X Mid - Dan Durston

[ssorc]

Has anyone who bought a X-Mid 2P from Amazon in one of the recent rounds had it shipped?
I ordered via Amazon.com.au on 11th March; the order was confirmed but is "Not yet shipped" and with no indication of when it will ship.

[CBee]

Just a quick review of a X-Mid 2P: 4 days on the beach, torrential rain (over 200mm some days), 35-40Km wind with occasional stronger multi-directional gusts. Overall depressing but not even one drop of water inside the tent (vestibule gear dry as a bone) and sturdy as.
Impressed.

[Kickinghorse]

The Silex is pretty similar because Seek Outside is essentially infringing on my X-Mid patent. The X-Mid came out, Seek Outside pre-ordered one, and then 6 months later came out with the Silex that uses the same core idea of a rectangular fly, diagonal floor, and opposite diagonal ridgeline. I talked to them about it and eventually sent them a cease and desist letter, but they apparently have no interest in respecting my patent since they stopped responding.

Aside from that ethical issue, the zipperless doors are neat but I don't think an improvement because they have quite a few downsides. The operation is slick, but moving the doors to the corners like this results in (1) poles blocking the doorways, (2) a much longer reach to close the door, (3) no vents, (4) much lower entryway that can be a challenge when the fly is wet, and (5) the need to trim back the inner so it's not exposed when the door is opened - all just to solve a problem that's not much of a problem (using zippers)

And then for the rest of the tent, It's a good tent but the Silex is more expensive yet lower build quality (e.g. exposed edges in the inner), has an even larger footprint, no vents, and uses nylon that sags in the rain.

This from Dan D via Facebook. When one looks at the Silex images it’s easy to see why he’s not happy.

https://seekoutside.com/silex/

[jobell]

Hey can someone give me some guidance on pitching my X Mid? I thought I had it sussed, but as illustrated in the pic my inner is pulling pretty tight on the bottom corners inside, effectively lifting the ends of the inner off the ground. Is this normal? If not, where might I be going wrong? Thanks!

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[MikeB62]

This is definitely normal, so don't worry. Practice taut rectangle when staking out fly, poles typically 120cm, look for straight ridgeline, which indicates a good pitch. Inner then takes care of itself with good gap from outer fly to mesh.

[Joynz]

It is initially a bit disconcerting when the inner floor raises up like that.

I used to worry that the pulling of the inner would damage the fly or vice versa - but it’s been fine.

As long as the fly pitch is square, then don’t worry.

You can also lengthen the inner attachment straps (the part that clips to the roof) and that may help - if needed.

[jobell]

Thanks guys, I will continue to work on my pitch and let the inner do it's thing then. Appreciate the feedback!

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[johnw]

I will continue to work on my pitch and let the inner do it's thing then.

My X Mid 1 finally arrived in the post yesterday. I have a 2 night trip planned in a couple of weeks and wanted to try it pitching it.
So I set it up on the front lawn as soon as I opened the package without looking at any instructions. Just going from memory of watching Dan Durston's online video.
My effort wasn't as pretty or smooth as his but I didn't find it difficult either. Yes, getting the outer pitched square seems to be the key.
The outer was rising a bit at two of the corners, but I think that was due to the curved surface of my lawn. A perfectly flat site would be ideal, if one can be found.
I had to add the inner afterwards as it came separately in the package, but that was easy enough to do, and it seemed to sit correctly at ground level without me doing any adjustments.
I prefer an integral pitch so left it in for next time. The tent looks quite roomy and nicely finished, pitched OK with my two el cheapo Decathlon poles at 115 cm.
Probably need to increase that to 120 cm on a flatter site. Really like the amount of headroom too. My only quibble was getting everything back into the stuff sack, which is a little tight.

[stry]

Thanks guys, I will continue to work on my pitch and let the inner do it's thing then. Appreciate the feedback!

