Durston - X-Mid 1 Solid

towards the end in a larger group I was skinny pitching my 1p durston and both 2p tents in my group had 2 people in them just to fit in tent sites. honestly 2p solo tents in some of the sites on this trail felt like a selfish move. if you fit in a 1p, you aren't spending enough time in it to need extra space, save the weight. except the very very tall, solo 2p durston owners seemed to agree it was a little ridiculous to hog that kind of real estate. it was usually their first ul tent. 1p durston owners should all know how to skinny pitch. for one thing, it saves you when your door zippers start to go. in bad weather, 1p let me sneak off to a tiny wind protected ledge and have a peaceful night. 2p would have been stuck w the brunt of the wind up on the ridge spots established by fair weather weekenders....

Durston X-Mid for the win!

I got a solid inner with my x-mid because it was what was available at the time (they were still doing the drops, no stock on hand). No appreciable difference in condensation that I've noticed. Even if there's some on the fly, the inner stays dry. Since the inner has nothing to do with stormproof that's a wash for me. I might get the mesh inner at some point to have the option. I've also used it without the inner to have all the space inside, which is nice, I sat inside in the rain using my stove because floorless tents are cool that way. I have tyvek for use as a groundsheet under the pad.

In addition to the durston tents as already suggested (I have the x mid and while its very light because it's a trekking pole tent, the fabric feels quite durable), I want to suggest the marmot tungsten 1 person tent. Less than 4lbs, durable, comfortable, less than $300. It's the first backpacking tent I bought and it's still the one I reach for on shorter trips where I'm not worried about weight. It's so easy to set up, stays stable in wind and rain, and fits it pretty small spots without feeling claustrophobic inside. Others have suggested big Agnes - while I love the big Agnes fly creek 1p I have I would not describe it as very durable. I do a lot more patching of holes on that tent than the other two I mentioned. Still a great tent and I'm not getting rid of it anytime soon, but I don't think it's what you are looking for.

I have the Tungsten UL 3p and we love it. Not sure how different the UL is other than materials? Easy setup, very roomy, great in rain. One vestibule is smaller than the other, stakes out closer to the tent so my wife who is 5'3" can reach the zipper easily. It is very similar to the Limelite that we used to have, but half the weight. Our other tent is a Durston X Mid, which we use most of the time. But we take the Marmot when we want a little bigger space or if we are taking the dog.

Get a used durston 1 or 2 "I need an X-Mid" facebook group. Can def get one under 200 for 1 man.

X- mid with a solid pitch (harder to achieve on uneven sites) is quite sturdy. I carry a couple of MSR Groundhog stakes to use in looser soil.

I have used the Durston original Xmid 1 on two long AT section hikes (112 miles and 250 miles). It's an incredible tent for the value and weight (only $200 when I bought mine), especially for being double walled. Just prior to those hikes I completed two thru hikes using a Tarptent Moment DW and loved this tent. It's my favorite tent of all time and have owned 2 versions over the last 10 years. I would highly recommend looking at Tarptent as they have several tents in non DCF that might be more budget friendly but still offer a great low weight and space ratio. I have a love/hate relationship with trekking pole tents. I love that they generally reduce the weight of a tent but I hate the fiddle factor, amount of stakes for a good pitch, and area of ground needed for most trekking pole tents. I have used trekking pole tents from Zpacks, Lightheart Gear, Six Moon Designs, and Tarptent as well. In my opinion, the Durston sets up the quickest and has the least amount of fiddle factor. My Moment DW set up with 2 stakes in a minute and had a more narrow profile that allowed me to sneak into some areas my Durston wouldn't have worked in. I also like the ability to change the floor size and the variety of ventilation options the tent provided at only a penalty of 6 ounces more than the Durston. I believe the newer version of the Durston is even lighter. Edit: you don't need the solid inner of the Durston unless you're starting in January.

Considering a Nemo hornet elite 1p is 687 grams all in, while a xmid 1 is 720 grams *without poles*, it's hard to legitimately consider the xmid as UL.

I think it's part of the appeal of the X-Mid series, only 4 stakes really needed is kind of nice. But realistically I often pitch the two vestibules too because why not, so... There's also the Ounce Designs Bunny and Abodi V2, both requiring only 4 stakes and very light (less than 200g). And then the classic mids which need 4-5 stakes.

Durston Gear X-Mid all the way, baby!

I'm UK based and recently got an xmid directly from Durston. You can get a lot of the duty charges back too, which really keeps the cost down. EBay is also an option if you're open to second-hand. Gossamer Gear's 'the one' or 'the two' can be picked up on Ultralightoutdoorgear and are on sale. The One is £239 and 529g (albeit, you'd need to pick up some trekking poles or Durston a-flicks too, which would add a bit of cost/weight). Alternatively, if you really want v little spend, your best bang-for-buck might be a foam pad. An exped or Thermarest will cost £20-50, would have about the same r-value, but should be ~300g.

Xmids are extremely easy to pitch. Watch the Dan Durston pitching video on YouTube, it's very versatile. If you pitch it square and taut it's pretty sturdy, I've camped above treeline in torrential rain and it's held up perfectly with a little seepage through the zipper. For stuff like summit camps i would use a sturdier 4 season tent though. It can be pitched inner only with the stargazer kit.

