I love this tent! I've found that the larger footprint isn't such a big hurdle because it's only necessary to find a flat patch for the area of the inner. I've set the tent up over bushes and even a small log once:-) The two large vestibules are wonderful - I can use one for gear and one for cooking. Also, the narrow inner has never felt claustrophobic to me due to the mesh and large outer.
I normally like tents with a separable inner and outer, but I bought my Durston a few weeks ago, and this time I went for the single wall Durston X-Mid Pro1. I did that for the stronger contrast to my normal Hilleberg tents and for the extra space that the one person Dyneema version offers versus the one person double wall version. Just like you, I find the pitch quite easy to do if one does not seek perfection, and has flat ground, but quite the challenges if one does want perfection or encounters high and low spots on the corner surfaces. But I've only had it up about four times, so hopefully it will get easier as time goes by. The details and the quality of the Durston gear is outstanding and while I don't really care about ultra-light, I'm not complaining about the one pound (454 gram) weight neither. I'm glad to have found your review. There is bth a "skinny pitch" option for the Durston, for when the space is tight. Lastly, for those who don't want to carry trekking poles, it should be mentioned that Durston sells their ingeniously designed Z-Flick adjustable carbon fibre supports for a reasonable price, and they weight in at 93 grams and pack down to 31 cm. I love m'.
@Dori's Hiking Adventures thank you, no worries. I've had it on the side of a couple of small mountains in dreadful wind, and I used it for the Cape Wrath Trail. I love the size of it, and the ease of pitching. It's also incredibly sturdy. Not had any water ingress, which I was concerned about after reading about a faulty batch. My one issue has been that, no matter how I pitch it, the inner touches the outer in two spots near the top on both sides. I've tried everything to stop it. The only way it is slightly better, is to badly pitch the tent. To have it loose. I've not experienced heavy rain in it yet, and worry this would mean a wet inner. Apart from that, it's been fabulous. Don't think I will ever need to use another tent 😊
Hmm not sure what you could do about that 🤔. Is it the very top part or is ot more on the side that it touches? I am sure you tried this already, but I loosened the straps when I first got it (where you clip the inner tent to the outer)
@Dori's Hiking Adventures it's near the top on both sides. Loosening the straps helped, but because it is so near the top, it didn't stop it. Turning the inner didn't make a difference. Using the guy likes correctly from the end didn't either.
Hmm 🤔. There is a facebook group called "durston gearheads" - might be worth asking the question in there. Dan himself is also part of that group and is very helpful
Great review, very thorough. I am waiting for my X-Mid 2P, it should arrive in late April. They sell out in less than 5 minutes! For uneven ground I attach adjustable loops of cord between the tent and stakes at the vestibule. That way I can easily move the stakes outwards and pull the vestibule fabric tight.
Nice review! I have the 2P and I love it. I am tall 6’2” and I have plenty of overhead and leg room. I also have the Stargazer Kit that easily allows me to set up the inner tent without the rainfly if I desire. I have had mine for about a year-and-a-half. Great tent!
Thanks for sharing! I own mine over a year now and I absolutely love it! It gave me safe shelter in heavy rain, storm and it always felt good to be in it. I love it :-)
Just found your channel and subscribed! Great info for a truly fantastic tent. I had the original 1P, but felt a bit squished, now have the 2P and absolutely love it! There's not a better tent out there for the price! I love the quality, the sil-poly, the ease of set up, the overall thoughtfulness of the design and features, love, love, LOVE the double wall features (setting up as just a shelter, star-gazing mode, etc) fly first pitch, the weight. I also have the Duplex and, while the Duplex will win weight comparison every time, the features of the X-Mid win every other category. I saw in an interview Dan Durston is considering a double wall made with DCF for his next project - I will be all over that when it comes out!
@@DorisHikingAdventures Like other Durston tents, I'm sure it will be near impossible to get one until the 3rd/4th release, so I'm sure there will be plenty of reviews when it does come out. I mostly hammock, and I love my DCF tarp. A double wall with DCF would be pretty sweet though! What are you planning on for summer hikes???
