Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Tarptent Rainbow > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report

Tarptent Rainbow

Long Term Report - August 10th, 2006

Reviewer's Information

Background/Experience

I began backpacking eighteen years ago after a youth spent tagging along with my dad to various wild places in Arizona and California. At present I hike in some capacity about fifteen times a month, mostly in Arizona with either the Canine Hiking Club of AZ or with my family. I prefer to sleep in a hammock and I gravitate toward multifunctional gear that will enhance my comfort level for minimal weight. I consider myself to be a lightweight packer. My total pack weight year round is rarely above 25 lbs (11 kg) for outings of two to three days.

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Product Information

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Product Description

The Tarptent Rainbow is a 1 to 2 person silnylon shelter that uses a cross strut and a single pole bent along the middle for support. It can be set up free-standing using trekking poles or staked out for greater stability. For a more detailed description of the Rainbow please refer to my Initial Report.

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Field Locations and Conditions of this Test Series

During the past four months I have use the Tarptent Rainbow in several locations around Arizona. It has been pitched in the beautiful and lush riparian areas of Burro Creek and Aravaipa Canyon, in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains, in the hot and dry desert north of Phoenix, and in the pine laden woods of Mormon Lake. Weather, other than the Mormon Lake weekend was for the most part quiet with clear conditions. At Mormon Lake, however, I experienced over four hours of rain and light wind. The lowest temperature encountered while camping in the Rainbow was 45 F (7 C) and the highest was up around 95 F (35 C). Elevations ranged from about 1,500 ft (460 m) up to 7,300 ft (2,200 m) at our my highest sleeping location.

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Long Term Findings

This report is the last in a series of three on the Tarptent Rainbow. After four months of use my overall impression of the shelter is still positive. I think it is a fine three season shelter depending on the weather conditions. Below are my thoughts and observations grouped together in five categories; User Friendliness, Weather and Critter Protection, Ventilation, Interior Space, and Durability.

User Friendliness

The Rainbow is clearly a well thought-out shelter. I found most of its features simple and easy to deal with. Whether staked out or in the free-standing mode with the trekking poles it doesn't take me more than a few minutes to have the thing fully erected or put away in the stuff sack. The corner pullouts work great. They are super easy to tighten or loosen and it can absolutely be done with one hand as the Tarptent website suggests. The clips on the inside that hold up the floor are also quickly done with one hand. Finally, despite being a little difficult to grab, the zippers track well and I have not encountered any snags.

One area of concern is the location of the little hook-and-loop strips used to roll away the front beak flaps. I have had problems with the flap unrolling a bit and slipping out of the fastener. This is illustrated by the photo at the right. In breezy conditions it happens even more quickly. This decreases ventilation and makes getting in and out of the doorway slightly more difficult. In addition to that minor issue, I have noticed a much more distressing problem associated with the hook-and-loop strips, specifically the one used to stow the mesh door. The hook piece of the hook-and-loop on the inside of the tent is catching on the bug netting of the door and creating tiny rips in it. I think maybe a less aggressive strip of hook-and-loop would help. Exchanging the hook-and-loop for a loop and toggle system would also alleviate any chance of the part catching the mesh.

The process of seam sealing was by far the most unpleasant aspect of this shelter. The directions certainly appeared clear and simple enough but I am a greenhorn to this process so I wasn't sure how thick the silicone sealant needed to be. For good measure I applied sealant over all seams twice on the first attempt, this took me about an hour. Once dry the sealant is nearly invisible. After allowing it to dry for more than the recommended twenty-four hours I hit the tent with my water hose. The sealant appeared to work fine except in one location. I had a fairly brisk leak in the corner just in front of the spot where the cross strut and the rear beak meet. I took a closer look at the seam where the silnylon meets the cross strut sleeve and discovered four tiny holes. I tried to fill these with a thicker solution of the sealant but unfortunately it did not work. This was prior to realizing the FAQ section on the Tarptent website address this exact issue. Their instructions are, "Very small tears or pinholes in the roof or floor are best repaired by applying pure silicone to the wound and letting it dry." I have since followed these directions by applying a small amount of the recommended GE Silicone 2 over the holes. After several tests with my hose it looks like this did the trick. No leaks, whoo hoo!

Weather and Critter Protection

Arizona isn't a notoriously insect filled place. We have our share of creepy crawlies but their numbers are minor compared to states in the southeastern U.S or other more humid locations. Luckily, for sake of this test series, I had the opportunity to sleep one night in the Rainbow in what I would consider above average buggy conditions while backpacking in Aravaipa Canyon. The Rainbow provided excellent protection and was a welcome place of reprieve for both my sister and me after a day filled with bites and buzzing in our ears.

I had very much hoped to use the Rainbow in rain at least once during this test series but as the due date drew closer and closer for this final report I had yet to experience anything but wonderfully calm conditions. Ordinarily I would be happy with uneventful nights but from a gear testing perspective I kept wishing for even a small amount of precipitation to see how the Rainbow faired. A couple of weekends ago my wish was fulfilled while car camping with my son in Northern Arizona.

