Six Moon Designs - Lunar Solo

I took Six Moon Design’s Lunar Solo on my first big thru hike of the Colorado Trail ($260 not on sale), but then switched to Six Moon Design’s Gatewood Cape, which I like better, but is finickier to set up. ($155, no inner. Or to make it double walled, also get the serenity net for $155 as well) Depending on how bad the bugs are, the Gatewood Cape is fine alone or with a head net. Tho, some places you definitely also want the bug net. You can look for sales. Or buy used. https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/products/gatewood-cape

I hiked the Colorado Trail with the Lunar Solo and it’s great, particularly for newer backpackers. I switched to the Gatewood Cape and that’s been my go-to for years now. A little finickier but I like it. https://preview.redd.it/gw9jy0dksagg1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b4cfa46c90849d8c4ee4e89a6d2266c5cb46f42 Pay for the seam sealing 😅

I've had my lunar solo since 2019 and I've always set it up with the pointy end of the trekking pole down. I wasn't aware that it was supposed to be otherwise. I'm not in love with the tent, but it has met my needs.

I have the Lunar solo, and I think I could set it up one handed. The hardest part might be adjusting the trekking pole height. I usually make the pole a little taller for the tent vs for walking. If I had to do it one handed, I would probably just leave the pole in the taller position all the time. I'm 5"3".

I have a six moons lunar 1 that I love. Your budget would be helpful here but the lanshan is also pretty well regarded. Hope that helps

I’ve liked mine. Echoing what others have said: does take some practice to get a feel for how to set up. Pole height and angle really affects the bathtub floor. Condensation (though it is a single wall tent. Gonna have that with any single wall.). I always use my second trekking pole to pull out the head end and if I’m feeling motivated find a stick to pull out the foot end. Interior space is good for a one person tent. For me it’s my fair-weather tent. If I were going somewhere with a lot of rain and/or wind I’d use something different. I have a xmid 1P but for me it’s too small.

I'm 6 feet tall and wanted to have room for my gear inside with me, not just under the vestibule. I also wanted to find a balance between lightweight and my budget. Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo checked all the boxes for me. I loved it as I hiked the first 210 miles of the PCT and will take it with me again when I attempt the rest of the trail this year. 😁

Got one this year and can't recommend it enough. And this was after purchasing the most hyped tent in history, the Durston X-Dome 1+. My tent purchases were always conditioned by the typical anxiety of thinking I needed a freestanding tent. Then finally did a retrospection of all my wild camps and realised that not even once I really needed a freestanding tent. Ordered a SMD Lunar Solo with their collapsible pole and couldn't be happier. Much faster to pitch than any other tent I ever tried, super compact, light enough, very robust floor (40D), and as simple as it gets. Big enough inside that I already spent 2 night in it with a 5 year old and even one night at altitude with my wife (wouldn't recommend it as a dedicated 2p tent, obviously, but it does the job for 1 night here and there). I had some hardcore UL friends telling me for years to try pole tents, and I now feel a bit dumb for not doing so sooner

I enjoyed using it a lot more in California than in the Midwest, just for the condensation issues. Definitely need to leave the door open whenever possible to air out if you’re in a more humid place.

I’ve had one for about 5 years. It might take a little practice to pitch well if you haven’t used trekking poles tents before, but I don’t think it’s very hard. I ended up switching to an xmid1 just because my head and quilt foot box would touch the sides if I didn’t use the extra tie out points (I’m 6’1” for reference). The only other downside I noticed is that ventilation wasn’t great with the door closed, so condensation built up easily in wetter conditions.

Not quite the exact parameters but the lunar solo is an amazing tent for the price

I didn't like mine very much. I found it to be hard to pitch mostly because it was too big and a little unwieldy. Always has problems finding a spot with enough good space for it to fit easily, and had to resort to securing the guy lines to logs, tree branches, etc. And I don't think I ever got the floor to be a bathtub (just a sad groundsheet). That said, it is very roomy inside and I never had a bad night in it. I never had it in much rain though, only high-ish winds, which when secured properly, did just fine (except for dirt blowing in, due to my inability to get the bathtub going). And while I realize all trekking pole tents involve more hassles, I think the Lunar Solo is at the higher end of that scale. I now have a Plex Solo. Which still comes with "problems," but at least it's about half the weight, so I'm willing to put up with them. The Lunar didn't weight much less than my Nemo Hornet 1P, so I found myself just using that instead (before the Plex Solo). Edit: I should practice what I preach, that tent review/opinions should include where they've been used. In my case, it was summertime, in the Sierra Nevada, CA.