Dorie, I’m glad you are back on. You have good info. You call it as you see it. i have the version 2. It has been up once in my lawn. Will set it up more in better weather. I plan to use it on canoe trips, and motorcycle camping. I want to try staking out a long door as a shelter to sit under. My camp seat is regular chair seat height, but not a wide chair, so it should work. In a base camp situation, I’ll extend a rainfly out from a door. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Good review. Well done. I agree about the necessity of trekking poles being a drawback. I don’t always take them, sometimes I only take one and frequently I like to set up camp and hike up a Mtn using a trekking pole. All of that makes it hard to justify this tent style for me. The Durston tents do seem like the best option in this category though
hey Dori love your stuff . I can see your good points on the tent especially the way you can set up the bug inner in our wa shelters, I personally am a zpacks duplex man with the options of trekking poles, freestanding or carbon tent poles it is two person but really best for one with room for your pack inside and superlight. I am not sponsored but i do smile with the same enthusiasm as you do when i talk about my tent. It's just the best. Thanks for the video I wanna skip work now and go bush.🌳
Hello. I'm also interested in the Zpacks Duplex and x mid pro 2. Is the Duplex easy to pitch on uneven ground. The X Mid pro looks a bit neater I must admit. Thanks 👍
G’day, Dorie. An update. Have done only an overnight canoe trip in my X-Mid 1p. Packing now for a 7 day canoe trip on Michigan’s Au Sable River. We move daily, so I get some practice in pitching and striking. Rain, of course is in all of the forecasts. (And - I looked at several forecasts, hoping to find a favorable one. 😏). I’ll rig a rain fly for a covered area for cooking, eating, and socializing. My experience so far is very favorable. As I crawl in and out, change clothes, stretch out, roll over, etc etc, I find myself saying “DARN IT!!” a lot fewer times. I find a grin on my face a lot of times. The tent accommodates and shelters me. And, isn’t that what it’s supposed to do? Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Great long term review. I am looking to get the 1p. It looks like the latest version is a little bit bigger on the interior. Do you ever regret not going with the 2p?
Thank you for your informative and lovely sharing but I don't understand why many reviewer did mentioned also it is not easy to find good spot to pitch up this tend? But i guess its footprint are very similar to other stand-alone tent too. So why I keep hearing this reminder? I am curious. Can you further advise?
Hey Dorie! Thanks for your review. I do own a trekking pole tent myself but I do not use trekking poles. So I usually look for sticks on the ground that suit the purpose and it works fine. Why is it that trekking poles are a must for the mid-x?
I’m pretty heavily invested in Tarptents now but have to admit it is a great looking design. Would be interesting to see what a DCF version would weigh.
I had a Stratospire I and didn't like it. The struts were a pain and the pitching wasn't as straightforward as they say. The Durston x mid look a better design. 👍
Great review, thank you. I'm curious though does the shape of the pole's handles interfere with set up or stability of the tent? I have Leki poles too with cord ergonomic handles. How would they perform as supports in the Dan Durston shelter? Thanks again!
I use the trekking poles in reverse sometimes and never had any issues. Not even when i set it up in the huts. Just make sure it is tight enough so it has enough tension and doesnt fall over when you accidentally hit it 😂. Hope this helps
Hey Dori,I am looking at this tent, the Xmid 2 Pro or the REI Flash 1 (not released to the public yet) for my 2024 AT hike. This one is the cheapest and probably the warmest and most durable. Weight is also understandably a big factor for me. If doing a thru hike of the AT would you go with this tent again or with the Pro version? And are you using a footprint with this tent?
Hello and good review. I'm very interested in the Durston tents. Like the lightness of the x mid pro 2. Can you use the trekking poles point or tip down, with handle in the upper position. Really enjoyed watching and subbed you. Thanks Steve 👍
Hi Steve. The regular X-Mid 1 and 2 tents pitch with the tips up, but you can also pitch handles up. That is less secure in high winds, so if you are doing that you may also want to pick up TarpTent's pole handle adapters which essentially tie the handles to the peak grommets so they are fully secure. With the Pro version, it pitches handles up only.
