Apologies – Another Lunar Solo question

Yes – post a pic.

The short answer would be no. UV degradation does happen but I would expect not that quickly.  Have you put a hose on it to see if the hydrostatic head has changed at all?

I’m on my second Lunar Solo. The first was silnylon, and over many years faded noticeably but was still fully functional. The second is polyester and I’ve maybe used it 50 days/nights and if it’s faded, I haven’t noticed.

So Wayne, the level of fading your Lunar Solo is showing seems unusual. I don’t know what practical effect it will have, however. I suspect Six Moon will have some insight.

Hi

Here are the pics.

1). Compared to zipper margin. Velcroed flap, so not exposed directly to sunlight.

2). and 3). Door fly compared to bathtub.

As for hydrostatic head changing. No, haven’t put a hose on it since I first did so 7 days ago.

I bought this from https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/

I haven’t bought a tent from them before, but bought other things, all fine.

Extra note. I’ve just sent off my concerns to Six Moon Designs.

I’ve mentioned that Ultralight Outdoor Gear ARE on their recommended retailer list.

Would be good to know if the fabric is the older nylon or the newer poly. I would have guessed poly but it’s possible that retailer had some older stock.

Ignoring the dye, 9 days of continuous sun is a notable dose of UV for a lightweight nylon because most lightweight nylon’s don’t have UV protective coating (only serious alpine tents have this) and nylon degrades rapidly under UV. It’s not that well documented but typically a new nylon tent will lose 10-30% strength with exposure like that. Good news is that it’s a negative asymptotic where it might lose 4% on day one, 3% on day 2-4, 2% days 5 – 9…etc….where it might take an additional 90 days to lose that much again. Most nylon tents are down well under 50% of their original strength after a few years, but few notice because the fabric is still strong enough. Pragmatically, it does mean that the often touted strength advantage of nylon over poly is largely not the case in field use, as nylon loses strength when wet, with UV etc.

If the tent is poly, then it is a largely immune to UV degradation. The same UV dose that degrades nylon 30% would take about 0.3% off a poly tent. However, dyes in general don’t stick as well to poly, so colors come out lighter and can fade quicker. If this tent is poly that’s probably what you’re seeing – the dye hasn’t soaked into the material that much, and thus is more of a “surface coat” that will fade faster than a dye that is more impregnated.

Thanks Dan. I think I understand. It should be okay then. This is for a few planned multi-day hikes, one perhaps a 6 weeker. I expect all weathers except snow and big storms. So, indeed, there’ll be a lot of sun on it.

Therefore, I didn’t reckon 9 days in sunshine here was an unreasonable ‘check’ at all.

A tag on it states winner of 2019 excellence award. Another tag has a number with 2020 amongst the digits on it.

I’ve been asked to send those phptographs to SMD tech people. Awaiting a response now.

When I packed it up yesterday it was VERY noticeable the ontense original greenness of the underside compared to the ‘fly’. A massive contrast in fact.

If they tell me it’s okay that it’s faded so much and to be expected after just 9 days pitched, should I leave it at that, do you think? Or make a bigger fuss No idea what I could do though in any case. :/

Usually people are packing up lightweight backpacking tents in the morning and re-pitching in the evening, so they don’t get too much sun because it’s fewer hours and because the UV is less intense in the early and late hours. There’s a lot of variables, but getting continuous sun from 11am-3pm for a day or two, might be as much UV as weeks or months of use if it’s taken down at 9am and re-pitched at dinner.

Based on those dates, it probably is the poly version. In that case, I wouldn’t worry about it as much since UV is not an issue and some dyes do fade on poly. It may be that certain colors fade more than others.

Okay Dan. A bit annoyed with myself now for leaving it up so long. Nevermind. I live and learn. Thanks very much for your thoughts. Wayne