Mont Moondance 2 Hiking Tent in the Aussie Bush: 3 Years and 450km Later

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After the husband’s beloved Kiwi hiking tent literally delaminated on our 3-day Larapinta loop hike a few years back, it was time to look for a new abode when we were getting ready to hike the entire Larapinta Trail.

Buying a new hiking tent is almost like buying a new car—there are plenty of options, it’s not particularly cheap, quality and longevity should be a given but you don’t really know what you’re getting until you’ve literally made your bed and slept in it for a while.

Just to be clear, we bought the Mont Moondance 2 (3-Season) with our own money, and after more than 450km on the trails, we both still love this hiking tent. Here’s why.

OUR REQUIREMENTS

Neither of us wanted just a shelter (despite the allure of less weight) or just a ‘Larapinta tent’ to get us through one desert hike. We were looking for a long-term investment that would last for some years.

What we wanted:

• 2-person hiking tent with sufficient space for the two of us (plus a bit of gear)
• 3-season tent because we don’t really do any snow camping
• A tent that could deal with the humidity of the Queensland coast, the harsh sun of Central Australia, and the rain and cold of Tasmania, i.e. a high water rating and proper ventilation
• Some internal storage for small items
• Tunnel or side-opening tent (my preference is the latter)

There are actually a few top contenders when it comes to hiking tents suitable for the harsh Australian climate and tough terrain. The husband made a spreadsheet with all the options, sorted through a mountain of reviews, and narrowed the choices down to two options: the MSR Hubba Hubba and the Mont Moondance 2.

Both are very similar in design and features, and would be big enough for our Nemo sleeping mats without making us feel completely cramped—fairly important since we’re not 25 anymore and can’t move as flexibly as we once did. The MSR Hubba Hubba is slightly lighter but also has a lower waterproof rating than the Mont Moondance.

One thing I didn’t love about the MSR was the colour (deep red), whereas the Mont came in a kind of dark olive called ‘bracken’ (which sounds a bit yucky, to be honest) and blends nicely into the environment. What probably also swung us was the fact that we could test the Mont tent in store, practice-lie in it, including mats and sleeping bags, and see how easy it was to set up and pack down before committing to buying it.

So in the end, we decided it was a really solid choice that best suited our needs but importantly, it also meant that we could support a local company with a reputation for excellent customer service and quick repairs.

MONT MOONDANCE 2 TENT AT A GLANCE

OUT ON THE TRAIL: 3 YEARS AND 450KM

After its proper maiden hike on the Larapinta, where we experienced everything from hot, sunny days to freezing (around -5°C overnight) and days of rain, our Moondance has been our home for several other multi-day hikes around Australia, all in all clocking up over 450km now.

In addition, we’ve used the tent when car camping when it was just too windy for our rooftop tent.

The Moondance has now been subjected to:

• Days of sustained rain and drizzle;
• Heat and sun exposure; and
• Campsites that have varied from soft sand to barren rock and dust, hard/compacted ground, sharp gravel bits, tiny pebbles, and wooden platforms (definitely among my favs).

HOW IT HOLDS UP IN THE BUSH

After three years and multiple overnight hikes, the tent has held up exceptionally well. It barely has a scratch, feels and looks almost brand-new, all the zips, velcro bits and poles still work perfectly (no dust stuck in them), and it’s a breeze to set up and pack up.

Here’s a summary of what we love.

SPACE, LAYOUT AND DESIGN

• Aussie-Made Quality: I love supporting local Aussie businesses. Mont gear is extremely well-made and their customer service is exceptional—they sent us a full replacement set of pegs when the original ones didn’t cut it on a gear test in the Sunshine Coast hinterland (we bent one straightaway). They’ve since upgraded the pegs on this tent, and in fact, it now comes with 10 pegs, not just 8, so the guy ropes can be pegged out as well.
• The Weight: For a 2-person hiking tent, the Moondance 2 is reasonably light at about 2kg—it’s not the lightest on the market but it is quality.
• The Roominess: It’s surprisingly roomy for the two of us (admittedly, we’re both relatively ‘slim’). The walls of the tent are more vertical than on some of the competitors which gives the Moondance a much more spacious feel. Obviously, it’s still squishy and you can’t actually fit two packs in the tent but they can sit comfortably in each vestibule. On occasion, we’d shove my pack (with the food) at one end, leaving the husband’s pack in the vestibule. We also love the two entrances so there’s no awkward climbing over each other in the middle of the night.
• Internal Storage: The tent has two full-width pockets at each short end, i.e. four pockets in total. It’s amazing how much stuff they can hold—I really love these pockets! There’s also a loop in the middle of the ridge section, complete with Mont carabiner, which is really handy for hanging up our Luci light—one of my favourite small hiking gear items.