Thank you. I'm very interested in the X mid pro 2 but I think the foot print might be a bit big. (Not sure ) funny I do have two Tarptent handles adapters from the Stratospire 1 I had. Wasn't keen on that. The mesh on the inner tent was in my face all the time. Also the struts were a pain. The X Mid looks better. Thank you Steve 👍
@@stevesdaysoff2759 Yeah struts can be a pain. We're glad to avoid those so it packs up short. If you pitch handles up with the Pro, you don't normally need the adapters but might in high winds, so I'd just have them on hand but normally not use them. The footprint of the X-Mid Pro 2 is smaller than our regular 2P by 10" of width, so it fits better into small sites.
Hey @feebie, you can use big rocks if you can find any and then lock the cords with the stake behind the rock (if that makes sense? 🤔) Then do the same with the guylines on the top for extra security - even better if you can attach the top guylines to something solid around
It being a trekking pole tent doesn't make it a con. You know beforehand that it needs trekking poles. That's like me buying a regular tent and saying that a con is that it won't work with trekking poles.
I received my Xmid 1P tent a few days ago, and set it up for the first time in my backyard. It was very easy to set up (
I love this tent! I've found that the larger footprint isn't such a big hurdle because it's only necessary to find a flat patch for the area of the inner. I've set the tent up over bushes and even a small log once:-) The two large vestibules are wonderful - I can use one for gear and one for cooking. Also, the narrow inner has never felt claustrophobic to me due to the mesh and large outer.
I normally like tents with a separable inner and outer, but I bought my Durston a few weeks ago, and this time I went for the single wall Durston X-Mid Pro1. I did that for the stronger contrast to my normal Hilleberg tents and for the extra space that the one person Dyneema version offers versus the one person double wall version.
Just like you, I find the pitch quite easy to do if one does not seek perfection, and has flat ground, but quite the challenges if one does want perfection or encounters high and low spots on the corner surfaces. But I've only had it up about four times, so hopefully it will get easier as time goes by. The details and the quality of the Durston gear is outstanding and while I don't really care about ultra-light, I'm not complaining about the one pound (454 gram) weight neither.
I'm glad to have found your review.
There is bth a "skinny pitch" option for the Durston, for when the space is tight.
Lastly, for those who don't want to carry trekking poles, it should be mentioned that Durston sells their ingeniously designed Z-Flick adjustable carbon fibre supports for a reasonable price, and they weight in at 93 grams and pack down to 31 cm. I love m'.
Thanks for the review. Very Helpful. I am excited to get my new X-Mid 2P that is supposed to arrive tomorrow!
Thank you so much. So refreshing to hear from someone genuine who isn't sponsored. Really helped me with the set up too 😊
Late reply sorry but I am so glad it helped 😊
How do you like your tent after a few months now?
@Dori's Hiking Adventures thank you, no worries. I've had it on the side of a couple of small mountains in dreadful wind, and I used it for the Cape Wrath Trail. I love the size of it, and the ease of pitching. It's also incredibly sturdy. Not had any water ingress, which I was concerned about after reading about a faulty batch. My one issue has been that, no matter how I pitch it, the inner touches the outer in two spots near the top on both sides. I've tried everything to stop it. The only way it is slightly better, is to badly pitch the tent. To have it loose. I've not experienced heavy rain in it yet, and worry this would mean a wet inner. Apart from that, it's been fabulous. Don't think I will ever need to use another tent 😊
Hmm not sure what you could do about that 🤔. Is it the very top part or is ot more on the side that it touches? I am sure you tried this already, but I loosened the straps when I first got it (where you clip the inner tent to the outer)
@Dori's Hiking Adventures it's near the top on both sides. Loosening the straps helped, but because it is so near the top, it didn't stop it. Turning the inner didn't make a difference. Using the guy likes correctly from the end didn't either.
Hmm 🤔. There is a facebook group called "durston gearheads" - might be worth asking the question in there. Dan himself is also part of that group and is very helpful
Great review, very thorough. I am waiting for my X-Mid 2P, it should arrive in late April. They sell out in less than 5 minutes! For uneven ground I attach adjustable loops of cord between the tent and stakes at the vestibule. That way I can easily move the stakes outwards and pull the vestibule fabric tight.
