Rainbow

I have the Tarptent Rainbow Single, it’s big enough to share and easy to carry at 980g but I wouldn’t want to be sharing in prolonged wet weather. However the Double Rainbow is significantly wider with a door on both sides for better access and ventilation. And not much heavier. They’re not cheap but look out for a used one on eBay or Geartrade etc.

I always look on eBay for used ultralight tents. This would be nice if the price doesn’t go too high. Plenty of space for the weight. I have the Tarptent Rainbow and love it. Seller may take £100, worth an offer. https://ebay.us/m/iX3wD6 This is also nice https://ebay.us/m/YJb2ud

I have the Rainbow solo (regular version, not the Li) and I love it! Sets up super quickly, no learning curve, gave me a lot more campsite flexibility than my buddies who both had trekking poles Durstons and were still learning how to set them up well. I think if I was to get a 2p tent, I’d either go for the double rainbow or the 2p free standing durston.

Check out the Tarptent Rainbow or Double Rainbow. I’ve heard of people using the single with a dog. But you’d need the double for another person.

The xmid 2 is ~9oz lighter and is more affordable like you said. I would look at getting the single wall DR, it’s the same price as the xmid 2 and only 6oz heavier. What you get is more versatility due to the freestanding option. Along with better site selection due to the smaller footprint of the DR (the Xmid 1 has a nearly the same footprint as the DR). Also more internal volume due to the arch pole. The fly is 20D and the floor is 30D compared to the 15D for both for the Xmid, so should be more durable. Both tents are loved so can’t go wrong. I love my double rainbow tho. Just bought the single rainbow Li got my upcoming pct hike. Also, they are great for tall people, so smaller people it should feel like a palace.

I would seriously recommend the tarptent rainbow 1p for about $300 and 2lb. It is only semi free standing, but you can add add trekking poles to the end clips to make it fully. Edit lb not oz 🤦‍♂️

Yeah, I've used the rainbow in some crazy conditions and it's served me well. Had one spooky night where the shelter was making high pitched noises from the wind ripping across the "bow", nearly flattened the pole onto of me (I added an extra line after that). I didnt sleep but i was fine. The nearby shelters didn't last the night. I used it on a 6 month cycle trip from Ireland to morocco with a bunch of long stops to hike (gr20 etc). It's been a while since I've used it, as I use a trekking pole shelter for hiking, and haven't done another cycle trip. Condensation was poor on some nights, and rain/wind can shake that straight onto you. My rainbow is at least 7 years old (got it 2nd hand), so tarptent have likely made improvements. **Re double vs single wall** - I use a Pyramid tarp or the double wall x-mid. The only real difference I feel about condensation management is that the net tent makes me less likely to rub against the wet walls while sleeping or moving around inside the shelter. Condensation drips though the mesh anyway (probably a bit less). In theory, you can manage the moisture better with a double wall over multiple day trips. When you pack down a single wall shelter with a wet fly, the floor and mesh get soaked too. In a double, you can pack them down separately. In practice I'm too lazy to do that hah. If I'm having a rest day and it's sunny, it does make it easier to dry everything out, by separating the layers. Shelter location and pitch makes a much bigger difference, if you have much choice. Your post did prompt me to look at the dome, and it looks like an excellently designed tent, which doesnt surprise me. Durston is a very thoughtful and pragmatic designer. I'd put him + tarpent in the same category of "definitely not the lightest, but perhaps the best feature/weight ratio" for lightweight kit. If you don't mind the weight penalty and extra cost, it'll probably be a little more comfortable (looks palatial inside) and perhaps more versatile But the rainbow *never* felt claustrophobic to me. I'm 5'11 fwiw. *Wind resistance* - The dome also looks more wind resistant. At a glance. But if youre just doing short trips, you're probably not going out in a storm? After my long bike tour, i've never had to deal with terrible weather - if the forecast looks bad i just delay my trip for another weekend. We often place too much value on "bombproof" shelters out of fear. I didn't see any pics of it, but the option to use your trekking poles for extra reinforcement might be appealing if you're a nervous camper either way. **freestanding:** I've never camped on platforms. Do you need it to be fully freestanding for this? The rainbow has a "freestanding mode" with trekking poles. I've never tried it, so can't comment on how good it is or isn't. How often are you going to use platforms? People do set up trekking pole tents on them, though it takes some faff from what I can tell. If that's rare it might be acceptable. If you don't *really* need a freestanding/semi-freestanding, a trekking pole tent will do everything you need. **Footprint:** I didn't check the footprint difference. But I do *really* appreciate a small footprint for flexibility with where I set up camp. I live in NZ, and unless I go to established campsites, I'm in steep densely forested terrain for the most part. I recently hiked 4 hours longer than I intended to find somewhere flat *enough* for a 1p mid. If I had either of the tents you're considering, I'd need to have camped by a hut (which is kind of like a refuge in the alps). My memory of the alps is that the forest is more open so it was easier to find a site. **Would you ever consider pitching the dome without an inner, and just use a ground sheet?** given this an ultralight sub and, **I don't think either would do you wrong**, I should recommend the lighter option (ie the rainbow). To throw a spanner in the works, surely there are European made freestanding tents that don't need to come with the expense of import? R/ultralight is heavily dominated by discussion from American users. So reading a lot here, you can get the impression that your only options are those from the states.

