Durston - X-Mid Pro 1

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....

I could skinny pitch my 1p xmid pro anywhere you could fit a cowboy. Some people hate skinny pitch but I loved the versatility.

Durston X-Mid for the win!

I'm late 50's backpacker. You want to go as light as possible. Your knees may be fine now, but maybe not in 3 years. I have problems with my knees, and hip, my lower weight really helps. You should consider weight for everything you buy. You don't need to go full ultralight (r/ultralight), but you should pay attention. The durston xmid is a very popular light tent (treking pole tent). They make a 1 person and a two person tent. Many hikers already carry poles, if not you should consider it. Many skip the footprint, it isn't needed. If you really want one, buy a piece of tivex from Amazon and cut it so that it is a little SMALLER than the floor of your tent. You can buy small pieces of tivex on Amazon for ~$20. Many hike the entirety of the PCT or AT without a footprint.

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

Nice, great you have an open mind to it! A lot of us will never go back. Durston Xmid is a great tent, and it would serve you well. But it's also pretty hyped, and there are comparable tents that go more under the radar. If you're trying to avoid DCF (which is expensive), then some other options that weigh no more than the xmid are - Gossamer Gear The Two (single wall) - Tarptent Preamble (single wall, floorless, bring your own groundsheet) - Six Moon Designs Heaven UL (double wall, full-enclosed) - Six Moon Designs Owyhee (single wall, technically a tarp, with a bathtubfloor and perimeter bug netting, so basically fully-enclosed) - Outdoor Vitals Fortius (double wall, fully enclosed) If you were only considering the fully enclosed, double-wall options, probably the xmid is the way to go. But the other options here are cool too

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.

No worries. This helps! Based on what you said, I think you maybe should consider a xmid. Seems like you'll save weight and potentially money over the nemo or BA. The xmids are super solid, so don't worry about them feeling unstable, even in wind (exception might be somewhere crazy windy like Patagonia. If I was planning a trip there, I'd probably buy an xdome). And they are honestly easier/quicker to pitch than a tent with poles. You stake out the corners, throw the poles in, then tighten everything up. That's it. I'd recommend watching a "how to pitch..." video and practicing once or twice before you head out on trail, but that's the same for any new tent. There is potentially a bit of nuance if you are pitching in an area where you can't get stakes in the ground, but then usually there are rocks around (also, it's not a common issue in the Southeast). The regular xmid has a mesh inner and a rainfly that can be pitched independently of each other or together (pretty sure you need a small cheap adapter to pitch just the inner). IMO it's a great deal for the quality tent you get. The xmid pro is a single wall dyneema tent. I love mine bc it's super light but really spacious. But the pro is super expensive, so you have to consider if that's worth it for you. You are right that the footprint of a 2-person xmid is on the large side. I've found you can shrink the overall size a bit by pitching it with the lines tightened so the stakes are not too far from the corners. I haven't had an issue so far (I'm in the southeast too), but obviously depends where you're trying to camp. I personally think it's worth it for the space to weight ratio. Anyway, I've obviously drunk the Durston kool-aide a bit, but I'm really happy with my xmid.

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.

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.

Being a shortie with a shortie partner is always surreal when reading this sub and other ultralight resources. "A 2 person is really a 1 person tent" "for me personally the X-Mid 2 is simply unusable for two people with position head to head" meanwhile me and my partner both fit into a X-Mid Pro **1** lmao

The Durston tents are awesome. I have the 1 person with the separate poles (very lightweight). It's so light and easy to pitch. I use this one backpacking. I have the Nemo Osmo 2p tent for when I want a little more room and don't care so much about the weight (it's still very lightweight considering).I use this one car or canoe camping, like I said, when weight isn't so much an issue. It's very roomy inside and the "landing zone" in the vestibule is great for keeping gear dry and off the ground without having to bring them inside the tent.

With our doublewall tents including the X-Dome the fly can be rolled back as much as you want. You can expose a corner or two (I show this in the pitching video) or the entire interior. So the X-Dome 2 can have any amount of ventilation from fully covered to 100% inner exposed. The regular X-Mid can do this too, but the singlewall Pro version has the fly and inner attached so the versatility is less.

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.

I have the Lanshan and the X-Mid. Both 2 Pro. Both are terrific tents. The Lanshan is perhaps the better value because of its low price. The X-Mid is the better performer because of its lighter weight and clever design. Both are fine 2 person tents with excellent materials and well performing layouts; although both are cramped for two people.

Durston X-Mid Pro 1 is fantastic. It can be pitched multiple ways and why wouldn't you go with Dan Durston? Dude literally answers any questions you tag him in on Reddit. Best customer service and very high quality tent. I have the newer dyneema x-mid pro 1 and I love it. I had it pitched in GUMO a few weekends ago with 50-60mph winds. Took it like a champ

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

Tbh not a real big issue. I've pitched it in some tiny places, often with a stump or rock in the vestibule or using the guyline intead of actual pitching a corner. I think this is your best bet given your opinions.

