch possible drips and avoid you brushing against a wet wall.
Under some circumstances, heavy rain with large rain drops, you can get mist by penetration.
Not common but it happens.
That will be taken care by the liner too. Think of it as a DWR layer .
Never had the need to use it in my Rainbow but I have one in the Moment. Mostly that was so that I knew how to retrofit one but as it looks sort of cute I might just leave it there.
As pointed out above, the DR (like all Tarptents now) is fully bug proof as it is, he liner has nothing to do with that.
Franco
( the above is my personal opinion, not an official Tarptent comment…)

I have used the DR quite a few times in heavy rain, despite the lower part being noseeum i didnt have problem with it and stayed dry.

But i now prefer floorless shelters for heavy rain , i like being able to go in and out without removing shoes or dirtying what i sleep on.

I had to seam seal again the top of the DR, i think that is why the design was changed.

I camped in the snow a few times, but never with wind + snowfall or heavy snowfall, so couldnt see if snow could enter via the noseum base in the first case or if it would stand the weight of snow.

When I was looking at these 2 tents i decided to go with the Lunar Duo because it has the space i need. I am 6'6" and this tent is HUGE. I have shared it with my wife as well as my 2 lab mixes.

Most of my backpacking is in the Mid-Atlantic and this tent has served me very well during the summer. I have had it out multiple times and never had any issues.

The tent is easy to setup. The only con considering the setup is that is does require a rather large footprint. You can get creative though with the tie-outs. On this linked pic you can see that i actually have the vestibule tie-out extended by using a guy line.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Yjzl6doZ545QdBSjh8V0Uw?feat=directlink

The only time I have had condensation was this September when we spent a night in the high alpine of Olympic Nat Park. It wasn't much though and we just ran a cloth along the inside in the morning.

Couple other pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RqvnAQc0DIiUW2fMHhbVlQ?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qCGfC4G8DxY7kYHnUfpxjw?feat=directlink

We owned both of these tents, and also the original Rainshadow. For two hikers, our impressions are:

The Lunar Duo has significantly more interior volume. The stats understate this difference. Plenty of length for tall hikers, too.

The Double Rainbow is faster to pitch, and requires a smaller site.

We sold the DR and use the Lunar Duo.

Thanks all. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be going with the Lunar Duo, but undecided on which floor to go with. I figure if I use a ground sheet then I might as well go with the UL floor, but if I go with the standard floor then no ground sheet. Any opinions? And are there better options than the 6.5 ounce Tyvex ground cloth 6MD sells along with the tent?

Just to be sure, the DR got bigger this past year. I have the 2010 model, and I find it very spacious. I've never owned a lunar duo though. Here are the specs to the 2010 DR.

From this thread:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=29755&skip_to_post=249731

Henry writes:
"> 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."

And in a personal email to me, he wrote:

"Hi Konrad,

The floor got an inch longer and wider all the way around. If you want to flatten the floor ends, yes, the floor fabric length went from 96" to 98""

Now I've never taken the time to measure it all out..I think the 58" inches is for a flattened floor, b/c when I pull the bathtub up, it doesn't appear to be that wide. That being said, its still a very spacious tent.

You might want to send him an email to get the most up to date specs. I don't this his website is reflecting the 2010 measurements…which is a shame

I use a piece of 2 mil painters plastic. A large sheet that you can easily cut 4+ ground cloths out of only costs about $5.

I went with the heavier floor because my dogs sleep inside the tent with me when my wife doesn't come along.

Chris, is wind stability a factor? I've read that the DR is far more wind stable than the Lunar Duo because of the shape which helps shed wind and the smaller footprint of the walls/overall tent, and that the Lunar Duo is very roomy but presents a large face to the wind. In terms of space, I know a bunch of couples that use the Double Rainbow and it works fine for them. And I've read of couples here that like the Lunar Duo for the spacious interior.

They are both fine tents – to repeat what others have pointed out, all tents are a mix of compromises, so make your choices based on what's most important to you – weight, wind- and weather-resistance, interior volume, size of footprint, ease of pitching, etc.

How did the shelters compare in terms of wind stability?

Wind stability is definitely a factor, but I was originally leaning towards the LD because it seemed like I the DR would be a little bit too tight for me to be comfortable with my Large NeoAir and my girlfriend's regular sized air mattress. I was also concerned with the angle of the wall in the DR creating less usable space than the LD. But if these are no longer problems with the 2010 version of the DR then that might be better for me.

Fortunately, it seems like I can't really go wrong either way, but I'll probably agonize over it for a few days anyway.

Geez, just buy them both. You can never have too many tents.

nm

My gf and I ended up choosing the DR for it's versatility. We loved the freestanding option with trekking poles on hard-packed ground. It has the option of not using trekking poles at all for setup (which could be nice if you don't use trekking poles) and has the porch options too (though we haven't used it yet). Although the interior space is not as roomy as the lunar duo, we found it spacious enough for us, there's enough vestibule space to put a pack and shoes on each side which leaves us plenty of space inside the tent. The smaller size is a small trade-off for all the features you get.