Just after dinner the storm rolled in and gave us a brilliant thunder and lighting show. For the next five hours the thing parked on top of us, raining nearly the whole time. My son loved it; unfortunately the Rainbow did not fair as well as I had hoped. The spot along the cross strut where I found the four small holes continued to leak despite my attempts at sealing it at home the previous week. (This was before I reread the FAQ section on the Tarptent site and saw their suggestion about using undiluted silicone to close pin holes in the fabric.) About three hours into the storm a few more problems appeared. First, I felt a fine mist breaking through the fabric every so often and then I noticed a minor leak dripping from the little black tab under the rear ventilation beak. Because I was worried about my son waking up and being frightened by the storm I kept waking up to check on him, this is when I noticed the condensation build up on the walls. It wasn't enough to worry me but anything touching the side of the tent would get damp.

After returning home from this trip I looked over the Tarptent website for suggestions on how to fix the roof holes and the seepage of water into the Rainbow via the small black tab at the base of the rear vent. I have since coated the black tab with sealant and resealed the seams along the base of the mesh "window" on the inside and outside of the shelter for a third time, in addition to using the silicone in an undiluted form on the roof as mentioned in the above section. Trials with my hose in the back yard have revealed a different take on the dripping tab issue. What it looks like is water is entering the mesh under the back beak and seeping down the hook-and-loop strip then dripping in via the tab. Sealing didn't really do much to prevent this unfortunately. I think it's important to note the amount of leaking from the tab was in my opinion minimal and manageable so I'm not all that concerned with my inability to "seal" the problem area. I think careful setup direction of the Rainbow on future outings will go a long way to reducing this hitch. Of course a modification to the beak so it offers more coverage or changing the location/design of the hook-and-loop strip on the vent flap could also be a positive improvement for the shelter.

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Ventilation

Just to be clear, my definition of ventilation is the shelter's ability to allow air flow via its materials and its design without completely sacrificing protection from the wind. My experiences regarding ventilation in the Rainbow have been somewhat mixed. In my Field Report I wrote about how quickly the Rainbow heated up and stayed hot. This was in very low humidity with a daytime high of 95 (35 C), however. I consider this to be a negative with regards to using the Rainbow in the summer months in hotter climates. On the other hand when my son and I were in the big thunderstorm in Northern AZ we had plenty of humidity and about 15 F (8 C) degree cooler temperatures. I noticed the tent felt a little clammy but his was not unbearable. Although we had a ton of rain the inside condensation was manageable and what I expected from silnylon. A breeze, even a minor one, absolutely does wonders for this tent. While in the desert near the Superstition Mountains my tent site was completely exposed and it heated up very rapidly. We had a very light wind that day and almost immediately after dark the tent was inhabitable. Given these experiences, Tarptent's advise about camping where there is likely to be a breeze is an absolute must if the temperatures are going to be 85 F (29 C) or warmer.

Interior Space

I have slept in the Rainbow alone, with another adult, and on a couple of occasions with my four year old son. In dry weather conditions with the bathtub floor unclipped and lying flat there was plenty of room for two people and our gear inside. In rain, however, two people are stretching it. As I mentioned above a couple of weekends ago my son and I experienced a monsoon driven storm in Northern Arizona. We had rain off and on for almost five hours with a light breeze. In these conditions I would have liked to have the bathtub floor fully clipped to the tent walls on all sides. Unfortunately, it was not possible for both his and my pad to lie side by side with both long ends of the floor clipped up. I left his side (the back wall) clipped and unclipped my side (door side) assuming the front beak would provide enough protection for me. This worked okay but I did get some misting through the beak material.

On that note, Tarptent suggests the front beak area as a place where gear can be stored. In a wet environment I don't think I would consider this a viable option unless whatever items I was placing there were already wet or wrapped in my poncho or a garbage sack. Conversely, in dry weather I would not hesitate to use this area as an optional storage location if needed. The space under the beak on the other side of the entrance although not huge will fit a smaller volume backpack and a pair of shoes easily.

Durability

I'm not particularly hard on my backpacking gear, in fact I'm a bit over protective of some things, especially my shelter. I view this as one of the more important items I have in my kit and if it's damaged or broken, I'm going to be a lot less comfortable while in the wilderness. With that said, I think it's important to note, even though I took care of the Rainbow it does have a few signs of wear and tear. All parts of the shelter are in great condition with the exception of three areas. The first of these is the afore mentioned little holes in the fabric's seam near the cross strut. It is entirely possible these were already there before I began using the Rainbow so I cannot with any assurance say they came about as a result of my use. The second is the no-see-um netting near the hook-and-loop strip used to secure the door when not in use. This has most definitely come about as a result of brushing up against the hook side of the strip. I think it has happened most during assembly and disassembly. Finally, the hook-and-loop located at both ends of the cross strut sleeve has also begun to come apart. Despite my efforts to solve the problem by making sure the pole was evenly centered in the sleeve it continues to slowly come undone until one end is noticeably popped out away from the other side of the strip. Maybe a slightly longer piece would hold it closed more effectively.

At one point during the last month of testing I set up the Rainbow in my yard for four days straight. I wanted to see how the fabric and the arch pole would do in more of a "base camp" type of situation. During this time period we had two evening thunderstorms, one produced a quick shower and both brought wind with gusts between 25 mph (40 km/h) and 31 mph (50 km/h). The Rainbow held up well to both storms although I did need to cinch down the corner tie-outs about half way through the first evenings storm to decrease some sag. The arch pole stayed slightly bent for a day or so after this four day test but ultimately it bounced back to its original form.

In all I enjoyed this product and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the test team.
Thank you.

Jamie J. DeBenedetto
August 10th, 2006

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Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Tarptent Rainbow > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report