You've got some good feedback from someone who's used both, re storm resistance. Sounds like the dome is a winner. I might lean that way too if I was I was in your boat and definitely choosing between these two shelters. Largely for the option to go fly only. I didn't hike in Switzerland or Germany, but I don't remember bugs being a notable issue in the alps. I hear you re: needing to book leave to travel. I remember years ago, booking leave *months* I'm advance to travel to the highlands. Howling winds and constant rain everywhere, all week. After 2 nights I bailed out and had a nice time exploring a few cities instead. I've been through worse weather, because I *had to* (for example there was nowhere to bail out to in the atlas mountains). But its really not fun, regardless of shelter. If the weather is bad enough that the rainbow would fail, and another tent wouldn't, I'm doing everything I can to avoid that situation in the first place. In one of your comments, you said you don't want to do huge days hiking, reduce stress etc. So my question for you is: are you honestly going to want to go out and camp if the weather is so bad that the rainbow would fail but the dome wouldn't? If you the honest answer is "no" and you aren't going to use the dome "fly only" go for the rainbow. It's cheaper and lighter and will handle whatever you need, perhaps a little less well. Otherwise go for the dome, if you don't mind the weight and price, or if you really want the peace of mind in possible unstable weather.

A common ultralight expression is "don't pack your fears." But 100g isn't much if it does really worry you. All mountains are unpredictable, and I don't have much experience in the alps (maybe 40 nights), so take this with a grain of salt: my impression was that the forecast was a lot more reliable there. NZ can be very unpredictable. Today the firecast told me we had all day sun *while it was actively pissing down* (and i am at home, not in the mointains). This is due to being a mountainous maritime climate, and an isolated place between the arctic to the south and warm winds from the north with no landmass before it reaches us. And I would feel comfortable taking my rainbow into the mountains I'm New Zealand. I don't because my mid is a better, much lighter tool for this. The rainbow is really for bike trips or casual non-hiking focussed camping with friends for me. The coastal areas of the alps and Pyrenees are likely similarly unstable. Anyway, don't think you can too far wrong either way :)

I wonder if it'd viable for you guys to keep version notes on your product pages? Sort of the way software companies do. When I was writing up my rainbow experience in an earlier comment, I was conscious that my copy is at least 7 years old, but it's also been a good couple of years since I used it intensively. So I did check the product page to see what specifics may have changed, but I definitely missed this point for example. It may help people who are looking at older reviews that might criticise something that you've since improved on.

Yeah totally, I've noticed this too. And yeah, I've also noticed some features added at the cost of a prior design choice I thought was superior (for my preferences, obviously). A non shelter example, but I purchased a $700 tool for work from a cottage company this week that didn't publish an "improvement." It is an improvement on the common complaint reviews mentioned, but the tool is no longer fit for *our* purposes Re: reviews having shaky timelines. There's definitely a lot of poor quality review sites, where it seems the copy is generated by someone without real experience or nuance (and highly likely now, AI copy...) *But* for reviewers who have some credibility who might not be totally aware of the history (or that they're writing a "best of list" based on an old version), a changelog would definitely make it more likely that they could do a better job. Even publishing a version number in the specs/description would help draw attention to the fact designs constantly evolve, for reviewers *and* the more casual shopper (who might see "Notch, v2.5.9" and wonder if the review they saw online related to the version they've seen). I've not paid attention to backpacking gear for a few years, so dipping back in I'm finding my impressions of shelters is outdated, but it's quite tough to be sure about what designs have changed. Also totally understand not wanting to backdate a changelog accurately. That would be a massive undertaking! Edit: but yes reviews *generally* suck. I prefer the geeky debates on the ultralight community pages.