Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter Review

Trekking pole tents have been a favorite in the ultralight community for a long time. But they aren’t always practical. Hikers who don’t use trekking poles, need to set up a basecamp for day hikes, or enjoy multisport adventures where it’s not practical to bring poles (like bikepacking) need freestanding options. The Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter is a solid entry-level freestanding tent, though it misses some of the nicer features available from other one-person tents on the market. 

x-shaped pole architecture of six moon designs lunar orbiter

Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter At-a-Glance

MSRP: $425
Materials: 20-40D silicone polyester
Weight: 42 oz.
Floor space: 21 square feet

Circumstances of Review

I tested the Lunar Orbiter while canoe camping and backpacking during the fall in Canada. 

Freestanding vs Trekking Pole Tents

The Lunar Orbiter is Six Moon Designs’ first freestanding tent. Six Moon Designs is well known on trail for its outstanding trekking pole tents. So why should you consider a freestanding option instead? 

Freestanding tents allow for an incredible degree of flexibility that is just not available with trekking pole setups. You can pitch a freestanding tent with zero stakes if needed. This allows you to set up on sandy or rocky surfaces or wooden tent platforms without having to get creative with your pitch. Freestanding tents are a better choice for trips where you don’t need trekking poles at all. Raft trips, canoe camping, or bikepacking all benefit from freestanding tents. If you prefer to hike without poles or with a single pole, it’s silly to carry them just to set up your tent.

They’re also easy to pitch. Trekking pole tents require precise tensioning and stake placement to get a taut pitch, whereas the pole architecture of freestanding tents all but guarantees a taut pitch every time with no fussing.

Finally, even if the only sport you do is backpacking, there are many situations where it’s great to set up your tent without taking your poles out of commission. Want to go tag Mt. Whitney while camping at Crabtree meadows as a side trip on your PCT thru-hike? You’ll either have to carry your trekking pole tent up with you, leave it sad and flat on the ground, or hike the tallest mountain in the lower 48 without your trekking poles. This isn’t an issue with freestanding tents.  

Freestanding tents are a little heavier due to the separate poles. If your goal is the lightest possible base weight, you might want to stick with trekking pole tents. 

square mesh sleeve sewn into mesh ceiling of six moon designs lunar orbiter

The Lunar Orbiter’s generous gear loft

Lunar Orbiter Features

Lots of Storage: The Lunar Orbiter features two small mesh side pockets, one on either side of the tent. These are perfect for storing your headlamp or other small items you might need overnight. There’s also a removable gear loft. If you really want to trim your weight, you can leave it at home, but it is a fantastic place to store wet socks or other damp items of clothing overnight. Two vestibules provide lots of options for outside gear storage. 

Short Poles: At just 15 inches long, the poles of the Lunar Orbiter are compact and easy to stow. They are short enough that I could fit them inside my pack if I wanted to. The shorter length makes them ideal for bikepacking. It also means they’re less likely to catch on branches if you’re bushwhacking on a backpacking adventure. 

Short poles are easy to find space for on any backpack.

Durable Materials: The 20D silpoly used for the bulk of the tent body is considerably thicker than most of my other tents and feels like it will withstand years of abuse. The poles are sturdy enough to take a beating.

I also like the design of fabric pockets to hold the tent pole ends and it’s great that the Orbiter uses a sleeve to feed the poles through. I’m confident I could re-sew any torn pockets on the trail easily, which isn’t an option for the fancy clips used by other companies to attach poles to the tent body.

This tent would easily stand up to multiple thru-hikes. 

Pockets for your pole ends are easier to repair yourself than proprietary clips.

Lunar Orbiter Pros

Sheds Weather: The tent body is well designed to shed wind and water, with no awkward spots for water to pool on top of the tent. The pole design keeps the tent stable during big wind gusts. The bathtub floor is also nice: it’s deep enough to keep you dry, even if you set up in a puddle. 

Packs Small: The Lunar Orbiter is compact. The body of the tent folds down small in a dedicated stuff sack. The poles are short and easy to stow on the inside or outside of a pack. You’ll be able to find space for this tent even if you have the tiniest backpack. 

green six moon designs lunar orbiter lit up from inside at a dark campsite

Easy Setup: The Lunar Orbiter is quick and easy to set up. The pole sleeves have yellow ribbon sewn in, which makes them easy to find in the dark. It’s easy to slide the poles into the pockets that hold them with gloves on. 

