Tarptent Double Rainbow DW ULTRA - Features & Overview - Lightweight 2 Person Backpacking Tent
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- Hey Everyone!
Here's an in depth look at Tarptent's Double Rainbow DW Ultra tent.
This isn't a review, but an overview of the tent, it's features, and the interior space it offers.
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Specs
05:55 - Ultra TNT material
10:43 - Pitching the inner tent
14:56 - Features of the inner tent
20:06 - Interior space (with 6ft human)
25:48 - Attaching the outer fly
26:33 - Outer fly features
35:52 - Vestibules & porch mode
42:22 - Outro
In the video I go over the specs of the tent, talk a little about the ULTRA TNT laminate material that the fly is constructed from, and show you all the features of the inner and outer tent.
I also give you a look inside the tent, and show you just how much space there is for you and your gear.
I purchased this because I wanted a comfortable double wall tent that had enough space on the inside for me, my pack, and all of my gear. I also wanted to learn more about the ULTRA TNT fabric used on the flysheet, and have some first hand experience of using it.
If you're thinking about buying this tent, I hope you find some of the information useful!
Thanks for the video! I just purchased this, and subscribed to your channel! Thanks again!
I have this tent in the Silpoly version and have been traveling the world with it for a year. It packs small and is very compressible once you take out the tent poles and stakes from the bag. Silpoly is a game changer with this tent as it makes it not sag at all.
I have had it in a heavy downpour in a thunderstorm on the Lycian Way in Turkey and found it completely waterproof. I appreciated the low fly edge and the high solid fabric side walls to protect from splash back and wind. The next day it was soaked with condensation but it seems to dry fast enough in the sun and wind. I usually keep mine with the inner and outer connected for a faster pitch. What I hate about it is putting the pole through the sleeve when the inner and outer are connected. It seems to always get stuck on the velcro tabs in one position or another. I found out that the best way to set this up is to stake one side into the wind then put the pole in from the other side. The tension seems to relieve the issue but it is far from perfect.
I am currently using it in the Pirin mountains in Bulgaria and have had it in some decent winds up to 30mph in fairly exposed alpine conditions. I stake it low as I can using large MSR stakes for the six primary points then add guide lines to the arch pole in a "V" on each side adding 4 additional Easton stakes in total. I then put my dirty socks on the tops of my trekking pole handles and extend the trekking poles to the apex on each door side under the vent. This gives the tent horizontal stability under wind load. I am a bit worried that it could wear the silpoly fly material over time. It seems like it is prone to holes and not a durable as silnylon from an abrasion standpoint.
The tent flaps around in the wind especially when it is hit broad side against the door. The trekking pole trick make a huge difference. I think I may also get some fixed lines on the 4 additional guide out points along the fly in even more exposed conditions. I think this would help with more stability in winds.
Im also not a huge fan of the "free standing" trekking pole set up. It works okay using the inner only and 140cm poles. The only time i used it like this was when I was drying out the tent with the fly attached to get more airflow and have a bug free area to eat lunch. I would never trust it like this in any real weather.
My set up with a tyvek ground sheet, 10 stakes, guidelines and tent with bags is about 3.53lbs seam sealed.
It is only about 12oz lighter than a full free standing option like the MSR Hubba Hubba without the groundsheet and I feel it might be worse in weather than that option. I would consider a Slingfin Portal 2 but I am a bit too tall for it at 6'2 with 13 US feet. The Portal 1p has the 88 inch length like the double rainbow but much smaller living space and no second vestibule. The Slingfin tents do look well built and made for real weather.
I have the DR Li, I think it’s the ultimate tent. Not sure I could live with all that crinkling noise. Would be good to know if it’s settled down. I agree not much porch space. For me they are a 1 man tent. I noticed you had the DCF why did you go to this one? Any feedback?
Urggghh, showing off again! 😂 I do really love this tent. Although they don't do a solid inner, it's nice that it has a solid section at the bottom to cut out some of the cold air. It's the perfect size for one person I think and so many nice little touches. So tempted to get one.
Awesome detailed review matie. 👍
That's me mate, total show off!
I definitely need some more time with it to get used to pitching, but I'm really happy with the interior space. No more wet footbox for me!! Looking forward to seeing how it copes with a bit of weather too.
How do you like this vs the copper spur?
at 14:44 you can use the designated hole to avoid the crazy bend, the over the top method is when you pitch the tent with the fly attached i think
Brilliant, thanks mate! I was wondering if that was the case when I watched the footage back!
Exactly what I came here to say! I've got the non-ultra version coming soon and am mega stoked to try it. Great vid bud. Looking forward to seeing how it holds up in France 👍🏼
@@BoshOutdoors thanks mate! Can't wait to get it out on the trail and see how it fares. Hope you enjoy using yours!
We have the same tent in the polyester fly version. We have only used it once on a very damp trip of 7 days, British Columbia, early April. It was tough for two people due to the amount of condensation and how close the inner wall is to the inside of the fly. The problem was less the width of the floor but the angle the that the corners rise to the top cross bar. There is not much room between the inner tent and the fly. So any contact against the mesh inner caused condensation to drip into the living area. We were a 3 person party so we switched tents after the first night and used the Rainbow as a single.
