[at-l] Tent decision

[Ken Bennett]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 8:12 PM, JJJ <jplynch at crosslink.net> wrote:

>  Just curious; what led you to pick the Rainbow?  It looks like a fine
> tent, but it is the heaviest of the Tarptent one person models?  (I'm
> agonizing over the same decision myself; the big attraction of the Rainbow
> seems to be that it can be freestanding).
>


It's a tough decision, no doubt.

The freestanding mode is something I have used exactly once -- to seam seal
the tent in my garage. Otherwise, in my opinion it's an SSP (a Solution in
Search of a Problem.) Like most "freestanding" tents, the Rainbow still
requires that one stake out the vestibule (two of them in the case of my
Double Rainbow.)

I can have my DR set up in less than 2 minutes. Lay it out, stake out the
four corners, slide in the pole, push it into positions, stake out the
vestibules, reposition the corners as needed.

To me, the main advantages of the Rainbow and DR over the other Tarptents
are ease of access and better views. Having the door on the long side of the
tent, rather than the tunnel entrance on the short side, makes it much
easier to get in and out, and I get to lie in my bag and look outside (which
was tough to do in my Squall and Rainshadow.) Plus both the R and DR have a
HUGE amount of space, including much more usable headroom; again, in my
experience. YMMV.

Finally, calling the Rainbow the "heaviest" of the solo Tarptents, while
technically true, overlooks the fact that it's a very spacious solo shelter
that weighs 2 pounds. That's not bad at all.
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