Wow,
I didn't realize that this thread had blossomed into such a detailed discussion. I own the LD, and have a couple points of feedback.

First, on SMD in general. Can't say enough of how happy I am with Ron, his crew and their products. I purchased both a Starlite, and a LD last winter. Right after I bought them, they "kinda" went on "sale". Actually I got the last of the previous year. I asked Ron about the new prices and he filled me in on some of the changes, and some new pricing. He then graciously offered to change my pricing! I declined, becuase I felt that he gave me a fair price to start, and two, I felt bad after the info he gave me made me realize I was acting like a snobby retail buyer trying to take advantage of his company! I spent 7 years making packs and gear, and I know how tough the margins are. He deserves to make a fair profit for his services.

After getting ready to use my LD, I noticed some bar tacks that had split the fabric. I asked Ron about it, and he said that wasn't right. Sent it back, and he sent me a new tent, and quick. Can't say enough how impressed I was with that degree of support!

Now, for some specific feedback. The LD is large/huge, as most have commented. But, its a workable size. The footprint is large, but with the floor, one can massage its shape over rocks, etc in order to make it fit in tight areas. I've had rocks between the floor and the overhang, and it didn't interfere with the overall pitch at all.

I have the green color, and love it. Its not super dark, but does knock down some of the bright sun, its not super light, but doesn't turn into a cave in the deep trees. It also blends into the scenery very well. Perfect for stealth camping.

I've gotten used to the poles being inside the door, and have a system where I only unzip the door a few inches and insert the pole. Easy once you get in the habit. My trekking poles make the pitch quite stable, and I don't feel any uneasiness about putting it into a windy situation. The general structure is sound.

I have struggled with the bottom slider hook being a bit difficult to tie the vestibule door bottoms to, but haven't tackled that yet. An easy mod, but haven't worked on it yet. Liked the suggestions given above.

The floor is the bomb! Really keeps crap out of the shelter. I have the normal floor, and its tough. No problems with duff or pine cones etc.

I use 4 short Easton stakes, and 2 long Eastons for the vestibule tie outs. If I think the weather is going to be wild, I bring an additional two for the middle tie outs with some trip tease and a couple of tensioners. You can really crank the vestibule tie outs, and put a great pitch on the tent. I'd like to replace my original lines with trip tease as the black can be a booby trap, but it just might be my clumsy self that has that issue.

I've started to double check my sleeping alignment with the doors as the "L" shape zipper works well if your head is at the part where it opens. Amazing to think it took me a few nights out to realize that. But the doors open so far that access and egress are quite easy. The pockets are a great spot for my little Petzl e-lite.

Ventilation, rainproofness, and condensation are not any different that most of the dozen tents I've owned/worn out. Its about set up, and managing what your given. I LOVE the ability of the LD to have both vestibules tied back, and have the whole tent basically wide open, with awesome visual, but still bug proof. Bugs were one of my main buying pre-requisite. The Idaho high country, like most western areas, can be really buggy, and can ruin trips. Awesome to have a sanctuary that is big enough to hide out in, without feeling confined.

Finally, the ability for my significant other to be fully enclosed and comfortable was the deciding factor. Combined with the lightweight, even if only used by one, the tent rocks. I'm willing to take it as a luxury shelter just for me on many trips.

I've just picked up a Wild Oasis for solo use, so I'm lookig forward to that, but thats for a different conversation!

LD and Wild Oasis in use, White Cloud Mountains, Idaho

After reading all the pages of this thread, both the DR and LD look pretty sweet.

Thanks for the additional comments.

Another question I have is how much of the listed floor space is usually taken up for the bathtub wall? Do I need to subtract this from both the 58×98 mentioned above by Konrad for the DR and the 54×90 listed on the SMD website for the LD to get the true floor dimensions? I'm assuming this is already be factored into the LD dimensions listed. Just trying to get the correct apples to apples comparison.

I can not comment on the DR.

The Lunar Duo sizing is true to the listed dimensions and every single inch of it is usable.

I confirmed that the specs listed on the Tarptent website are outdated and the 2010 version of the Double Rainbow is an extra 2 inches wider and longer, so I ordered it.

I was in the same situation having to decide between the LD and the DR. Unfortunately, I'm one of those who wonders about the grass on the other side.

However, I really really like the DR. Don't think you'll be disappointed. The best thing I like about the DR is the small footprint and ability to be freestanding, which are huge points in my book.

You'll enjoy it, especially all the adjustments you can make with the floor height etc and sliding the guyline attachments up or down the Easton stake to adjust how low you want the tent to ground. And don't judge the size of the tent until you've got two full pads in there and actually get in.

Chris–

you'll be thoroughly happy with the DR; especially the 2010 version. Its a fantastic shelter.

And don't underestimate the freestanding ability. If you're ever in terrain where stakes won't go in and/or hold reasonably well, the freestanding option can make life much easier.