Six Moon Designs Refuge/Refuge X Tent Review

I want the 'X' version so badly, but they are sold out :(

I'll let Ron give specifics, but when I asked them to be put on the waiting list, I received a reply from SMD stating that the Refuge X will be going through some revisions before being re-released, and it will be available late winter.

15.8 oz is just crazy for a 2 person shelter like this.

You wrote "To find a possible solution, I put the grip end of the trekking pole against the seam of the ridgeline and beak and found that greater tension was much easier to achieve."

Is the Ridgeline the line at the top of the tent, down the length? This means then, as I read it, that you had the hiking pole righted up, with the pointed end on the ground then. But the photos below this sentence shows the opposite. Can you help unconfuse me? Thanks.

ps – in the field, if you saw the wear in the mesh at the corner like you photographed, how would you field-repair that? Just curious. How would you reinforce/repair it at home then? Have you done such and can you present a photo of that? Thanks again!

Roleigh

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I have since added my own bathtub floor to my Refuge-X. As noted in one trial where it was left pitched in heavy rain, there is a tendency for the water to "wick" underneath the edges and drip down the mesh onto the floor. It is also difficult NOT to roll over onto the side mesh perimeter when there are two people side-by-side. I made the bathtub floor "floating" so that it can be rolled back in fine weather.

As for the ridgeline, I came to the same conclusion as Doug. My solution was to sew a strip of gossgrain running from the edge of the ridgeline to the pole grommet. I made these two strips slightly shorter than the actual lenngth of the vent, so that when you tighten the pole guylines, the force is applied directly to the ridgeline via the grossgrain. Hope that makes sense.

I am also contemplating moving the mesh perimeter to prevent it from touching the ground (ala Lunar solo). This would decrease the chance for abrasion and stop the rain wicking under, but at the cost of some currently nice useable real estate. I think the mesh perimeter is part of what makes this tent feel so spacious (it's somewhere to put the dog and packs).

Finally (photos to follow), I have rigged up an MLD cuben poncho/tarp as an awesome rain porch over the door of the Refuge. This turns a refuge into a mansion!! 20 oz total, including rain porch, bathtub floor and extra stakes. Not bad for two people…

Roleigh, I'll put up some photos soon. My Refuge-X came in at under 16oz (435 grams), and my poncho was under 4oz too (106 grams, whatever that works out at). Maybe just lucky, but I think both manufacturers include the weight of the guylines in their quoted weights. The guyline that came with the poncho was much more heavy duty than I needed, so I swapped it for some not much thicker than dental floss!! I also didn't include the weight of the stuff sacks as I don't use them.

Doug you have the coolest avatar pic around!!!

Amazing tent. Anyone have any comments after using this for the past year or two? Is it holding up? Delighting you?

I now own a Refuge X and I've got a few chances to use it so I have some comments to share.

1) I made a 1.3oz silnylon footprint for this tent which weighs 6oz total. I designed the footprint to be just a little smaller that the outer edges of the tent, so that even if you roll onto the mesh you won't contact the potentially wet ground. I also added a few extra tie outs to the footprint so that it can alternatively be used a tarp. This is real spouse pleaser. If we get to camp and it's pouring rain, I can set up the 104" x 48-60" tarp over our cooking/sitting area and then later I can slip it under the Refuge X when we go to bed.

2) Regarding setting up the tent and getting the ridgeline taut, the length of the trekking pole used is a significant factor in this. Due to the design of the tent, a shorter pole (~105cm) that is level with the top of the tent will give you a taut ridgeline, but the sides will sag a bit in the middle since the line of tension runs through the ridge rather than across the sides to the opposite corner. If you use a longer pole (115cm) you can get perfectly taut sides, but you'll have a lot of slop in the ridgeline. The ideal setup is to set your poles just long enough to get the sides taut. The ridgeline won't be drum tight but it will have the minimum possible slop while having tight sides. Tight sides is more important that a taut ridgeline because non-taut sides sag inward and significantly reduce the interior usable space. If you use the optional tie outs on the sides to increase the interior volume, you want to do this before you do the final tweak to your trekking pole height because this affects the taut-ness of the tent. If you use the optional guy outs and get them pretty tight and high, then you can get away with a shorter trekking pole setting around 108cm that will give you basically a taut ridgeline too. The tent will still sag a bit at the edges though. I'm sure all of this doesn't make a lot of sense to the reader, but go and play with your Refuge X and vary the trekking pole length and you'll see what I mean.