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Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo Tent
Field Report - February 8, 2005
Contents
Reviewer Information [return to top]
Name: Chuck Kime
Nickname: Fuzzy
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8" (1.72 m)
Weight: 229 lb (104 kg)
Email address: ckime AT nelsononline DOT com
City, State, Country: Upper Darby (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: February 8, 2005
Product Information [return to top]
Manufacturer: Six Moon Designs
Model: Lunar Solo
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.sixmoondesigns.com
Listed weight: 24 oz (680 g)
Measured weight as delivered: 23.6 oz (669 g), scale accurate to 0.1 oz
Color: Tent – Kelly Green, Floor – Black
Other color available (tent): Grey
MSRP: Tent – $225 US
Features (directly from web site) [return to top]
- Full Vestibule provides protection while still maintaining good ventilation when closed. Fully open, the vestibule maximizes ventilation and view.
- Optimized Sleeping Area is oriented to maximize usable space, ventilation and view. A peak height of 44 inches gives you plenty of head room.
- Canopy Wings provide 360 degrees of ventilation while maintaining rain protection. They can be raised or lowered for additional protection as conditions warrant.
- Center Pole Support significantly improves the ability of the tent to handle wind and snow loads.
- Single Hiking Pole Support reduces the amount of gear need. The rear can be supported with a second pole, stick or tied to a convenient tree.
- Internal Gear Area keeps your gear is easily accessible.
- Easy Tensioning Adjustment makes keeping your the tent taut a trivial task that can be accomplished while still in your sleeping bag.
- Oversized Screen Door allows easily enter and exit the shelter and keeps the front pole keeps it out of your way.
- Ultra-light Waterproof Canopy is made from high strength 1.1 ounce Silicone coated Nylon.
- Handy Mesh Cargo Pocket located next to the door provides quick access to needed
- Extremely Easy Setup requires only six stakes and can be preformed in less than five minutes, under virtually any conditions.
Description [return to top]
The Lunar Solo is, as the name might suggest, a solo backpacking tent. It is a single-wall design, with a sewn-in floor, large zippered door, and complete bug netting.
The Lunar Solo is designed for use with trekking poles, needing one for the front peak and one (optionally) supporting the rear of the tent. I am testing the tent with a pair of Black Diamond FlickLock Carbon Fiber poles I am currently testing for BGT.
The tent body is a modified hex shape as viewed from above. It is made from lightweight silicone impregnated nylon (silnylon). The no-see-um mesh is sewn to the body in somewhat from the edges, leaving ‘wings’ of silnylon hanging like eaves over the mesh walls. The zippered door takes up nearly half of the long (mesh) wall of the tent. The vestibule flaps (beak) may be left completely open, for ventilation, or closed almost to the ground in inclement weather. The floor is made from black silnylon, the same weight as the tent body. A heavier floor is available as an option. The floor is sewn to the bug netting all the way around. The corners are tied out in two ways at the same time – a bungee attached to the floor, and a guyline attached to the fly. These are hooked to the same stake, and allow some adjustment in the height of the tent. There is a strap and buckle arrangement at the top of the front guyline for adjusting the tension after the tent has been set up and allowed to ‘relax’ a bit.
For a more detailed description, along with photos and measurements, please see my Initial Report.
Field Testing [return to top]
Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly. Almost all of these outings include a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures expected to be from lows around 25 to 30 ºF (-4 to -1 ºC) to highs around 95 to 100 ºF (35 to 38 ºC), although I don’t expect it to be over about 60 ºF (16 ºC) during the testing period for this tent. Elevations will range from sea level to approximately 2,000’ (610 m).
My first night out with the Lunar Solo was at our Boy Scout district’s 41st annual Winter Survival weekend, January 8-9, 2005. After the (required) 1-mile (1.6 km) hike in, we set up camp – in a light rain – for inspection. The boys were mostly using either 3-man A-frame or 3-man square dome tents, all free-standing, with 2 boys each. Even though they are quite experienced with these tents, I set the Lunar Solo up with one pole and a tree and had my gear inside before even the fastest pair had started with their rain fly. I put on my rain jacket, since it was starting to rain more steadily, and spent a couple more minutes adjusting the stakes to get the best possible (i.e. tightest) pitch. I then got my sleeping bag and mattress out of my pack and set up, and sat down under cover with my cookset to prepare some hot cocoa while awaiting the inspector. Total time from arrival at site to sleep-ready – about 10 minutes. Admirable.
I noticed significant flapping of the tent under some of the stronger winds that day, but some minor adjustment of the stakes tightened things up nicely. I had only two annoyances with the tent that day, and neither was the fault of the Lunar Solo. Following about 6 hours of variable but generally steady rain, I found a few drops of water on the floor just under the front pole location. Given the length of the rain, and the fact that I had not yet sealed the tent, I was fairly happy with the result and a quick dab with a bandana took care of any water. My other issue was the lack of heat/cold insulation provided, which is to be expected with the tarp-like nature of the Lunar Solo. The overnight temperatures hovered just below freezing the entire time I was in the tent, and I had packed right at my tolerance level for those conditions. Basically, I should not expect any warmth retention within the tent, only from my sleep system. I chalk this up to a small lapse in judgment on my part, and will pack more appropriate sleep gear in the future.