The short answer is that it is a combination of sewn on and zippers, and is included in the weight. The long answer is that the 'flap' of solid fabric is a triangle that is sewn along the bottom edge (permanently attached & part of the weight). So the bottom edge is 'sealed' such that any snow building up on the solid panel isn't going to slide down into the tent. Then the other two sides are both sewn for the lowest 4-5" to further prevent wind blown snow from sneaking in, and this creates a pocket that the rest of the flap can be tucked into when it is open. Then above that, the side of the triangle along the main zipper has a zipper to zip shut. The zipper is not vertical, but angling over the flap, so it does a nice job of raising up the flap to cover the mesh. Operating the zipper is what closes the flap. As it does that, the final side near the top is pulled closed and sits shut with a bit of overlap. It is an overlap closure for the upper part of the 'top' side, such that the mesh is covered but the edge here is not 'sealed'. We could've put another zipper here (or Velcro etc) but it's at the top, sits shut nicely now, and is shielded by the fly. If it's so windy it's forcing snow through there, it's probably not the right conditions for this tent anyways, but if a user wanted it would be easy to add a bit of velcro

Speaking from experience, the 1 person x mid feels like a palace and is comparable in weight to 2 person dyneema tents, and is way more affordable, and the pitch is as straightforward as advertised (I will say 6 stakes is my preference over 4 though)

The main tent that comes to mind as stronger, cheaper, and lighter that doesn't make large compromises to usability is the durston x-mid. And it still makes some compromises in that it isn't freestanding. For 3 season backpacking in Colorado/rocky mountain US the copper.spur is solid.

Durston X-Mid Edit: missed that you said freestanding. I haven't personally used the X-Dome but it's made by the same guy out of the same materials, so I'd assume similar quality. The X-Mid has worked really well for me on all types of terrain.

One conversation is about "tent vs tent vs tent" and another conversation is about you- your body size (especially height), your intended frequency of use, and whether you are replacing a tent you already have or what? I own the last gen of Sierra Design High Route 1P and a Durston tent (or two) and have used Zpacks tents (duplex, hex) and HMG "mids". To me it seems the more expensive options here have steeper slopes, roomier designs and Durston's sil-poly material does hold more taut in inclement weather than sil-nylon. There is a saying in sales "cost is only a factor in the absence of value" well....okay.... but IMHO the Durston is a great value at $269 based on combination of factors: design, materials, craftsmanship, service, warranty, and even usability. One of the things I like about Durston's geometry is 1) I can move around in the tent without getting my head brushing the sides of the tent; and 2) the poles are not totally in the way of entering and exiting the tent. As far as pitching goes, on level ground you really can pitch the Durston with four stakes. I always stake down the "Ridgeline" for extra stability and use more stakes if conditions are really wet. Finally, is this for a long trail thru-hike? Or playing camping with the kiddies in the back yard? Or where is it actually on that spectrum - for you? Good luck with your decision. Hope this helps.

Are you sure? I got my x-mid solid a few years back for \~£200, it's still showing up on the Durston shop site at £205 shipped to the UK. Can't be that much more on to the continent surely? Are you on the official site? [https://durstongear.com/products/x-mid-1-solid?variant=48282912096547](https://durstongear.com/products/x-mid-1-solid?variant=48282912096547) and not the Pro (which is lighter, but far more expensive and arguably less durable). It's a solid tent, can be erected in the rain without exposing the inner, mind you'll need to buy the poles separately, I have Durstons z-flips as I use it for motorcycle camping more often than not.

If the Durston tent is sold from Europe, the price will be higher because it's gross, meaning it includes VAT. Plus, of course, some middleman's margin. I used the X-Mid in quite strong winds and it held up well.

Not what I'd call durable though. 15d silpoly and carbon poles - won't last 2 trips for this guy.

I never loved pitching my Xmid, it's a genius design and fabulous when pitched properly, but I always felt like a slightly wrong pitch made it perform worse than you'd think it would. But, I'm 99% a hammock guy and only take a tent when a trail isn't great for hammocks. So, most likely because I wasn't pitching it enough to get a feel for it.

The 'solid' inners for our X-Mid have a panel of mesh (on the upper part of the doors) that can't close, but with the X-Dome this mesh panel is accompanied by a second layer of solid material that can be closed to have it 'full' solid (no areas of exposed mesh). I don't have a great photo of it, but [this shot](https://durstongear.com/cdn/shop/files/16_-_Durston_X-Dome_2_Ultraight_Tent_-_Solid_Inner_446.jpg?v=1757631867) shows it when the solid layer is shut behind the mesh

I have a Durston X-Mid 1 Solid, packs very small. 26x15 cm, with good headroom and comfort.

Either handlebar or front fork. It is a Durston Xmid, I keep the poles and stakes in my frame bag.

"Camping gear" is so broad as to be almost meaningless.... I love camping, I've camped all my life, but it's impossible to reccomend anything with such a wide remit. My lightest backpacking tent (Xmid) weighs less than 700g and is fabulous for what it does. My heaviest 'tent' is our family folding camper (a Pennine Pathfinder) at 1000kg. That's also fabulous, but completely incomparable. Then there's a whole range of tents in between. The same applies to all my other camping gear, from pans and stoves to sleeping solutions and chairs... it's such a massive case of fitting the item to the purpose. And some certainly is BIFL worthy, while other stuff may compromise durability for lightness or some other priority. Tell us a little more about what you want to do? - car camping, backpacking, trailer camping - and in what terrain/environment and you might get something more useful.

If you have a bot more the spend the Durston Xmid 1 is incredible. You can buy the Fly and Inner separately from Canada and not pay import duties. 750g