WEATHER, SETTING UP AND PRACTICALITIES

• The Roof Vents: You can open and close the roof vents from the inside. The inner tent has two small zips at the top that allow you to open the outer vents. It’s fantastic for a bit of breeze without having it blow on your face or getting wet on rainy nights. We’ve never had rain come in that way.
• Heat & Insect-Proof: On hot nights, we’ve ditched the fly and just set up the inner tent. The mesh is so fine that you get all the breeze you want without getting attacked by mozzies or midges. The only time these peskies get in is through the tent entrance, a pain you can’t avoid. But no matter how tiny, midges have never got through the actual mesh fabric.

• Rain: You might think being waterproof (massive 25,000mm+ waterhead) is irrelevant for the Larapinta but we had three, four days of solid rain and the tent was WET. We, however, stayed happily dry on the inside. Plus, you don’t usually buy a tent for just one hike—and so far, we’ve not got wet yet (though admittedly, we’re still to test it in Tassie downpours).
• Easy to Set Up: The Moondance is so quick and easy to pitch—you lay the inner tent flat, hook up the poles and connect the cross poles to the tent, and your tent is up. If you’re using the Mont footprint, you also hook the poles into the footprint so you can pick up the inner tent + footprint and move it around to adjust where you want it. Then, you just need to drape over the fly, attach it to the ridge pole using the hooks, stick it to the cross poles using the velcro straps and clip it into the inner tent at each corner. Peg it down and that’s it.

• Easy to Pack Up: Tents are notorious for being too big for their storage bags but Mont designed a bag that fits the tent very comfortably and makes rolling it up a breeze. Seriously, it’s so easy, it’s clear they put some thought into it. Some people use stuff sacks or just stuff the tent into the bottom of their packs to save space and weight but we kind of like the neat bags that Mont provided and they really don’t weigh much.
• Use a Footprint: We always use our Mont Footprint, whether we’ve camped on sand, compacted dirt or rocky plateaus in Central Australia. Saving $100 on a groundsheet isn’t worth it when you’ve spent $900 on a tent. You could make your own but Mont designed one specifically for the tent and it just clips in easily.
• Modular Setup: Mont has designed the Moondance range so that you can use the footprint just with the fly for an ultralight setup (not my cup of tea, I like an actual tent), without the fly (great for hot nights) or swapping out the inner tent for the 4-season tent shell (sold as a standalone now, i.e. you don’t have to buy the whole tent including fly and pegs anymore, you can just purchase the tent inner to use with your existing fly and pegs).

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

There’s really not much we don’t like about our Mont Moondance.

I guess it could always be lighter but this is a sturdy 2-person tent rather than an ultralight shelter, so it’s always going to weigh more.

The entrance isn’t ideal for the husband who prefers a tunnel tent for easier access than crawling out sideways. I, on the other hand, prefer the side entrance and I love the large opening. Like the weight, it’s only a minor issue.

The husband’s main gripe is that the fly sits too high off the ground when pegged, allowing sideways rain to hit the tub of the inner tent. While rain has never seeped through internally, a bit more ground clearance coverage on the fly would be better.

He’d also like to see a second anchor point on the vestibule so that it can be pegged out more tightly (e.g. on soft sand or on rainy nights) and so that it doesn’t flap as much as it does in strong winds.

THE VERDICT: IS THE MONT MOONDANCE 2 WORTH IT?

The Mont Moondance 2 is a pricey tent but so are the competitors. You’re always going to fork out a hefty chunk of money when buying a high-quality hiking tent.

It’s incredibly well made by an Australian company, and although it’s not the lightest on the market, it’s proven itself as super reliable and sturdy across 450km of hard tracks. Not once have we feared we might fly away and we’ve camped in some windy conditions.

I know this is quite the glowing review but we genuinely love this tent.

Want to check it out? You can view current pricing and availability for the Mont Moondance 2 (3-Season) on Wild Earth or directly on the Mont website.

Happy hiking,