I've never heard of them but products from their parent company, DAC are ubiquitous in high end backpacking gear. I'd give a design like the sololite a try. The vestibule comes separately adding a lot of cost. I see two big problems with this tent; * Shipping stuff overseas to Canada can be a big PITA. I'm not sure where you are purchasing it but but "Bigtent Explore" option may largely avoid shipping being a PITA and that store seems to be the main place to buy them. * If you decide to sell this tent it will be difficult due to the lack of name recognition. Durston's a Canadian company that manufacturers extremely popular tents and if you want a high end option they are worth a look. I'd recommend starting with a freestanding tent like the X-Mid. I primarily use a different tent but I've been extremely impressed by one of their trekking pole tents I own. Another option is more budget oriented tents. NatureHike makes a bunch of fairly light tents (CloudUP, Mongar) and imho they are more durable than the extreme ultralight tents. If you do get serious about backpacking, you can later upgrade from a budget tent. Personally I use less expensive tents when camping close to vehicles as weight isn't a major concern and I'm less worried about damaging them. If you later decide to get a ultralight 1 person tent, the extra space of a two person will be greatly appreciated when weight isn't a concern. Go to MEC or another outdoor store (Not Atmosphere / Sportchek) and start trying on packs and find one that fits well. Keep a few in mind and purchase one that will fit the rest of your great and aim for a 60L or smaller pack. As long as you have a sleeping bag designed for backpacking that uses down and / or synthetic materials and has an appropriate comfort temperature rating its hard to go wrong.

The only problem I really had with my xmid pro were the zippers. I wish there was an easy way for me to fix the zippers on trail! But then by the time I get to camp all I want to do is get in my tent and sleep and not do any chores. I usually get to camp at around sunset so there's little time to fuss

Durston Gear X-Mid all the way, baby!

From north of Europe here. After getting winds through an MSR tent once I woved to stay with local brands, of whom you have several. Hilleberg, Fjellreven, Helsport and Barents Outdoor are all made for rough conditions. But not ultralight, even if lighter versions. A few years ago we went above the arctic cirkle with a local brand dome tent, and a Durston Mid trekking tent. We got really strong gusts that hit the camp, and the local brand poles snapped straight off, while the Durston stood firm. I was really impressed. Personally I prefer dome tents, as they are easy to move about, and can stand without any plugs if fair weather. Also can pitch anywhere, unlike those that rely on plugs. If I was in the market I would try the Durston Dome now. The lay out off outer vs inner tent gives the greatest length and height on the market, by far. Get the 2p and you can lie even more diagonally inside.

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

I have a Durston Xmid and love it - I also considered Six Moons Lunar Solo and Tarptent Stratospire and rainbow. They have some other tents in your budget too. Gossamer Gear has affordable single wall tents.

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.

Yes the recommendations will be flooding in for the Durston! I had the 1p but didn't like it only because I am tall and it felt claustrophobic for me. Got a 2p and it's great. The new Durston Xdome if you want a free standing tent is amazing and I am hoping for a dyneema / Xdome Pro Version to be released. Everyone will say get the Durston, you just have to figure out which one is best for you

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.

Won't sag as much. Also need a good pitch.

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.

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)

If you live somewhere damp, you can't go wrong with the X-Mid. If you live somewhere dry, consider the single-wall The Two from Gossamer. It's a tad harder to set up but quite a lot lighter.

I used my x-mid 1 pro for shasta but the weather was good. The solid should be more, well, solid. I would expect that if the weather is good enough to want to climb it would be good enough to use it.

"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.

I have a Durston X-Mid Pro 1 with a lot of miles on it. The tent does feel very spacious on the inside and is brilliantly designed. However I am a hike all day kind of person and I don't think I'd want to hang out in the Pro 1 all day. It's extremely comfortable to sleep in but there isn't really a lot of space to hang out in.

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 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.

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.

The regular X-Mid has always been tips up, and the Pros have always been handles up. The main reasons for that is that a doublewall tent (regular series) doesn't have a natural pocket for the handle, so the lightest option is a grommet for the tip, whereas the Pro series are singlewall/hybrid tents so the inner wall connecting to the fly creates a natural pocket that we use to go handles up. You can go handles up without adapters in the regular X-Mid too, but it doesn't have that wall there to positively stop the handle from sliding around. It works normally but in high winds the greater security of a grommet or an adapter can be nice.

While I sort of agree as a xmid pro owner, not everyone wants to spent $800 on a tent. And some use cases favor a free or semi-freestanding tent. OP didn't give us much info to go one for advice here.

Okay - cool. mw: 63 5'10" (long torso - important factoid). Cool backstory. My vote is make the investment in a Durston design. I think it has better storm-worthiness. I was all about Andrew Skurka's HighRoute (co-produced with SD) but I think a brand new Durston X-mid - either 1p or 2p will nail it for you. The 1p is still very spacious and takes up less space to pitch - a factor with the "ski-wampus" parallelogram floor design and vestibule space. I would be remiss - especially on this forum - not to mention I can vouch for the Dyneema version, as well, although there I would recommend the 2p - optimal, versatile, and legit ultralight. Sure, you could tarp it - but after spending a week in Yellowstone this past September- we got hit hard with hail and driving, all-night-long, rain- sure appreciated the space (and remembering to bring a pack cloth for the inevitable condensation). But Dyneema is a big leap $$$ Last suggestion: if you spring for the more expensive Durston X-mid vs. Sierra Designs High Route, whether you go for the 1p or the 2p you might want to go for the "solid" version of the X-mid for a couple of reasons: 1) it's built to withstand some increased abuse in stormy weather (both the seams of the fly and the high stress strap areas; 2) the inner mesh canopy has more nylon, less mesh - still breathable - but potentially a bit "warmer-feeling"; and 3) you can normally buy as an accessory a mesh "regular" canopy to swap out with the canopy that comes with the "solid" for use in warmer climes and/or warmer trips. As far as my opening comment goes, longer torso means when I sit up in a tent, from hips on floor to top of head, I might as well be a six-foot-1" dude sitting up in my tent. To be fair to the High Route, that worked, also, as far as that goes. Some other brands of tents, not so much.

Durston X-Mid. The 2 person felt like a personal palace and I'm 6'5". $240 for 2.5 pounds is also a great price point relative to weight, only "downside" is that you need to carry trekking poles