View Full Version : Tent Help
DanTaylor
03-03-2017, 15:57
To qualify everything I say, I have OCD, so little things aggravate the crap out of me. I have several tents, but my two favorite are the Six Moon Design Trekker and the Six Moon Design Lunar Solo. Of the two, the Lunar Solo is probably my favorite. Each of these have some great qualities that I really like, but they each have things I dont like. I like using trekking poles rather than having to carry poles. The SMD, both the Trekker and the Lunar Solo are difficult to get a "perfect" pitch on. No matter how many times I set them up on perfect ground, it always seems hit or miss. I have followed the mfg instructions on the website and even made variations trying to get the pitch right. I like the two pole setup of the Trekker and like the additional room of the Lunar Solo. One issue with both of these is getting the floor walls to stand up correctly. I worry that a heavy rain and I will get flooded out. Am I just being too picky or should I look somewhere else? Your thoughts?
Gambit McCrae
03-03-2017, 16:04
I use a tarptent stratospire 2 and have for over 120 nights.
-two pole setup
-2 doors
-4-5" bathtub floor that always stands up straight like it should
-2.5 lbs
I have tested in in some all night, absolute down pours without a single drop of rain. I can set it up in about 2 min at a relaxed pace.
Tarptent Stratospire 2 link (https://www.tarptent.com/stratospire2.html)
daddytwosticks
03-03-2017, 16:06
I went through a sil-nylon "tarp tent" mode in the past. Owned three products from two major cottage industry manufacturers. All three used trekking poles and all three were very fussy to pitch perfectly and tended to sag when wet or even slightly damp. Yes they were fine products and hundreds on this site use them with great success. I went back to a single-person conventional double wall tent. I now own the MSR Hubba NX-1 and couldn't be happier. Sets up easily. Nice taught pitch. Very weatherproof and only weights about a pound more than my last tarp tent product. YMMV. :)
B.j. Clark
03-03-2017, 16:34
I have the Lunar Solo. Two things I changed to get a better height on the bathtub floor. I lengthened all the tie outs about 18" on the sides and back to allow for better adjustments on uneven ground or where there are obstructions. The front guy line is about 24" longer. I also set my pole for 50" which raises the bath tub floor enough so that I never have issues in a heavy rain. Also, don't be afraid to really tighten the guy lines to create a taut pitch. It helps keep the sides of the floating floor up. I keep trying to leave this tent, but it is easy to pitch, has room for gear, and is easy to get in and out of. And light for a sil tent. Mine is 23.8 oz in the bag.
Often it helps if one gets a demo from someone that can set up those tents.
Much easier to demonstrate live than trying to explain on the net because some things that are very obvious to one are not to another.
Short version : if you see any tent set up nice and taut but you can't do it, you are doing it wrong....
Miles 2 Go
03-03-2017, 18:53
I use with my trekking poles a Zpacks Solplex tent that looks similar to the Six Moons Lunar Solo you use. I really like my Solplex because I find it easy to set up and get get a good pitch without much fuss. Also there is no need to seams seal it yourself because they tape all the seams. The Cuben material stays taunt and does not sag even after getting wet so no need to re-tension. I've slept in some heavy down pours and all night rains with the tent staying dry. It has a great bathtub floor and I love the rainbow zipper, so easy to get in and out of. My tent before was a Tarptent Rainbow, also a good tent but IMHO the Solplex out preforms it in many ways.
I use a tarptent stratospire 2 and have for over 120 nights.
-two pole setup
-2 doors
-4-5" bathtub floor that always stands up straight like it should
-2.5 lbs
I have tested in in some all night, absolute down pours without a single drop of rain. I can set it up in about 2 min at a relaxed pace.
Tarptent Stratospire 2 link (https://www.tarptent.com/stratospire2.html)
The StratoSpire 1 is firmly at the top of my solo tent short list. If you liked it in the East Coast Rainforest, that's good enough for me.
I bought an MSR Hubba Hubba NX last year. I actually really like it solo and someday maybe I can get one of my grandchildren to go with me.
In the meantime I could get used to losing some pack weight.
Enter the StratoSpire 1. Unless something else jumps out at me.
Wayne
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I understand what you are saying. I have gone through the Hubba Hubba, Tarptent Rainbow and Notch, while doing the AT and CT.
I have found that I prefer a semi-freestanding double wall tent and have been using the Big Agnes Fly Creek 2. It is is very roomy and only 37 ounces.
Aggie Al
HooKooDooKu
03-03-2017, 21:23
Based on what you've described, take the lightest of the two... after about a month out on the trail I'll bet your pitch will improve.
after about a month out on the trail I'll bet your pitch will improve.
it should but it doesn't always work like that.
For example I had a guy that had problems setting up his tent for over 2 years. He was convinced that his shelter was faulty.
One day he came around to my place and I set the tent (his tent) up for him in about 2 minutes nice and taut. He was amazed...
Turned out of course that he made the same mistake all along but never realised he was doing it wrong.
Setting up tents is as easy for some people as swimming is for me (I swim like a brick....)
HooKooDooKu
03-03-2017, 23:52
after about a month out on the trail I'll bet your pitch will improve.
it should but it doesn't always work like that.
Hopefully with as many people encountered along the AT, I'm hoping someone will be able to supply some field advice.
I myself was on the receiving end of such advice when hiking the JMT last year. I was floundering trying to setup my BA Copper Spur in the wind. Another camper saw the difficulty I was having and showed me how to setup it up by 1st staking out the ground sheet, setup the poles with the ground cloth, then setup the main tent body. The end result was a much tighter pitch than the way I had been setting up the before.
Slo-go'en
03-03-2017, 23:52
I also have the Lunar solo and the Trekker. Of the two, I like the Trekker better. Both of these tents have tie outs which you can use to pull out the sides a bit. In the case of the solo it's the two sides and in the case of the Trekker it's the back foot area. The only problem is there is rarely anything suitable to tie these points off too.
The solo I usually have to stake out twice. Once to get it about right, then move the stakes around a bit to get it right. Getting the pole(s) just the right length is important too. I don't mark my poles and just guessamate the length so no two times is exactly the same, but close enough.
Sil nylon does sag when wet and that can be a bit of a problem. In the case of the solo, the water tends to collect around the bottom of the skirt and with the Trekker at the bottom of the foot.
I think the only real solution is to break down and spend the big bucks on a cuben fiber tent which has less issues with stretching and sagging.