After airing out the tent in my basement for a few days to dry, I stopped at the local hardware store for some 3M Silicone II caulk and mineral spirits. I mixed about a spoonful of each in a small glass bowl with a bent piece of coat-hanger wire in my electric drill (it took several minutes of mixing), then spread it on the seams with a foam brush. I managed to seal the entire center seam from front to rear, all around the reinforcing patch at the peak, and most of the way down the front seam where the beak attaches before running out of sealer. I didn’t have time to mix up more sealer, so I decided to let it dry and try it as is. If I should be fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to experience rain again, I will report on it in my Long Term Report.
Things I was looking for:
- Ease/speed of set-up. Can I get it up easily in bad weather? When I’m tired? When it’s dark out (I prefer to know all of my gear by touch)? How long does it take?
- Pack size/weight. Experience to date tells me that bulk is more of a problem for me to pack than weight, since my Deuter Futura 32 is not the largest pack around, although a recent car accident and... ahem... advancing age have been nudging me to lighten up even further. The Lunar Solo is listed as both small *and* light – a big bonus. With winter coming, my pack is likely to be even more crowded than usual, so this gets increasingly important.
- Packability. Can I get it easily into the stuff sack? How about when wet and/or dirty?
- Does it have everything I need for set-up? It needs six stakes, and comes with guylines. Are the guylines sufficient for various pitching options?
- Dimensions. Do I fit? Comfortably? With my gear? How large a site do I need?
- Durability. Are there any significant wear points, especially over time? The spots where hiking poles contact the shelter will be investigated, along with tie-out points, zippers, etc. I will be carrying a ground sheet (Gore-Tex fabric) – that serves double duty as my hammock fly – so I can protect the tent floor in case of particularly rough ground, but will set the tent up without it when I feel confident in my site selection.
- Waterproofness. I don’t mind being wet, but I do prefer that my gear – particularly my sleeping bag – be dry when I use it.
- Ventilation. Do I need to worry about condensation?
- Adjustability. How high/low can/must it be pitched? Is this adjustable?
My findings so far:
- Ease/speed of set-up. I got it up in a light rain with moderate winds in under 5 minutes, and managed to keep the inside dry. Additional time was spent re-adjusting stake locations, but I was able to get out of the weather if necessary.
- Pack size/weight. I generally fold the tent in half after stuffing into the stuff sack and keep it in a gallon-size (~4 liter) zipper bag. If I could find a bag a little smaller, I would use it.
- Packability. The only difficulty so far is remembering to fold the tent front-to-back small enough to fit in the length of the stuff sack.
- Does it have everything I need for set-up? I have provided my own stakes, generally using 7 so I can raise the roof a bit. The roof guyline could be a tad longer, but I can still manage to get more headroom the way it is. Two more stakes (and guylines) may be used to lift the head and foot slightly, but I found it unnecessary.
- Dimensions. I fit quite comfortably for either sitting (at the center) or sleeping (at a slight angle), with my gear in the back center and/or the front by my feet. With the tent fully set up, a space just slightly larger than 8 x 8 ft (2.5 x 2.5 m) is needed.
- Durability. No wear noted yet.
- Waterproofness. After about 6 hours of rain, I noticed around a dozen water drops on the floor of the tent around the area of the peak. Of course, I probably should have seam sealed the tent before that trip. No rain blew in, or otherwise, other than the drops noted.
- Ventilation. The Lunar Solo has plenty of ventilation. I can’t imagine this ever being a problem for me.
- Adjustability. If I extend the front pole beyond the specified length, the front of the floor is lifted slightly off the ground. I don’t consider this a bad thing, as groundwater can then flow under – instead of into – the tent.
Things I like [return to top]
- Lighter than every shelter I have, besides tarps.
- Includes everything necessary for setup.
- Fits in my pack.
- Fits me.
- Sets up quickly.
Things I don't like [return to top]
- Nothing yet.
Backpacking Background [return to top]
My family started car/trailer camping when I was about 5. I spent 17 years in the Army Reserve fine-tuning my packing methodology – when I got out, I was down to a fairly respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load in my ALICE pack. Advancing age, arthritic knees and a car accident have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices, experiment with tarps and hammocks, make some of my own gear, and take a closer look at my ‘toys’ with an eye for multi-use and light weight. I now have a sub-30 lb (14 kg) 3-season load, and should be able to reduce it to 20 lb (9 kg) – before food, fuel and water – without much more effort.
Thank you for your time.
Chuck Kime
a.k.a. Fuzzy
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