Nice review! I have the 2P and I love it. I am tall 6’2” and I have plenty of overhead and leg room. I also have the Stargazer Kit that easily allows me to set up the inner tent without the rainfly if I desire. I have had mine for about a year-and-a-half. Great tent!
Finally ive found a review of this tent of someone whos actuslly used it. Everyone else just buys it and sets it up in their yard lol
Thank you 🙏. Still my favourite tent after 1500 km 😄😄
Thanks for sharing! I own mine over a year now and I absolutely love it! It gave me safe shelter in heavy rain, storm and it always felt good to be in it. I love it :-)
Just found your channel and subscribed! Great info for a truly fantastic tent. I had the original 1P, but felt a bit squished, now have the 2P and absolutely love it! There's not a better tent out there for the price! I love the quality, the sil-poly, the ease of set up, the overall thoughtfulness of the design and features, love, love, LOVE the double wall features (setting up as just a shelter, star-gazing mode, etc) fly first pitch, the weight. I also have the Duplex and, while the Duplex will win weight comparison every time, the features of the X-Mid win every other category. I saw in an interview Dan Durston is considering a double wall made with DCF for his next project - I will be all over that when it comes out!
Welcome to the channel 😁
Looking forward to hear your thoughts about the new Durston when it comes out! Are you doing a video review?
@@DorisHikingAdventures Like other Durston tents, I'm sure it will be near impossible to get one until the 3rd/4th release, so I'm sure there will be plenty of reviews when it does come out. I mostly hammock, and I love my DCF tarp. A double wall with DCF would be pretty sweet though!
What are you planning on for summer hikes???
Dorie, I’m glad you are back on. You have good info. You call it as you see it.
i have the version 2. It has been up once in my lawn. Will set it up more in better weather. I plan to use it on canoe trips, and motorcycle camping. I want to try staking out a long door as a shelter to sit under. My camp seat is regular chair seat height, but not a wide chair, so it should work. In a base camp situation, I’ll extend a rainfly out from a door.
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Good review. Well done.
I agree about the necessity of trekking poles being a drawback.
I don’t always take them, sometimes I only take one and frequently I like to set up camp and hike up a Mtn using a trekking pole. All of that makes it hard to justify this tent style for me.
The Durston tents do seem like the best option in this category though
I still think its the best tent out there 😁
But there are newer versions already😄
hey Dori love your stuff . I can see your good points on the tent especially the way you can set up the bug inner in our wa shelters, I personally am a zpacks duplex man with the options of trekking poles, freestanding or carbon tent poles it is two person but really best for one with room for your pack inside and superlight. I am not sponsored but i do smile with the same enthusiasm as you do when i talk about my tent. It's just the best. Thanks for the video I wanna skip work now and go bush.🌳
Hello. I'm also interested in the Zpacks Duplex and x mid pro 2. Is the Duplex easy to pitch on uneven ground. The X Mid pro looks a bit neater I must admit. Thanks 👍
Great review am taking mine on SWCP very soon and hope it stands up 👍
G’day, Dorie. An update. Have done only an overnight canoe trip in my X-Mid 1p. Packing now for a 7 day canoe trip on Michigan’s Au Sable River. We move daily, so I get some practice in pitching and striking. Rain, of course is in all of the forecasts. (And - I looked at several forecasts, hoping to find a favorable one. 😏). I’ll rig a rain fly for a covered area for cooking, eating, and socializing.
My experience so far is very favorable. As I crawl in and out, change clothes, stretch out, roll over, etc etc, I find myself saying “DARN IT!!” a lot fewer times. I find a grin on my face a lot of times. The tent accommodates and shelters me. And, isn’t that what it’s supposed to do?
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
hi Dori. good to see your still trekkiin , happy and healthy. envy the warm weather there. ir back in snow country at the moment. 10👍/10👍
Thank you so much for such honest reviews” likes and dislikes”😊
Thank you so much 🙏
Great looking tent! Nice review. I have seen a lot of people with this tent. Nice explanation. New follower here. Crow✌️
I'd low to know how you stand behind yourself :) - Great video thanks for your efforts!
Great long term review. I am looking to get the 1p. It looks like the latest version is a little bit bigger on the interior. Do you ever regret not going with the 2p?
