I am selling my Gatewood Cape and GoLite Den 2 shelters and am looking for a solo shelter. The Gatewood did not provide enough protection from bugs and other elements. The Den 2 made up for these short comings but is too large of a tent and the curved pole sections are too long and too curved when used for cycle touring.

I am looking for a 3 season solo tent that can be set up with or without the use of hiking pole(s) (an optional pole is fine). Weight should be less than 2.5 pounds but ideally equal to or less than 2 pounds. Good ventilation is needed. I want a floor, hanging bathtub is fine. Free standing is not required.

I have my eye on the Tarptent Contrail and Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo. Is there something else out there I should consider? Budget is less than $250 and lightly used is fine if not preferred.

Edited by MtnFiend on 07/20/2009 13:40:38 MDT.

Brian,

Have you thought of Gossamer Gear The One?

I have a Contrail which is nice because it only needs one pole, has a nice vestibule and has a lot of ventilation and is palacial for one. The Double Rainbow requires no poles at all. I do not have a Rainbow to compare though.

The reason I like The One is because it is the lightest of them all at 18 oz., has full bug protection and has nice space inside. If you do not take hiking poles you just need 2 carbon fiber poles.

Scott

I have a contrail and a gg the one. I prefer the air flow and side entry of the one. It seems more spacious with the high point at the center and full side entry. Very easy to sit upright and access all corners of the tent. It's also the lighter of the two and takes less pack space.

That being said, it does require two poles, as mentioned. I also end up using just about the maximum length/end height when on my neoair (6'2"). It's not as quiet as the contrail, but if pitched tight I rarely notice.

The contrail is great too. I love the various ways it can be setup.

edit: that new tarptent moment looks pretty slick too.

Edited by roguenode on 07/20/2009 17:05:58 MDT.

Brian
This is a set up I did for another biker hiker, you just need to add a longish front guy line (the tie out point is installed already) and practice setting it up nice and taut.
BTW, counter-intuitively it works better with the bike standing up, but a limp set up is not an option...
The struts on The Contrail are 14" long and removable, however that would be a pain for me if I had to do it every time.
As a bonus , stealing your bike would be pretty difficult using this set up.
Franco
He who goes to bed at 2 AM (Tour de France...)

that's straight up cool. Need to try that out.

Have you considered the Wild Oasis? I just took the plunge and couldn't be more satisfied. I can get a taut pitch with ease in around 3 minutes. The WO offers great protection from the elements and bugs with its No-See-Um skirt,without saraficing too much in ventilation. Add a polocryo ground cloth, and you have a nice floored shelter under a pound. I like to leave the zippered entry up for max ventilation, which gives the WO the feel of tarp. You can even go pole less with the WO buy using the the provided guypoint, or SMD offers a pole for 25 bucks. I can't believe how big it inside=)! Plenty of room for me, gear, and my dog. This offers the added bug protection the Cape was missing.

You can't go wrong with any of the above considerations either. Have fun with your selection.

Later

Tarptent has just released a new solo shelter which would fit the fill (called the "Moment"). Check the tarptent website...

Wow that Tarp Tent Moment is pretty nice looking. Free standing option with poles is a nice bonus. I more often will free standing when I use poles. For cycle touring free standing is not as important. 28oz + 7oz pole is not bad either.

I gotta ask why you didn't opt for the serenity nettent, for me the combo of gatewood cape (11oz) and serenity (7oz) gives me all the flexibility for 3 season backpacking in my neck of the woods... (coastal/sierras)NOR-CAL!

and the fact the nettent allows me to see the stars, and my surroundings, and bug protection, and an 18oz solution, I couldn't be happier...

Edited by tacedeous on 07/21/2009 01:20:38 MDT.

>> I gotta ask why you didn't opt for the serenity nettent

+1. I was thinking the same thing as I read through the thread. It results in a pretty light double-walled shelter, while retaining the multi-use functionality of the Gatewood. This solution is admittedly imperfect- but what shelter isn't? A Serenity is on my to-buy list.

