Friday, May 3, 2024

Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker Tent Review

six moon design

There are hooded vents at the top of each door in the Lunar Duo’s rainfly, as well as plenty of airflow around the entire lower perimeter. The canopy is floating, so you can also raise or lower it to adjust how much of a gap you want between the bottom of the fly and the ground. Optimized Sleeping Area is oriented to maximize usable space, ventilation, and view.

Fabric

Condensation can get bad on humid east coast nights but in general it hasn't been a problem. The footprint is large for a 1 person tent so it doesn't always fit in spots that a smaller tent might, but it does allow plenty of room for my dog in the tent with me. ✓ 6-in mesh lining above the bathtub floor increases ventilation and keeps you further from the canopy walls, so you stay nice and dry.

Writings by Sklarek

I can recall one particularly cold night when I didn’t heed this advice and I had to use my backpack as a bivy sack for warmth when cold wind blew into my tent. At 88 inches, it has enough length to cover taller sleepers comfortably. In addition, the vestibules offer extra space to spread out or sleep diagonally, if necessary. The dual doors are super practical for two people — no need to shuffle positions or awkwardly step over someone else. I love the design, especially with all the space and easy setup. My major qualm with this setup was leakage through the material itself.

EXCELLENT VENTILATION

six moon design

Used this tent for the first time on a 30-40° Fahrenheit trip in Michigan. I wouldn't recommend this tent for colder trips as the condensation on the inside ended up dripping onto us at night. There is ventilation all around the bottom of the tent so that condensation will drip down and out, but that means you're not able to keep heat inside the tent as easily. It stormed on us all night and we kept dry aside from the condensation. It's a great single layered, very light weight, easy to set up tent.

In addition, this tent is more durable than many ultralight tents, so you can count on it to last for years of adventure. One of the standout attributes of the Lunar Duo is its exceptionally spacious interior. So, if you’re tall or want plenty of elbow room to make sharing space with a partner more comfortable, this may be the perfect tent for you.

Demystifying DWR on Rain Jackets: How Does it Work?

There are many similarities between the Lunar Solo and Skyscape Trekker. Though I’ve spent a lot of time with it, getting a good pitch out of the Lunar Solo isn’t easy. Sure, it’s a cinch to stake down a couple of corners, fit the center pole, and then stake down the rest. But achieving the delicate balance of tension and slack between the initial stake points and the guylined pole can be frustrating. All in, this tarp is slightly above average for its below-average weight. Its 1.19 pounds includes the one-pound, two-ounce tarp, a stuff sack that weighs 0.6 ounces, and 0.4 ounces of additional included guy line.

The tent canopy extends well over the mesh area to prevent rain or splash from getting in. Single entry is through a zipper that opens half of the side mesh area. Listed weight is 26oz./740g not counting the pole or six stakes.

Rad Companies that Support Bikepacking

SMD sells 5-section carbon fiber poles or aluminum poles that will easily fit with your bikepacking kit. I have used the ultralight shelter in sustained 40 mph winds with higher gusts on the Pacific Crest Trail outside of Tehachapi and heavy rains in the mountains of New Mexico. The shelter’s bathtub floor forms perfectly with every pitch (no sagging corners). The vestibule is also somewhat untraditional, in that it doesn’t reach all the way to the ground, but has a gap at the bottom. This is to promote airflow in order to prevent internal condensation. It does require that you be conscious of wind direction on cool nights and that you pitch the vestibule away from the wind direction so that the breeze hits the rear of the tent instead.

Gear Review: Six Moon Designs Haven Two-Person Shelter - The Trek

Gear Review: Six Moon Designs Haven Two-Person Shelter.

Posted: Mon, 09 Sep 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Get ultralight backpacking skills, gear info, philosophy, news, and more.

You're currently viewing a free preview of a member exclusive premium article. Our premium articles include in depth journalism and insights from the Backpacking Light editorial team. Get Backpacking Light news, updates, gear info, skills, and commentary delivered into your inbox 1-2x/week. Backpacking Light helps hikers and other backcountry enthusiasts overcome their barriers to living a life outside in Wild Places. Additional testing included a short trip to Yellowstone National Park, a trip in the subalpine high-country of the Bitterroot National Forest, and a three-day trek in the Pioneer Mountains of Montana. We are clearing some space for new Lunar Duo's that we expect to arrive shortly.

Once inside, ample maneuvering room allows reaching the front tent wall while sitting up. The way it works is loops near the end of the zipper slide with a prusik knot along the main front guyline that holds the center pole up. This creates the covered space and shields the interior of the tent. The adjustability is both elegant and convenient, and I end up sliding what amounts to a weather awning up and down as frequently as conditions demand. One peeve is that the hook on the line is tiny, so it is hard to catch the two equally small loops on the vestibule halves. The Six Moons Lunar Solo was the first ultralight backpacking tent I ever bought, about 13 years ago.

If you really want to drop weight and don't mind an open-ended shelter, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Square Flat Tarp is the right move. It's not the easiest tarp to pitch, but once you do it a few times, it goes up pretty quickly with one person. Since there is a long, sloping end and a steeper end, there are color-coded webbing tabs to let you know which end is which. Erecting the trekking poles is made simpler by the easy-to-spot pole pockets in the ceiling.

Getting the right combination of factors can be very hit or miss, so your best bet is to focus on good campsite selection to compensate for a less than perfect pitch. That means pitching the tent in a well-drained spot and over porous soil or forest duff in order to avoid pooling water if it rains. If you browse the likes of Reddit and YouTube, you’ll note that the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo is a somewhat popular shelter in the lightweight hiking community. We’ve gotten absolutely soaked with condensation in some single-wall tents. You’re gonna have that issue with pretty much any single-wall tent though, so we don’t find this to be too big a deal. We often use non-freestanding tents when we want to go as light as possible on a trip, but they can be a little intimidating if you’ve never used one.

Read on to see how the Duo stacks up against dozens of other backpacking tent designs we’ve tested over the years. Overall the tent is nice but i am 6’4” tall and my head and feet both rub up against the sides of tent. When the tent has condensation inside I can’t help but get wet trying to move around inside. I haven’t even used it yet, other than testing the setup in my backyard, but unfortunately I already seam sealed it so I can’t return it. I’m going to get an x-mid 2P tent for more space and hopefully sell this one without losing too much money on it.

The Best Thru-Hiking Tents of 2024 - The Trek

The Best Thru-Hiking Tents of 2024.

Posted: Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

If you don’t have any, the stake set costs US$13, and the seam seal service if you don’t care to do it yourself is an extra US$30. The Lunar Solo continues to be one of the best deals money can buy when it comes to ultralight 1-person tents shelters from "cottage" manufacturers. It's easy to set up, has great ventilation, and interior space for a single person and their gear.

Besides being a designated field tester, ensuring our shelters have room for a human and a mutt, he is also the first smiling face to great you at our office. As impoverished college students, we learned to sew much of the equipment needed for backcountry forays. Over the years we have made numerous bivy sacks, tarps, sleeping bags, jackets and other pieces of gear. Our goal at Six Moon Designs is to offer lightweight, high quality, affordable backpacking equipment. We want you to be happy with your purchases, and will stand behind our products 100%.

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