Six Moon Designs
Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo
4.8from 300 Six Moon Designs store reviews
Twenty-six square feet for one person is the roomiest per-person figure of any solo shelter here, and at $260 the Lunar Solo is also the cheapest serious trekking-pole tent. One pole at 49 inches, a hexagonal footprint, a full vestibule that rolls back, and 20D silpoly that neither stretches when wet nor degrades in UV the way silnylon does. The one-door, one-pole layout means the pole stands near the middle of the entry, which takes a couple of pitches to get used to, and the seams arrive unsealed unless you pay Six Moon $35 to do it.
Floor area per person
26.3 sq ft
Roomy — over 17 sq ft each — room for packs inside and to sit up without hitting
Weight per person
26 oz
from the trail weight of 26 oz
Peak height
49 in
Approx. price
~$260
Pads: 48.0 in of floor width each — 1 × 25 in pads fit.
Length: a 90 in floor leaves room for a sleeper up to about 7ft once you allow six inches for a foot box and a pillow.
Best for
A solo hiker who wants space and a low price more than the last few ounces.
Specifications
- Type
- Ultralight
- Rated capacity
- 1-person
- Floor area per person(estimated)
- 26.3 sq ft (roomy)
- Floor area
- 26.3 sq ft
- Vestibule area
- 8.5 sq ft
- Peak height
- 49 in
- Minimum trail weight
- 26 oz
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 26 oz (trail weight)
- Interior floor width
- 48 in
- Pad fit(estimated)
- 1 × 25 in pads fit
- Fits sleepers up to(estimated)
- 7ft tall
- Doors
- 1
- Vestibules
- 1
- Freestanding
- non-freestanding
- Poles
- trekking poles
- Wall type
- single wall
- Season rating
- 3-season
- Fly fabric
- 20D silicone polyester, 3000 mm
- Floor fabric
- 20D silicone polyester, 3000 mm
- Floor denier
- 20D
- Floor hydrostatic head
- 3,000 mm
- Approx. price
- ~$260
Features
- 26.25 sq ft of floor for one person
- 49 in peak on a single adjustable trekking pole
- 20D silicone polyester at 3000 mm — no wet stretch, better UV life than silnylon
- Full zippered vestibule that rolls fully back
- High vent at the peak for condensation
- Seam sealing offered by the maker for $35, or an hour of your own time
In its favour
- More floor area than several two-person shelters in this catalog
- $260 is the lowest price of any trekking-pole tent here
- Silpoly does not stretch when wet, so the pitch holds overnight
- 3000 mm on fly and floor is double what the lightest nylon shelters carry
- 48 in floor width means a 25 in pad plus all your gear beside you
- A hexagonal single-pole shape that sheds wind better than its price suggests
Against it
- Seams are not sealed from the factory — it is $35 extra or an hour of your own time
- The single centre pole sits in the doorway and takes practice to duck around
- One door and one vestibule
- Six Moon Designs publishes no packed size
Written from the published specification sheet, not from owner reports.
What owners report
Drawn from archived owner discussions, not from a test of our own.
What owners like
- It survives weather beyond its class — owners report a thunderstorm with strong winds shrugged off by an admittedly poorly pitched one
- Sustained heavy wind in Iceland is another first-hand account of it holding together
- Owners rate it above the X-Mid 1 for solo use, specifically for the space and the single-pole simplicity
- The extra room over other solo shelters is the recurring reason people choose it — some find it almost too spacious
- Owners take it in preference to Dyneema shelters when hiking with a dog, on durability grounds
- It is the price and weight benchmark for non-Dyneema shelters in Europe, where the alternatives are far more expensive
Common complaints
- Condensation worries dominate pre-purchase discussion and owners ask each other how bad it really is
- The walls are not steep enough for a 5ft 11in owner, who describes the fit as not even close
- Extended guylines wrapped around rocks are harder to make work than with a standard pole tent, according to an owner planning for rocky ground
- At least one owner records outright disappointment and wishes they had been steered elsewhere
- It arrives unsealed unless you pay extra, which pushes the real price up
Nothing in this catalog's ultralight group has a better weather record relative to its price. Two separate first-hand accounts — a thunderstorm with strong winds on a poorly pitched tent, and sustained heavy wind in Iceland — describe it simply holding. At $260 that is remarkable, and it is why owners keep recommending it over shelters costing twice as much.
Space is the other draw. At 26.25 square feet it has more floor than several two-person shelters here, and owners who came from an X-Mid 1 say the extra room and the single-pole simplicity make it the better solo tent. A few find it too spacious, which is a good problem.
The constraints are height and condensation. A 5ft 11in owner reports the wall angle as not even close to steep enough, which is the practical limit of a single centre pole. Condensation is the thing everybody asks about before buying — it is a single-wall shelter, so the answer is the usual one, helped by the high vent and the full-length vestibule. And it ships unsealed, so budget either $35 or an hour.
Questions people ask about it
Does the single wall mean a wet morning?
It is the most-asked question before purchase. It is a single-wall shelter, so condensation happens; the high vent at the peak and the full vestibule that rolls back help more than most. Owners who camp in dry country barely mention it; owners in humid places wipe it down.
Does it need seam sealing?
Yes. It ships unsealed unless you pay Six Moon Designs $35 to do it, or about an hour of your own time with a tube of silicone sealer. Factor that into the price comparison against tents that arrive taped.
Is it big enough for a tall person?
The floor is 90 by 48 inches, which is generous. The problem is the wall angle — a 5ft 11in owner describes the walls as nowhere near steep enough, which is inherent to a single centre pole. Sitting up in the middle is fine; lying with your head near a wall is not.
How does it do in real wind?
Better than its price suggests. There are two separate first-hand accounts of it riding out a thunderstorm and sustained Icelandic wind, one of them explicitly on a poorly pitched tent. Six stakes properly placed are what makes the difference.