Lunar Solo Overview 2

This is a quick look at the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo Tent. The videos were taken during a hike in the Hickory Creek Wilderness Area in Pennsylvania. If you need LS technical specs, go to the www.sixmoondesigns.com web site.

Overall, I like the tent. The bug protection is as good as any tent out there. The weight (29.5 oz with stakes & stuff sack) is another plus. I also like having so much interior space, and the view is great when both front flaps are open. Setting up the tent was easy after only 2-3 times. It sets up best on very flat, level ground. If it's not set up right, and the eaves are close to or touching the ground, condensation becomes a real issue.

Condensation, in fact, is the only problem I have experienced with this tent. On cold nights, the condensation froze and snowed down inside when the wind blew or if I moved and jostled the side of the tent. During warmer spring weather, even with both flaps open, I had quite a bit of condensation on the canopy. Nothing inside got wet, but it was troubling when my sleeping bag touched the end of the tent or when I brushed the canopy while sitting up. I think this would be more of a problem on a longer hike like the AT, especially after several days of rain and not being able to get the tent dry every day or so. Eventually, sleeping bags, and other equipment would suffer from continued exposure to the damp conditions.

I don't know which tent I'll bring yet on my AT trip, but despite the condensation issues, I like the Lunar Solo because of the weight, the interior room, ease of set up, and the versatile flap options. Ron Moak of Six Moon Designs has also come up with a new tent design called the Skyscape with a lot more mesh area that might go a long way to solving the condensation problem. If I can afford one before I go (not likely unfortunately), I would like to try one and give a quick overview of that too.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Six Moon Design
• Lunar Solo Overview
• solo tent
• one person tent

[mistervee123]

The pitch area needs to be fairly flat. Extra cord on guylines helps. Stake out the tent so the floor is shaped correctly. Be sure to put slight tension in the elastic lines connecting floor & roof. Put in the pole, stand it up, and stake out the front guyline. Adjust the pole height to raise the roof & sides if needed. Adjust lines/restake to create the tension you want. Voila! Once you do it right, it gets easier, honest. Readjust lines in 30 min or for rain (silnylon tends to "relax").

[mistervee123]

I'm not familiar with the weather in Scotland, but if it is wet and cold, you will have some condensation in the tent. There's no problem keeping rain out, and the tent is roomy as can be for one person and some equipment. I think the only drawback would be to face multiple days of inclement weather. The interior of the tent will remain damp, and your sleeping bag, etc., may get damp also if you can't dry things out every 2-3 days. What a great trip! Have fun! jev

[BlueMoon2178]

I love this Tarp/Tent! I used it on my NOBO Thru and i couldn't have asked for a better shelter. I was in supper high winds and crazy storms and it was great. The more you set it up the easier it gets. With a single wall you will probably get some condensation so make sure you have good air movement and keep a bandana with you or I used a small piece of car armor all car shammy to wipe it up now and then. Good luck on your hike and enjoy the journey!

[jmrdelorean]

I used this tent backpacking for a good 2 1/2 years. The first issue and probably most troublesome is the fact that this tent will NOT withstand high winds or a nasty storm. You ABSOLUTELY have to pitch the back slope of the tent into the wind otherwise there are going to be a whole multitude of issues. Like a shredded tent. When I had mine I encountered no super serious weather but if your going to be camping on ridge lines or high winds get a more sturdy freestanding shelter.

[luvmonkey666]

Hey I just bought this tent and I got a question. How do I get the sides of the floor to come up? They just want to lay down

[BreezeTheConductor]

thanks for the video!

[plugsocket1]

Hi. Thanks for posting. This was very helpful. Quick question. I'm looking at using this tent in 3 seasons in Scotland. Do you think it would hold up to the cold and the rain?

[SpaceWalkTraveller]

The Luna Solo is great. I've had one for about 4 years and have hiked in all sorts of conditions in it. Would highly recomend it. Six Moons has a new ultralight tent out made from cubin fibre which looks good. Might give it a go next year.

[MrPAWILDS]

Nice review thanks for taking the time to post this.

On my LS I found I need to keep the front pole leaning just slightly forward to bring up the back edge away from the ground. The LS does capture slightly more condensation than other single wall tents I have tried but still it remains my favorite.

Have a great trip on the AT!