The footprint was somewhat large for the size of the inner. This was a problem because we often only had limited camp sizes available. This surely contributed to the condensation problems because we were never in a position to pull the vestibules fully taut.
Using the fly attached setup was difficult for us as well. Since we’ve returned I have slathered the pole sleeve with a very thinned out silicone. This added almost no weight but stiffens the entire sleeve so I can get past the Velcro connectors. So we seemed( at least in the home trials) to have got past that problem if we wanted to use that feature. That said, with the condensation we encountered, we will probably pitch inner first and keep inner and fly separate to dry things out.
We also found the tent was better with the cross bar on the outside of the fly. We wrapped that little black cross bar with a bit of yellow reflective tape because it look like something that could disappear in the brush if dropped. The reason it is better outside the fly is, on the inside, the fly and tent are directly in contact with each other at the apex. That caused a drip spot for moisture to collect and drip.
We have some practice to do with this tent. It is very light and compressible. After thoroughly seam sealing it inside and out it was very rainproof. But the condensation with two people, in that very wet climate was difficult because of the double wall construction. The seasons young so we will see and I’ll comment further with any solutions to problems we encounter. Thanks for posting. Cheers
Hey, thanks for posting your experience with your DR. Interesting to hear how you got on with it on your trip.
I know what you mean about the side walls tapering in as they rise, that would definitely be a concern for me if I was with someone else in there on a regular basis. For me alone though, it's certainly no problem.
I've not experienced any bad weather in it yet, just a little light rain. No condensation so far either, but I was thinking of doing the same as you and keeping the fly and inner separate when packing up.
I like your idea about the pole sleeve, very inventive! And you're right about that small cross strut - I'm going to keep a close eye on that - if anything is going to get left behind after packing up, it's probably that!
One more thing I forgot to add. One solution we found for the slack inner panels is to pull up the excess mesh and clip it to the center pole sleeve. We used a large plastic paper clip so as not to damage the mesh or fabric. This seems to be working on a pitch at the park. It pulls the inner wall tighter and away from the fly. I’ll let you know if it works in reality.
Look forward to hearing about your trip to the Alps. Just subscribed. Summer here in the Pacific Northwest is very dry this year. Not looking good for fires. Fingers are crossed on that.
Argh, my time in the PNW was wet, cold, rainy and snowy every day on the PCT. Tent never had chance to dry out.
I've packed a couple of clothes pegs with the tent now. With my X-Mid, I could lie in the tent with the doors open and have a pretty much unobstructed view, but so far, I've found with the DR that the side wall/door gets in the way a bit when I'm laid down. The peg let's me just fix it out of the way a bit more. Not a deal breaker by any means.
There's always stuff to figure out I guess, it's just a learning curve.
Do you use a groundsheet with yours? I've just had one arrive from Tarptent.
We didn’t use a ground cloth. We just haven’t got around to making something. As far a the floor it was pretty tight. We had 1/2” thick closed foam on the floor with Nemo inflatables on those so there wasn’t any water under us from condensation. Yeah, the only real difficulty was the tight space inside with two people. I swear condensation goes up exponentially with the number of people.
@@twhis9843 I got one of the silnylon sheets from Tarptent, it's only just arrived in the post though. I've tried Tyvek in the past and it takes up much more room than I expected when folded. I've been using polycro recently, but both pieces I have are about shot, so I decided to go with the silnylon.
beautiful tent, I am curious about your review if you have used the tent in the Alps for 1 month. possibly a very interesting lightweight tent option for me. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, looking forward to getting it out into the mountains. Will hopefully have some feedback in July!
Great video. Thank you! I currently am using an Xmid Pro 1, but I was surprised to find that tent is way too transparent for me. I can clearly see the moon through, way too much light coming through the tent and I feel very exposed when changing clothes. I can’t tell if this tent is more opaque or not. How is the transparency?
Thank you! I had an X-Mid Pro 2 myself, and can say this Ultra material is definitely more opaque. The DCF felt almost see through at times. This one still let's a bit of light through, but nowhere near as much. I've not tried looking through from outside, but I'd guess that a very blurry shape/outline would be all someone could make out.
Thought the Xmid was the tent of all tents. Want something for the Appalachian trail, already have the Scarp and Moment, but want something lighter. Not sure about single wall though.
I really enjoyed using both my X-Mids, but for me, the 1P didn't have the space I wanted for all my gear inside, and whilst the 2 Pro was really light and more spacious, I was always having trouble getting a decent pitch on uneven ground. I also made the decision that I wanted to go back to a double wall design.
There always seems to be a compromise on something when looking for your ideal tent, if you're wanting something lighter than the Moment (I'm guessing it's a DW?), single wall is probably going to be the easiest way to go. Be interested to hear what you end up with!
@@PaulandaPack Nicely made video. I'll have a few tents you might be interested in, in late 2024/early 2025.
Thanks Dan, that sounds interesting!
Especially the 'few' bit. I'll keep an eye out!
I was wondering about those inner tent toggles as well, there must be some trick to it?!
Must be! I'm going to make it my mission to figure it out lol.
That there is a way to ventilate it is important.
You got a bad burn there mate . You need some alovera .
Yeah, there's some great venting options on this model!
Can't win here - it's either lashing down with rain or we're getting sunburnt!! After all the rain we've had in the last few months, I'm happy to take a bit of baking lol!