Durston Gear X-Mid 1 Tent Review (Second Generation)

FAQs

How much does a Durston XMID 2 cost?

Compare

23 more rows

Where are the Dan Durston tents made?

Golden, BC

Are Dan Durston tents seam sealed?

No. The material is silicone impregnated (good for tear strength) but then also has an additional PEU coating on the inside that has the advantages of (1) making the floor non-slippery and (2) allow it to be seam taped.

How do I set up XMID 2p?

Pyramid tarps often called “mids”, short for pyramids, are available in multiple forms ranging from one-person ultralight monopole tarps to multi-person winter tipis, complete with inner tents, stove jacks, and wood stoves.

How do you pitch XMID?

Should I seam seal my tent? The easy answer is, if it leaks, yes. Seam sealing will create a waterproof barrier and extend the longevity of your tent. If your seams came taped from the factory, this might be tricky to do as any residual tape can disrupt the application.

How do you pitch XMID?

Pyramid tents are mostly used for mountaineering and backpacking. They're particularly popular with the ultralight backpacking crowd given that they're lightweight, windproof, and durable and the main tent pole can be your trekking pole or ski pole.

What is a pyramid tent?

These tents are perfect for campsites as their size means they are heavy to carry around for any length of time. Additionally, they are best used when pitched facing into winds as if they are hit by heavy gusts side on, there is a risk they may collapse.

Where should I use a hoop tent?

A-frame tents are often used when camping. The tent has lots of space and, provided you don't set it up too high, will do a decent job at repelling wind and rain. A-frame tents are also very easy to set up using just hiking poles and a tarp.

Are a frame tents good?

However, almost all tents can be grouped into 1 of 4 categories based on their shape. Here are the 4 different types of tents: A-Frame tents, Pyramid tents, Hoop tents, and Dome tents.

Durston Gear X-Mid 1 Tent Review (Second Generation)

Durston Gear X-Mid 1 Tent Review (Second Generation)The Durston Gear X-Mid 1 (second generation) is my favorite tent to use on backpacking trips. It’s a lightweight double-wall tent weighing (28 oz) that is comfortable to sleep in and easy to set up. Made with polyester, it’s much less expensive compared to ultralight Dyneema tents but also doesn’t sag when it gets wet. The X-Mid 1 comes factory seam-taped and includes ultralight titanium stakes, making it usable out of the box. It is a trekking pole tent, so it’s not for everyone or all campsites, but it is a great shelter if you want a trekking pole tent that is affordable, spacious, stormworthy, and packs up small. (MSRP $240).Specs at a GlanceCapacity: 1 personType: Double-Wall, Trekking Pole TentTrail Weight: 28 oz / 795 g | Fly: 17.3 oz / 490 g | Inner: 10.7 oz / 305 gDoors: 2Peak Vents: 2Minimum number of stakes to pitch: 4Materials: 20d sil/PEU coated ripstop polyester (2500mm), #5 YKK Aquagaurd water-resistant zippers on fly, YKK #3 zippers on inner tentAlso includes 6 titanium tent stakes, tent stuff sack, stake stuff sackPacked size: 12 x 5 in / 30 x 13 cmFor complete specs, visit Durston Gear. Tent DesignThe X-Mid 1 is a double-walled trekking pole with a rectangular floor plan and dual side doors with water-resistant Aquaguard zippers. It has two peaks with grommets inside to hold the tips of your trekking poles. The X-Mid 1 includes an inner tent with a bathtub floor, mesh walls, and a mesh ceiling with roof pockets, which is oriented diagonally inside the fly, creating large side vestibules.The inner tent has a bathtub floor, mesh sidewalls, and a mesh ceiling.The X-Mid 1 fly can be set up before the inner tent to protect it from getting wet in rain or you can attach them beforehand and set them both up at the same time. The inner clips to buckles in the peaks and attaches to the four corners of the fly with mitten hooks. My preference is to separate the inner tent and fly when packing the tent if the fly is wet, so I can pull it out later in the day and dry it off when I catch a bit of sunlight.  Otherwise, I keep the inner and the fly connected which makes the tent very fast to set up.Grommets and reinforced fabric in the peaks prevent your trekking pole tips from ripping the fly.The setup process is ridiculously simple and requires a minimum of 4 tent stakes to erect. You simply stake out the four corners of the fly pulling them tight, drop your trekking poles through the peak vents, position the carbide tips up in the peak grommets and extend them until the fly walls are stretched tight. Then you can walk around and add additional guylines to the peaks, doors, or side panels, depending on the conditions. I like to stake out the guylines running from the peaks to the ground, although this isn’t strictly necessary in good weather. You can also stake out the short side of the doors if you want to create a little corner to store your backpack upright near the inner tent door.X-Mid 1 Schematic, courtesy Durston Gear. The green area represents a rectangular sleeping pad. The inner tent is shaped like a parallelogram, so there is extra space above the head and foot end of your sleeping pad to store your nighttime essentials or your camp shoes for nighttime strolls. There are small mesh pockets in the ceiling corners that are secure enough to hold precious items like a smartphone or your glasses, so you don’t have to worry about them falling out…

