by Andrew Marshall and Ryan Jordan
Introduction
The Tarptent Double Rainbow Li is a 2-person, side-entry, 2-door (and 2-vestibule) hybrid single/double-wall tent made with Dyneema Composite Fabrics that weighs 27 oz (765 g).
Tarptent announced the Double Rainbow Li on April 23 and will make it available for sale beginning April 27. The Double Rainbow is Tarptent’s best-selling shelter, and the new DCF version will be one-third lighter.
We’ve had a few days to look over Tarptent’s specs for this product, and took it out for a spin this week to form some first impressions.
Watch the review video:
This article is sort of a hybrid First Look/Limited Review – it represents an initial performance analysis of a new product based on limited use in one type of climate and geographical environment. Herein, we make no claims regarding its long-term durability or performance in other environments. Learn more about the types of product reviews we publish.
Highlights
- Weight: 27 oz (765 g)
- Floor Dimensions: 50 in wide x 88 in long (127 cm x 224 cm)
- Bathtub floor height: 5 in (13 cm)
- Vestibule depth: 26 in (66 cm)
- Trekking poles can be used to set up the shelter in freestanding mode or to create a “porch.”
Overview
- What is new about this version of the Double Rainbow?
- DCF construction
- bonded seams – no sealing required
- one-third lighter than silnylon version
- carbon-fiber pole-set:
- Easton 3.9 carbon series (7.5 mm dia)
- main arch pole: 4.44 oz (126 g)
- cross strut: 0.88 oz (25 g)
- total carbon-fiber pole-set offers ~4 oz (113 g) weight savings over the aluminum pole-set used in the Double Rainbow
- Quote from Henry Shires: “We have been offering and shipping the Easton 3.9 carbon pole for awhile on the Rainbow and Bowfin 1S and so far reports of breaks have been nothing statistically greater than for the aluminum. I still wouldn’t trust the carbon pole to handle more extreme stresses — carbon snaps rather than bends — but for most use we think it will be fine.”
- partial solid interior wall (10d uncoated nylon)
- improved trekking pole attachment points for freestanding mode
- Incorporated the pattern from the Double Rainbow’s optional trekking pole handle adaptor set.
- DCF construction
- What has carried over from the previous version of the Double Rainbow?
- hybrid wall design (lots of living space – a two-person shelter for people who want to save weight but don’t want to spoon overnight
- versatile – can set up in freestanding mode using trekking poles if desired
- large, spacious vestibules
- “Porch mode”
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Field Test
Ryan had the chance to spend a few days with the Tartpent Double Rainbow Li, including one overnight backpacking trip during a winter storm in SE Wyoming.
His first impressions are outlined in this review video, now online at YouTube:
Photos below from Ryan:
More Info
- Tarptent will begin taking orders the week of April 27th. You can read more about the shelter here.
- Questions? Hit us up in the forum below and we’ll do our best to answer them based on our brief experience with the shelter.
Discussion
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Henry has created a marvelous tent here. Ryan – thanks for the review. I bought this tent from a forum member and used it for 12 nights on the JMT in the last two weeks.
We used it in all terrain, used it as free standing tent on hard rock. We used it during thunderstorms. I was able to setup the tent in under a minute when the rain started to come down.
We used it under excessive winds, that is the only time I used the extra guylines.
We camped near a water source every single night and had almost no precipitation. The other two layered tents were dripping in condensation and had to be dried. I don’t know how Henry managed this. The vestibule is smaller than Stratosphere Li, but handled two backpacks, two pairs of boots and such.
We were able to fit in two wide pads and had enough room in the head for all our gear.
It is an unbelievable tent. It is almost free standing and does EVERYTHING. I can see that it won’t be as warm as the Stratosphere Li during shoulder season, but I am ok to layer myself for that.
Brilliant, brilliant tent. I exited at Bishop pass and my buddies went towards Whitney, but they loved my tent so much I had to carry their Big Agnes with me while they grabbed my tent from me to share. They will be buying the DR Li when they exit.
Ryan…..Would the Double Rainbow Li be a step above the Notch Li now after testing both tents ….and why OR why not.
Ken, I’m not sure what you mean by “a step up”?
In terms of size and livability, definitely.
In terms of wind resistance? Definitely not.
Snow loading is a toss up but right now I give the edge to the Double Rainbow Li. The Notch has weird catch basins that forms between the peak and the end struts.
Cold weather/winter? Condensation management is better in the Notch with the solid fabric inner tent.
Ryan….Considering all the variables, would you recommend the Double Rainbow over the Notch?
One thing to note about wind loading and guying out the peak to compensate… I spoke with Henry Shires about this over the summer and his guyout recommendation was quite different than what I’ve seen here. His solution is to guyout in a way that compresses the arch pole evenly (toward the ground) rather than attempt to stabilize the cross pole.
He suggested running lines from the lash points on the middle of the arch sleeve (the webbing loops about 1/4 way up the arch) to the vestibule stake-out points. That means two lines on each side that stabilize the arch between the vestibule stake-out points and force the arch toward the ground. I gave this a shot in my back yard and it was really, really stout. This does result in a guy line overlapping the entry on both sides, but that can be dealt with using proper rigging.
Andrew, yes, good advice. Stabilizing the poles and preventing their deformation is absolutely the right way to guy out any kind of tent that has single arches like the Double Rainbow. It’s generally good practice on any tent with ground-connected arch poles.
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