View Full Version : ID Silshelter VS TarpTent Rainbow
I already have the silshelter, seam sealed and with all the stakes. I use a silnylon groundsheet and have, but yet to use, a bug netting to hang from the front pole when it's buggy. There are alot of moving pieces with this setup and i was thinking of simplifying things. Just wanted to get some opinions on the rainbow. Thanks
humunuku
11-15-2006, 10:48
I have the double rainbow, and Is fantastic. Very easy to set up, many options on how to set up, good amount of room (plus its tall enough for me - 6'3" to sit up in). go get one
Appalachian Tater
11-15-2006, 10:55
I slept in my single Rainbow about 120 times on my thru-hike and was extremely satisfied with it and highly recommend it.
Tater,
What, if any drawbacks did you find with the shelter. The only thing I worry about is possibly breaking/carrying the yellow pole holding the thing up. I like the idea you spent 120 night in the tent as I like having the option not to shelter with everyone else when it is crowded.
Appalachian Tater
11-15-2006, 11:26
The sleeve that holds the pole is yellow, the pole itself is a standard tent pole, black, that has elastic cord in it to hold the sections together. (Eight sections just under twenty inches long.) Not only did it not break, but it's still not bent except when it's not in the tent. The pole fits into the silnylon stuff sack that comes with the tent. I kept the tent on the outside of my pack so I could set it up in the rain without opening my pack.
Something I liked about it was there was room inside for me and all my gear and lots of headroom. Put some stripes of pure silicon on the floor and on your pad (if it's inflatable) because the silnylon is slippery. I also made little zipper pulls out of tent line.
If you had problems with the pole, I have no doubt Henry Shires would back his product 100%. Also, he may have made some slight improvements in the design since I got mine last December or January.
I already have the silshelter, seam sealed and with all the stakes. I use a silnylon groundsheet and have, but yet to use, a bug netting to hang from the front pole when it's buggy. There are alot of moving pieces with this setup and i was thinking of simplifying things. Just wanted to get some opinions on the rainbow. Thanks
Why are you considering changing? I know the back of the silshelter is low, heck most is low, but it has all those stake loops, extremely windworthy when taunt and low end to the wind. I even stopped using a groundsheet with mine, its so weather-worthy. Mine is old and does not have the new high,rear tieout but Its paid for and I have taken it on numerous hikes above treeline out west.
Hey Tater,
I was just wondering if you had the floorless or sewn in floor model and what you thought of it? I see the Tarptents are on sale now and I a want to purchase. Thanks,
Appalachian Tater
11-30-2006, 11:02
Mine has the floor, keeps all the crawlies out. You don't need a footprint, the floor is tougher than you'd think.
Tater,
If you slept in a shelter, did you just sleep with you pad/mat on the shelter floor? I don't want to carry an extra groundsheet.
Appalachian Tater
11-30-2006, 15:42
I didn't sleep in shelters much until the last couple of weeks of my hike, and when I did, I just put my pad on the floor. You could put the tarptent down in the shelter as a groundcloth if you wanted to. My pad was a ThermaRest Prolite so I could wash it off in the shower if it got dirty. (Everything's already dirty anyway.)
Once I used the tarptent as a blanket with my summer bag in a shelter because it was too cold to sleep otherwise. It doesn't substitute for a winter bag, but it helped.