Durston Gear – Kaviso

Durston Gear The X-Mid was among the most popular tents in our thru-hiking survey this year and also got a strong vote of support from the comments section last time we published this list, earning it the title of Fan Favorite. It’s easy to see why. The TrekThe Best Thru-Hiking Tents of 2022 “Exceptionally high quality. Field performance was outstanding…an excellent size-to-weight ratio for a dual-pole, double-wall, two-person tent….Overall, it has simply been a joy to use.” Backpacking LightHighly Recommended The X-Mid 1P is a double-wall trekking pole tent for one person that is simple to set up, well made, and quite affordable. Weighing under 28 oz, it’s also quite lightweight and a really great deal for backpackers who want to reduce their gear weight. Section HikerOne of 10 Best Backpacking Tents It’s easy to see why the X-Mid a fan favorite. It’s reasonably lightweight, simple to pitch, and has plenty of space, including two doors and vestibules—a luxurious touch for a one-person shelter. The TrekBest Backpacking Tents of 2021 This is a well-designed tent made by someone who has hiked a lot of miles. It’s well-engineered for livable space, relatively easy to pitch, and the double-wall design is a key factor in reducing condensation. We love the ease of use with the two doors and vestibules. Adventure AlanTop Pick 2021 The Durston X-Mid 1P combines the luxuries of a double-wall tent and the simplicity of a traditional tarp, making it one of our favorite shelters that we’ve tested to date. The Gear LabLabeled as a Best Buy

