TarpTent Contrail vs. 6 Moon Designs Lunar Solar E

I had the SMD Lunar, and although its a great shelter, I prefer the Contrail, for 3 main reasons 1) quicker set-up, 2) less condensation, and 3) more headroom or air space over you while sleeping, and the door is directly at you head as well. (read no silnylon at your face/head)

I only have experience with the TT Contrail. I find it roomy for one, well ventilated,great in downpours and well made.

As for snow, just use the loop at the center of the foot to attatch your OTHER hiking pole to make the Contrail have a peak all the way down the roof for better snow shedding. (See Franco's old post pics on Backpacking Lightweight's Gear forum)

Heavy snow ain't this tent's domain. For that you need a freestanding 4 season tent or a Hilleberg Akto.

Eric

I have other tents for planned snow.

I'm concerned about the unplanned snow like the three and a half inches of heavy slop I got hit with in July at 11,000 ft.

My current lightweight shelter fleet is as follows:

1) Hex3 – floorless and big enough for 2 and a big dog
2) Squall 2 – floorless and big enough for 2 or 1 with dog + bug protection
3) X – looking for solo shelter with floor and bug protection
4) Oware Cat Tarp – solo, no floor or bug protection.

I'm looking to fill slot #3 with the next purchase. Thanks!

"I'm concerned about the unplanned snow like the three and a half inches of heavy slop I got hit with in July at 11,000 ft."

Mother Nature can occasionally be a bad girl. To fill in # 3 on your list and satisfy the above concern, I'd try the Traptent Rainbow if you'll only go solo. Your Squall2 should do a nice job of shedding snow, but the 2-hooped Cloudburst2 would be a bit better….but both are 2-man tents. Henry could probably sew a floor into the Squall2 for you, but a good groundcloth (i.e. Gossamer gear Polycryo would be cheaper and give you more flexibility.

I have both the Contrail (for solo use) and the Double Rainbow (for 2).

Greg,

I have both the Contrail and the Lunar Solo and have used both in all kinds of weather–except snow (We don't get much of that in South Texas).

As far as weight- after you add stakes to the Lunar Solo (Contrail comes with them) and seam seal them they weigh within an ounce of each other around 26 oz.

You are right that the Lunar Solo may be more storm resistant in that the overhang of the roof extends almost to the ground and the more pyramid shape may spill snow and wind incrementally better. On the other hand I have gotten more condensation in the Lunar Solo and find it less well vented than the Contrail. The Lunar Solo comes with a zippered vestibule, which I find more convenient than the Contrail's Velcro one. The Lunar Solo really has only one way to pitch it, but it does come in two colors.

The Contrail vents very well and I have found it surprisingly condensation free in all but the most challenging atmospheric situations. The many different variations for pitching the Contrail are a plus as weather conditions change you can change the tent to accommodate. In the storm mode with the foot end carbon stays laid flat and staked to the ground the Contrail is sort of a wedge shaped pyramid. It can also be pitched with front and rear pole as an "A" frame.

This summer we took both tents to the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado for a week. No snow, but some rain. Both did great, but the Lunar Solo had condensation every morning and the Contrail only one night.

Foot room is about the same in both tents and should accommodate "clown feet" without a problem.

Head room should be ok in both tents also, although you have to be a little more careful in the Lunar Solo since the high point is in the middle one has a tendency to brush the sides when sitting up.

-Mark

I knew somebody here would own both!

In the photo it looks like the LS is staked with the canopy flush to the ground. I think SMD/Ron recommends keeping a gap between the ground and canopy.

Are you using the gap and still getting significantly more condensation in the LS than the Contrail?

Thanks again (everybody)!

It is hard to choose between these 2 great designs…

Greg,
Very observant. Actually, I pitched the Lunar Solo the way it is supposed to be pitched, I followed the directions as to pole height and guy line length to the letter and I never have gotten more than a few inches of clearance. The solution seems simple- just set the pole higher, but when you do that the geometry is off and the floor sags (i.e. no bathtub effect) and you still don't gain much clearance around the perimeter. In the newest version of the Lunar Solo that I have, the floor guys are sewn directly to the edge of the roof so there isn't much adjustment one can do. I wrote Ron about this and he said to follow the instructions and I should get the appropriate pitch the tent was designed for. So that is what I have done. I would like to get several more inches of clearance so this tent would "breath" as well as the Contrail, but I haven't been able to figure out how as yet. The Lunar Solo is definately a little tricky to pitch verses the Contrail.

Greg, If you don't mind paying the shipping, you can order either one of these tents and try them out in the backyard and if you don't like it ship it back. Both Henry and Ron have a policy that allows this.

Good Luck,

-Mark

I have no experience with the Contrail (although if money weren't the limiting factor would like to try one) but have used (and like) the SMD Lunar Solo e.

Mark,
It's way too long to repeat here, but see this thread for my lengthy discussion of simple mods to the LS to significantly improve the pitch.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/8262/index.html?skip_to_post=59808#59808

I have, by the way, gone to regular 2mm (non-shockcord) guylines to anchor the front corners of the floor.

I had another idea this last weekend backpacking on North Manitou Island in northern Lake Michigan and will post additional info to that thread if it works out easily.

Siegmund,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Problem solved.

-Mark

P.S. Did I mention- Thank You!

Since I have 8" Easton stakes already (and an experimenting nature) I ordered Mr. Moak's shelter.

Greg

Mark, you're welcome.

Just posted to the original thread the detail of the replacement floor attachment guylines that I've been using this summer. You may want to revisit that thread for those comments.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/8262/index.html?skip_to_post=70260#70260