Durston Tents

[Bustercluck]

Here’s the review. It has nothing to do with the tent design, just the material they use for this model. Seek outside and other tents also use the same material so it’s not a bad tent review. I’m just wondering about the materiall


EDITED: Despite being a gear nerd and caring as much as I would with my partner or a family member. After 80 nights one the PCT (Maybe used only 60 as the other 20 I cowboy camped) Started to appear many, many pine holes on the fly and loosing it’s waterproofness (picture 1), but mostly on the upper poles structure, where the seams and bindings are. I counted a total of 8, but this weekend during a storm in the GR11 I couldn’t count them as there was water everywhere. (PCT is dry so never noticed the smaller ones). Customer service has been awesome and send me DCF patches (picture 4 & 5) and couldn’t be happier by their time response and professionalism explaining the limits of DCF tents. But I did not really expect a tent of 600$ to have pinholes so early as for me, this was the biggest expense on the PCT, and I didn’t know when I purchased the limitations and lifespan of DCF tents. This will happen to any DCF tents so I repeat again, that this is not Durston fault and/or their design, if not the DCF limitation, but I did not know when I purchased it so hopefully this helps someone. Maybe, if you want a tent for a thru hike that will last the entire time I wouldn’t buy this and would go for the regular XMid. If you go out 5 weekends a year then this is your tent because it is indeed the biggest and lightest of their category! Note that I never fully tension the tent because I knew this would happen as material feels fragile, but still happened to me (and so many on trail, together with many broken zippers. Not to me though the zippers because I never fully tightened it and that is what makes the zippers to struggle and rip off) Pictures 2 & 3 show the separation of the fabric right in the bottom left side on the zippers where the tension is the greatest. Started with a small one, and because I didn’t have the patches Durston sent me yet, it got bigger and bigger until what you see now. Overall is an amazing tent, but I can only give one start because I just didn’t imagine it would last me so little having take care of it the way I did.

[dru88]

I only had mine out for 3 nights. It’s a 2p solid. It’s super well made, light and has a ton of room inside and in the vestibules. There are so many good reviews out for this tent. The 2p is so small when packed. A bit bigger than a Nalgene bottle. Super easy to setup and really well made. It took me over a year to get one, but I’m super happy with it. Bring some extra pegs to supplement the ones it comes with. Either get the groundsheet or make one yourself, but I’d recommend this for any tent. When u setup the 2p without the interior tent, the space is big. It would be amazing as a spike camp.

Thanks Treed. Are you using the 2p for just yourself or are you actually sleeping with two guys in your tent?
I just dont know if I should get a 1p or 2p tent it will mostly be for solo use.

[mod7rem]

I used my 1P Solid for 14 nights on a sheep hunt last half of Aug. I’m not very big but it has plenty of interior length and width. There’s good head and shoulder room when sitting up in the tent. The double vestibules are awesome and gives good separation between the inner and outer tent. The outer tent pitches high enough off the ground and with the two ridge vents, I didn’t have any condensation issues.
Used maximum cordage, stakes and guy out points (12 I think) because of how exposed to wind we would be. It’s fast to set up in minimal form (6 stakes), but going with all 12 takes some time to get a good pitch. Overall we had decent weather and it held up fine to expected winds.
I also have a Hilleberg Akto that I really love so I can do some comparisons there. I know the X-Mid isn’t designed to be as bombproof as the Akto and I didn’t expect it to be. But more a comparison on room and set-up. The Akto is lower profile, faster and easier to pitch (10 stakes) to get a good solid pitch I would trust in really bad conditions. I used it instead for goat hunting in Oct for those reasons. But it is a little heavier. If I remember right, it is about 1 lb difference when maximum stakes and cordage is added to the X-Mid. Akto is not as much head and shoulder room when sitting up. Not a problem for me because of my size, 5’8” 140 lbs, but definitely noticeable for bigger guys.
If weather (wind, cold, possibly snow) was a big concern I’d take my Akto, but that’s only because I have the option. Other than that I really like the X-Mid solid.

[Treed]

Thanks Treed. Are you using the 2p for just yourself or are you actually sleeping with two guys in your tent?
I just dont know if I should get a 1p or 2p tent it will mostly be for solo use.

Hi - I use it mostly alone but got the double for when my dog comes with me and for use with my family hiking. I gotta say solo, I love the extra room and the weight difference is minor. The DCF material in the review is the dynema not the polyester. I haven’t had any issues with the polyester but I’ve only had it 4 times now.

[Timberjack]

Hey everyone. What’s the difference with the solid vs the regular versions? It’s not readily apparent on the website or in the videos from what I can see. Look like pretty awesome products.

Cheers
TJ

[kevingm1987]

Hey everyone. What’s the difference with the solid vs the regular versions? It’s not readily apparent on the website or in the videos from what I can see. Look like pretty awesome products.

Cheers
TJ

The main difference is the material used. Which in turn, determines overall weight of the tent. Dyneema vs polyester. Dyneema full set up is about 50% lighter in the X-mid Pro 2+ and the X-mid 2.

[mod7rem]

Hey everyone. What’s the difference with the solid vs the regular versions? It’s not readily apparent on the website or in the videos from what I can see. Look like pretty awesome products.

Cheers
TJ

The Solid version has less mesh on the inner tent, I believe the bathtub floor comes up a little higher, and each door has a buckle at the bottom of the zipper for more strength in bad weather.
There may be some other features I am forgetting.

[Timberjack]

The Solid version has less mesh on the inner tent, I believe the bathtub floor comes up a little higher, and each door has a buckle at the bottom of the zipper for more strength in bad weather.
There may be some other features I am forgetting.

That’s helpful. Thanks!