Durston X-Mid 2 | Ultralight Tent

Durston Gear X-Mid 2P Second Gen Differences – Kaviso

Durston Gear X-Mid 2P Second Gen Differences Smaller footprint, more stormworthy, new solid inner version, more user friendly, and lighter SMALLER FOOTPRINT – YET MORE SPACE The most common critique of the X-Mid 2 was that the footprint was somewhat large – making it harder to fit into small sites. While the footprint was similar to many tents and mainly larger because it is also a nicely sized 2P tent for two real adults (compared to many 2P tents which are tiny), we have managed to trim the footprint area by an appreciable 10% for the second gen. We’ve accomplished this by fine tuning the angles and gaps to eliminate wasted space and adding tiny struts to two corners of the inner tent to increase the height, so the space inside the tent actually becomes slightly more spacious. The main area of vestibules continue to be the same generous size. The footprint is now: Shorter at 100″ (from 102″) Narrower at 83″ (from 88″) 10% smaller at 57.6 sq ft (from 62.3 sq ft) The inner tent is now: 2″ wider at the floor (now 52″ from 50″) 2″ wider at shoulder height (40″ from 38″) 1″ taller (45″ from 44″) Stormworthy The X-Mid 2 is a very stormworthy tent, with incredibly good rain and snow performance thanks to the shape and materials. However, the weakest point has been vulnerability to wind gusts on the side panels. For the second generation we’ve improved this by re-patterning the fly with additional catenary cuts. The new shape is very familiar but now it pitches substantially tighter and is less sensitive to uneven tent sites. In addition to this tighter pitch, the stormworthiness has been further improved by: The smaller fly reduces the profile to the wind Additional mid-height guyout points on the side panels (added early 2022) Additional mid-height guyout points on the end walls The result is a substantial improvement in harsh weather performance and reduced need to use the peak guylines in moderate conditions. SOLID INNER VERSION In response to requests from people who push their X-Mid’s into more challenging conditions and winter use, we’ve added a new solid inner version called the “X-Mid 2 Solid” in our new Alpine Sage color. This version replaces most of the inner mesh with 15D woven fabric to provide greater warmth and protection from drafts, snow, sand, and rain splatter while remaining an excellent all around backpacking tent. We’ve kept mesh on the upper half of the inner doors for fresh air and the ability to see out.In addition to the solid fabric, we made a few other changes to optimize the X-Mid 2 Solid for high winds including: 10mm buckles reinforce the base of the fly zippers New reinforcement patches strengthen the extra stake points along the hem The peak guylines are upgraded from regular cord to new stronger and low stretch cord to help the tent deflect less in high winds. All of this adds only 1 oz / 30 g on top of the mesh version. Both the mesh and solid versions are an excellent all around tents and will work well in almost all conditions. We recommend the mesh version for general use, hot areas, and stargazing, while the solid version is also excellent for general use while being optimized for cooler areas and shoulder season conditions. USER FRIENDLINESS User friendliness is a top priority because when the conditions are tough you need a shelter that just works. We’ve made further improvements here for the second generation, including: New magnetic door toggles use super strong magnets and make securing and releasing the doors easier. The connections between the inner floor and trekking pole handles have been…

The Durston X-Mid Pro 2 Tent Weighs Just 620g!

The Durston X-Mid Pro 2 Tent Weighs Just 620g! The new Durston X-Mid Pro 2 is a two-person shelter made from Dyneema composite fabric that weighs just over 600g without sacrificing key features. Check it out here… Dan Durston of Durston Gear just announced an updated Dyneema composite version of his popular X-Mid 2 tent, combining the unique design of the X-Mid with the qualities of Dyneema to create a tent that’s both lightweight and packed full of features. Unlike most trekking pole tents, the rectangular X-Mid has a simple four-stake pitch with no mandatory guylines. Once pitched, intuitive design features include magnetic door toggles, large doorways that aren’t blocked by poles, and one-handed zippers. The X-Mid Pro also has a small packed size for a DCF tent because it uses a durable 15D woven floor that’s more abrasion resistant and much smaller packing than a composite floor. According to Durston, the Durston X-Mid Pro 2 is assembled using hot bonded construction for the strong and clean seams. It’s designed in Canada, and manufactured in China at the same factory that makes DCF tents for other well-known brands like Locus Gear, Samar’s, TarpTent, and Big Agnes. The large floor area accommodates two wide tapered pads, the twin offset pole layout provides generous headroom and living space, and protected doorways keep rain out when the doors are open. Currently, Durston doesn’t offer folding poles for those travelling without hiking poles, but they are in development. In the meantime, several other companies offer something similar. You can get a custom pole from Ruta Locura, and Zpacks offers a 48″ pole. The X-Mid Pro typically pitches with the poles at 46-47″ so a 48″ pole is slightly long, but typically can be angled to achieve the proper height. Weight Breakdown Tent: 575 grams (20.4 oz) Stuff Sack: 12 grams (0.4 oz) Stake Sack: 4 grams (0.2 oz) Tent with required stakes: 620 grams (21.8 oz) Body Fabric: Dyneema Composite Fabric Floor Fabric: 15D Nylon Packed Size: 12 x 6 in (30 x 15 cm) Floor Area: 30 sq ft (2.8 sq m) Place of Manufacture: China The X-Mid Pro 2 costs $639 USD (without stakes) and will go on sale January 24th, 10 a.m. EST on DurstonGear.com. Related ContentMake sure to dig into these related articles for more info… Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.