I Love / Hate the Durston X-Mid Pro Ultralight Tent

Thanks for putting this together and nice to hear you're largely liking the tent. As you mention, it's certainly not a tent for everyone. It's our superlight version, so for less ultralight focused hikers our regular version that is more affordable and doublewall is often a better fit. With regard to pitching the tent, I recently put together a new pitching guide that is a lot more helpful than the old one. It has a ton of great tips that I think even experienced users would find helpful. In explains how to get a tighter pitch in general so you can get more space without the side panel guylines, and at 8:00 it explains how to get a tight pitch on uneven ground: https://youtu.be/fOJ4BKIoKGs?si=31Py713rz3TpTf72&t=484 That video also has some other cool tricks like porch mode (near the end) which shows how to prop up one door as a porch for more room and venting in rain conditions. Thanks again, Dan

I've got approximately 12 to 14 nights in with my x mid pro 1 and I agree with all of the points you've made about the setup and laying diagonally trekking pole to trekking pole inside the tent. I have found using the 2 side guy lines with sticks to hold the height of the guy line up from the ground increases the interior living volume greatly. I keep a 24 inch by 24 inch microfiber towel handy for moisture management in the mornings to wipe away condensation. For me having a 1 pound tent that scores a 9 out of 10 on the pros of the tent allows me to have a sleep system that is not ultra light but provides the maximum amount of comfort in the back country. Anyone want to buy my 2 year old altaplex? Great review Eric.

Fab review Eric. A fair critique of the pros and cons. For most I think the standard non pro version will be the best option. Especially the 2 person variant. Living in the UK I think having the solid inner is the best way to go for our climate. Dan has done a superb job at offering so many variations of this amazing tent, so it suits different needs.

You can always get the full double walled version with polyester fly. It's only 2lb and it will last a lot longer while still being less than half the price.

Great review love the fact you covered both sides... I feel I understand the tent better

I have a regular 2p with double wall. Went for this option primarily because it fits two 25 inch pads. We use Zenbivy Double and it is a super hotel for our family. Lightweight and still cozy. My personal experience is somewhat similar to what Eric mentions for his 1p Pro version. The key to this tent is the pitch. After several weekend trips I am getting used to it, but still on the learning curve. This tent is so much more complicated to set up comparing to free standing tents! Especially on uneven surface. You should have some decent 3D thinking to set this tent right :) Set it, then loose, repitch some of the corners. I also started with using additional guylines, just as Eric. In fact, my trekking poles were used for a tent, and my wife's poles - for guylines. Now I can confirm, that if the pitch is ideal, you indeed need only 4 stakes! Normally I bring now 4 MSR large groundhogs (staking the corners) and 4 lightweight hooks provided originally with X-Mid - two to stake out the doors (for a more comfortable use) and two more just in case, you now ;) All in all, this is a real masterpiece tent, in my opinion.

I'm a casual packer...I use poles. I have this tent, switched from tiger wall ul2. Love it.

I have the x-mid soild 2 and i love it. Im new to backpacking, but the car camping trips have kept me very dry and warm. The 2p is perfect room for 1 person but would still fit 2. And, in the north the extra fabric is a lifesaver for cool nights. I agree with pitch and lines need to be perfect and all out for best experience. I used 10 to 12 stakes for a comfortable night thru a pretty bad thunderstorm. (Thats 6 groundhog stakes and the ones that came with the tent.) Of all the tents ive used, this tent is small and light but the best for weather.

Eric, thank you for the solid review. I've been using this tent for the past few months and love it. Also been in rain storms and 30/40mph winds and had no issue. But I've struggled with the uneven ground issue and space that creates between outer wall and ground. And I've also not loved such a wide stake out. Your video validated what I've had problems with but was questioning whether it was user error. 😂

Been using this tent this summer, best tent ive ever used. No complaints.

I got the 2p pro to use as a 1p which is great and only slightly heavier. Days when moisture is an issue, the living space is huge in 2p version so never had a problem with moisture on gear. Great tent and design by Dan!

I got the Xmid 1p double wall tent and love it. I’m fairly new to backpacking and wanted a double wall trekking pole tent that was easy to put up and didn’t break the bank. It’s not DCF, but is great for weekend warriors and people like me just getting into backpacking. I’d love to see you and Kristi try the regular Xmid 2p plus when it comes out.

I had one, single wall tent. I learned to never make that mistake again. I have an X-Mid 1p for camping from a canoe and motorcycle. Not perfect, but the best tent I ever had. And, I started camping about 70 years ago. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

Ditched my 1P for a 2P for some of the reasons you mentioned. I realized however that the right pitch is key to these tents. Dan put out a video addressing pitching issues and performance, it’s outstanding and made love the tent better.

I agree! I am waiting for a dcf fly with a full mesh inner like the regular XMid though. I read that he may be coming out with those options.

I love my xmid 1 pro. I’m 6’2” no problem. Did great on the CT. Thanks Dan 🙌🍻

The tent is cool the biggest problem I have with alot of the ultralight equipment is the cost. I get the fact that the equipment is high is design and materials. But if I payed the high cost and it is damaged I'd loos my mind. Great video.

Thanks for including information for us tall folks. This tent was actually of interest based on everyone raving about how big they are. But yeah, apparently it's not big enough for me 😂

great review and caveats! love the stick idea too.

I found that if the ground is not perfectly flat I just raise my poles lifting the corners up then adjusting the lines at the corners accordingly. That fixes most sag. This also increases the air flow helping with condensation. Setting up on grass doesn’t help condensation either.