Hi Doreen, hope you’re doing great ! Sending good vibes to you from Perth here 😄👍🏻
you have a good tent indeed, thanks for the honest tips
Thank you for your informative and lovely sharing but I don't understand why many reviewer did mentioned also it is not easy to find good spot to pitch up this tend? But i guess its footprint are very similar to other stand-alone tent too. So why I keep hearing this reminder? I am curious. Can you further advise?
A bit too late probably sorry. The reason is that the footprint is very large, so you need to find larger spots to set it up 😊
Hey Dorie! Thanks for your review. I do own a trekking pole tent myself but I do not use trekking poles. So I usually look for sticks on the ground that suit the purpose and it works fine. Why is it that trekking poles are a must for the mid-x?
I’m pretty heavily invested in Tarptents now but have to admit it is a great looking design. Would be interesting to see what a DCF version would weigh.
The Xmid 2p Pro is 20oz
I had a Stratospire I and didn't like it. The struts were a pain and the pitching wasn't as straightforward as they say. The Durston x mid look a better design. 👍
Great review, thank you. I'm curious though does the shape of the pole's handles interfere with set up or stability of the tent? I have Leki poles too with cord ergonomic handles. How would they perform as supports in the Dan Durston shelter? Thanks again!
I use the trekking poles in reverse sometimes and never had any issues. Not even when i set it up in the huts. Just make sure it is tight enough so it has enough tension and doesnt fall over when you accidentally hit it 😂. Hope this helps
Seems similar to my tarptent stratospire, apart from the fact that your tent has traveled roughly 1000km more than mine :-)
Hey Dori,I am looking at this tent, the Xmid 2 Pro or the REI Flash 1 (not released to the public yet) for my 2024 AT hike. This one is the cheapest and probably the warmest and most durable. Weight is also understandably a big factor for me. If doing a thru hike of the AT would you go with this tent again or with the Pro version? And are you using a footprint with this tent?
Hi, erecting the tent.. I would like to see how you set it up...
Hello and good review. I'm very interested in the Durston tents. Like the lightness of the x mid pro 2. Can you use the trekking poles point or tip down, with handle in the upper position. Really enjoyed watching and subbed you. Thanks Steve 👍
Hi Steve. The regular X-Mid 1 and 2 tents pitch with the tips up, but you can also pitch handles up. That is less secure in high winds, so if you are doing that you may also want to pick up TarpTent's pole handle adapters which essentially tie the handles to the peak grommets so they are fully secure.
With the Pro version, it pitches handles up only.
Thank you. I'm very interested in the X mid pro 2 but I think the foot print might be a bit big. (Not sure ) funny I do have two Tarptent handles adapters from the Stratospire 1 I had. Wasn't keen on that. The mesh on the inner tent was in my face all the time. Also the struts were a pain. The X Mid looks better. Thank you Steve 👍
@@stevesdaysoff2759 Yeah struts can be a pain. We're glad to avoid those so it packs up short.
If you pitch handles up with the Pro, you don't normally need the adapters but might in high winds, so I'd just have them on hand but normally not use them.
The footprint of the X-Mid Pro 2 is smaller than our regular 2P by 10" of width, so it fits better into small sites.
Thank you 👍
When they come back in stock, do I buy from your website or some other websites. I have added a notification. With my email
Nice job, thanks.
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Excellent review, it is especially important to have quality zippers.
Very nice looking tent good show thanks
i think Dan should consider a 1 door, 1 vestibule design. V2 of the 1P has more space but I think he can do better.
is there a way to pitch this tent on concrete?
Hey @feebie, you can use big rocks if you can find any and then lock the cords with the stake behind the rock (if that makes sense? 🤔)
Then do the same with the guylines on the top for extra security - even better if you can attach the top guylines to something solid around
@@DorisHikingAdventures It does make sense! I will try this and let you know. Thanks
It being a trekking pole tent doesn't make it a con. You know beforehand that it needs trekking poles. That's like me buying a regular tent and saying that a con is that it won't work with trekking poles.
👍😀🌳
180 cm is not tall, its 5ft 9 you are a shorty !