DESIGN – The MoonLights' Pole Structure A Tent's form IS its function — there is no follow. (I say that) I got a question (I get questions) about the MoonLight's EyePole design. The gist was why I didn't use a "minimalist*" structure, based on the Walrus Rapide of the 1990s, like virtually everyone else. My answer: oh it's minimalist all right, but it's minimalist with standards. Anyone can make a lightweight tent that's small and has inward leaning walls (and many do). The MoonLights are roomy and steep-walled because that's the standard that they were designed to. There was nothing wasted in achieving this.
Here's a simple deconstruct-then-reconstruct design exercise:
For steep walls: above each side of a four-sided floor, put eave poles so they can hold a walls up and out
Add a ridge pole at the top of the tent to make an unambiguous ridgeline to shed water and snow (and drain condensation on the underside). Make it diagonal and tilt the side poles.
Connect all the poles to the floor corners using as little pole as you can.
Now make everything rounded, lock the intersections together for unitized strength and what do you have? A MoonLight!
it seems so easy now...
This shows that the MoonLights do, in fact, come from a minimalist mindset. They're made with as little pole as can do the job, it's just that the job it does has more than just survival in mind. "Less isn't more; just enough is more." -Milton Glaser
Freestanding?
Yes, of course. The tent by itself (without the rainfly) is very freestanding – it's one of the most rigid tents you'll ever see. With the rainfly on, in pleasant conditions, it needs 2 stakes to pull out the vestibules. But if there's ANY possibility of higher winds coming in, for safety you should also use the four corner stakes, at least. Big, strong, rigid tents like this make terrific kites and two stakes or even six stakes may not be enough to hold them down if winds kick up. Anchoring is so important, we made the MoonLights easier to anchor than any other tent in the world. They come with guy lines (with their own pouches no less) and the stake loops are crazy-adjustable (up to 30") so you won't have a struggle to find a spot where a stake can go in. We don't want any MoonLights to become airborne or tumbled along the ground.
* What is this minimalist tent structure of which I speak?