Dan,
You'll be VERY happy, I read in another thread that Brandon (co/owner of SMD) is currently sold out, and looking for a different material for the no-seeum netting, I see no problem with the current design, also keep in mind this is all rumors...

I say go for it! I just had the most enjoyable few nights in the backcountry, last week... I thank my SMD serenity nettent, WM caribou and neoair for that... the capper was seeing the stars as I nodded off... thanks Brandon ;)

Serenity Nettent? Maybe because it is designed for someone 5'8" and under?

Hmmm, My brother is 6'1 and he has no issue

maybe you should speculate and troll elsewhere...

Jesse - I have been a member here a long time. I don't appreciate the comment. It is a short shelter. Even Ron will agree to that and is not suitable for someone 6'1" without pushing significantly to the netting, putting stress on it.

Bonehead.

Edited by FamilyGuy on 07/21/2009 17:13:16 MDT.

I didn't mean to offend, but your comment was a bit condescending, and not completely true either, im 5'9 with plenty of room at the head and foot...

wonder what "Bonehead" said before you edited it ;)

slow your roll, its a discussion about a tent...

as to the nettent, my brother fits in fine, as I said he's 6'1, and I don't notice any stretching around the perimeter when he's in it ( this was an initial concern), the only place I do see stretching is at the top where your hiking pole tip goes (not much, its part of the design I guess). Also he usually putts his water bottle standing up, above his head, to raise the netting...
as always YMMV... lol

"wonder what "Bonehead" said before you edited it ;)"

You don't want to know....;)

"You don't want to know....;)" LOL, kinda...

ok lets stop hijacking this thread with this nonsense...

I'll second the vote for the GG One. Excellent tent and has worked very well for me.

Well, sorry, but I've got to back David up. Your post made you sound dismissive and arrogant, Jesse, without really backing up what you said in any meaningful way. (Your brother anecdote notwithstanding.)

But, frankly, I've got to admire the chutzpah of the 0.45 BPL-rated guy who accuses the 3.19 BPL-rated guy of being a troll... :o)

Especially when you use the standard trolling tactic of saying something vaguely inflammatory, then telling those who call you on it that they should lighten up. Come on, brother, we are all on to that stuff. It doesn't play well.

That said, though I understood what David meant, he was a bit terse, too. I can see how one might think he was being dismissive and arrogant as well- but still not as blatantly as Jesse was.

Back on topic-

I don't recall Brian stating his height (unless I missed it), so perhaps he is 5'8" and the Serenity would be perfect for him.
Plus, the Serenity is 84 inches long, isn't it? Even allowing half a foot at either end for the slope of the netting a 6'1" person should fit. If Ron wants to contradict me, well, he IS Ron, after all...
I'm 5'9.5" (5'10" if measured early on a good day), so I hope David is wrong, because I wanted to try the Serenity some day, primarily for anti-bug use in appropriate environments.

But the TT Moment DOES look neat, doesn't it? I don't know why more American manufacturers don't change to pole sleeves instead of those annoying clips. It makes setup a snap. And the Moment only needs 2 stakes, which I usually carry for my titanium Caldera Cone, anyway. Score!

Edited by acrosome on 07/25/2009 06:14:45 MDT.

Hi Dean - I agree it was out of line for both of us. Both reactionary instead of discussing. I should know better.

I need to make myself clear. When I say that a 6'1" person would not fit, I am assuming that someone is in a sleeping bag. At that height, a person would be using a 'long' bag. Perhaps one providing enough room for someone up to 6'4" or 6'6". But that is just the interior of the bag. The exterior would be filled with loft. For comparison sake, my 'long' MB UL SS #2 is 84" from top to end fully lofted. So you can see that I SHOULD have said a 'long' bag instead of someone of a specific height. Could one with this bag fit? Sure, but there are some downsides to it (a bag that size could fit into a smaller length as long as it did not affect the interior length of the person) - the down would be compressed and there would be some stress on the netting of the shelter at the ends because of the severe slope of the walls. Not to mention pushing down on the bathtub floor and perhaps allowing more rain splash in than necessary. On the other hand, I wonder if guylines could be attached to each side to pull out the netting?

Just some thoughts from someone who uses a 'long' bag.