Dark Inside: The thick, dark green silpoly makes this tent pretty dark inside. This is a positive in a lot of ways. It’s easier to sleep during the daytime if you want a midday nap. It’s more private for changing in busy campgrounds. But it does make it feel pretty dingy inside in comparison to some of the light and airy tents on the market. 

vestibule door staked out showing six moon designs lunar orbiter badge in corner

A long vestibule guyline allows you to pitch this tent almost anywhere.

Truly Freestanding: The only part of the tent which really requires staking to set up is the vestibule. Even then, the vestibule has a long guyline, which makes it easy to set up on rocky ground or tent platforms. One of the biggest advantages of a freestanding tent is that you can set them up almost anywhere — and this is especially true for the Lunar Orbiter. 

Roomy: There’s plenty of space in this one-person tent. My 6’2 partner can sit up inside the tent and lie down without touching the ends. There’s also two vestibules, which give you plenty of space to leave your pack and shoes outside of the tent. 

Fantastic All-Around Adventure Tent: This tent probably won’t be the one that I reach for when going on ultralight backpacking trips. I own nicer, lighter-weight options for when weight really matters. But this tent really shines as a bikepacking tent. The short poles make it easy to attach them to your handlebars, and the tiny compressed size of the tent body allows you to stash it easily anywhere on your bike.

This tent excels when size is more important than weight and for trips where you won’t have trekking poles. If you’re a backpacker looking to expand your modes of travel, you’ll want to consider the Lunar Orbiter. 

Lunar Orbiter Cons

Comes with Chores: This is my biggest complaint with this tent. It isn’t seam-sealed. If you want your tent to be fully weather-proof, you need to buy seam sealant (not included with the tent) and seam seal it yourself, or purchase SMD’s $35 seam-sealing add-on. I hate seam sealing; I always end up sticky and with dirt stuck to my seams. Many comparable tents at this price point come standard with taped seams — no extras required. 

This happens almost every time you remove the poles.

Pole End and Shock Cord Design: The shock cord for the poles is attached to a small end piece. This small end piece easily gets caught in the fabric pockets used to hold your poles. I ended up having to yank on the shock cord to remove it from the pocket multiple times. This is going to wear out my shock cord quickly and isn’t great for the life of the poles. 

Not the Lightest: 42 ounces isn’t terrible for a fully freestanding tent, but there are certainly lighter tents available for a similar price (see comparable tents listed at the end of this article). 

Integrated Mesh and Rainfly: The bug mesh is sewn into the sil-poly outer part of the tent. This is the norm for trekking pole tents, but many freestanding tents have a separate inner. The combo design saves weight in theory, as less fabric is used.

However, many tents with a similar or lighter weight have fully separate outers and inners, which gives you a lot more flexibility. I’m willing to give up the options afforded by having a separate inner and outer if it’s a very light tent, but the Lunar Orbiter isn’t light enough to justify that sacrifice. 

Pegs slide easily in and out — even when you don’t want them to.

Storage Sack Design: The stuff sack for the tent body is fine. However, the storage sack for the poles is not well designed at all. It is essentially a tube with two openings in the middle, with one designated for the poles and the other for the stakes. There’s no way to close the opening to the sack.

Your poles probably aren’t going to slide out, but losing stakes is a real concern, especially if you store your poles on the outside of your pack. I’m careless enough that my pack frequently ends up at strange angles when I’m taking a break (or when I fall over on trail), and I really don’t trust that my stakes are secure enough in the original storage sack. It’s a small detail but seems like an oversight. 

Overall Value

This tent is a solid single-person freestanding shelter with massive versatility. If you’re considering any adventures that are not ultralight backpacking, it’s a great choice to have in your gear closet. However, if you’re looking for the lightest tent for your money, you’ll want to keep searching. This tent is also let down by a few small design choices, such as the pole storage sack design and lack of seam waterproofing.

Overall, this tent is a great introduction to lightweight backpacking (and other multisport methods of camping). However, if you’re heading out on a month-long hike, you might want something lighter. 

Shop the Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter

Comparable Shelters

Durston Gear X-Dome 1+

  • MSRP: $378
  • Weight: 34.7 oz

Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 

  • MSRP: $429.95
  • Weight: 38 oz

The Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter was donated for purpose of review

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Comments 1

  • Ryan : Jan 17th

    To be honest, considering the weight, the materials used, the overall design, it seems like a solid enough tent but at the wrong price point. If you include factory seam sealing and I would because it’s a real pain to do and if you screw up sealing a 400+ tent that is going to hurt, you are talking nearly 500 dollars for a sil-poly tent. That’s in striking distance of dyneema tents. Compared to SMDs other tents this one just seems priced incorrectly.

    Reply

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