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Have a play with how the inner is attached at the top, as well as at the corners. I haven't pitched mine recently, but I don't recall any issues such as in your pic.

[dandurston]

Has anyone who bought a X-Mid 2P from Amazon in one of the recent rounds had it shipped?
I ordered via Amazon.com.au on 11th March; the order was confirmed but is "Not yet shipped" and with no indication of when it will ship.

If anyone has a 2P order from March 10 via Amazon Australia that hasn't shipped yet, send me a direct message with your email and we should be able to arrange to sell one to you outside of Amazon (as long as there aren't too many people as we only have a few left). It seems like Amazon Australia took orders on March 10 but didn't secure stock quick enough to fill those orders. Also please send a screenshot of the order since we can't have everyone that wants a tent piling in on this.

My inner is...effectively lifting the ends of the inner off the ground. Is this normal?

Some of that is normal and goes away when the tent is occupied, but you can reduce it by (1) pitching the fly lower, and (2) lowering the inner inside the peaks. To pitch the fly lower, you can set the corner cords shorter before staking it out.

[McGinnis]

Well, I was about to order a Seek 12p tipi with wood stove for car based camping. Given the info above about the Silex, I've decided not to.

It's not much but it's something.

[stry]

Well, I was about to order a Seek 12p tipi with wood stove for car based camping. Given the info above about the Silex, I've decided not to.

It's not much but it's something.

Good decision. There need to be more such decisions.

[MissBunnyhead]

this looks interesting? X-MID PRO 2P https://durstongear.com/product/x-mid-pro-2p

[BarryK]

I am fascinated by the design of the X-Mid Pro, and I was wondering about something...

OK, this might be impractical, but I wonder. If you were to lay it out on the ground such that the two ridge points are directly in line with two trees, stake it out, then use cord to pull the two ridge points up.

Yes, just like people tie a tarp onto convenient branches, and it would require two tie out loops sewn on each ridge point. Maybe also reinforcing sewn along the ridge line, or the cord could run right through. EDIT: Ah, I see it already has loops on the ridge points.

So no poles required.

But would it stand up ok?

Just thinking about it theoretically, I can't see why not. For people who don't hike with trekking poles, it is something worth thinking about.

[GregG]

Just thinking about it theoretically, I can't see why not.

Same here. Certainly would be worth a trial by someone who already has one before I/we part with $$$. I suspect that the verdict might be that the proposed method of suspension does not tension the fly sufficiently.

[dandurston]

You can pitch any of the X-Mid's by tying the peak guylines up to something rather than using poles. It works okay, but you need the guyline aimed first straight upwards, so it can be hard to tie off to something and even with a good job it won't be pitched as nice and tight as using poles. So it works in a pinch but isn't ideal.

[Ms_Mudd]

Heyyy Dan, if you ate still around online- I have a question about the dcf xmid, you may not be able to reveal the answer though.

I was a bit turned off the idea of the dcf version as it was 2p only, having owned both 1p and 2p, I far prefer the 1p as the 2p is excessively large for my own needs
and hard to find stealth camp-site that will fit it.

Last night I then pondered, if you are making the DCF version single skin, then there wouldn't necessarily be the need for it to actually as large as the double skinned 2p or maybe the pole placement means you still have to make it that big....

Long way to pose my question- will the dcf version be on a smaller scale/footprint than the current 2p double skin xmid?

Please tell me it is, saving my $$$ right now if that is the case!

[Warin]

Long way to pose my question- will the dcf version be on a smaller scale/footprint than the current 2p double skin xmid?

If it is made smaller there would be more tension to the pegs and the wall seams (needed to tension across the top) ... may not be as good in high winds due to that extra tension. And that tension will be more upwards on the pegs.

If the vertical scale were decreased in the same ratio as the plan then the tensions would be similar to the original .. but you would sacrifice head height.

[BarryK]

Long way to pose my question- will the dcf version be on a smaller scale/footprint than the current 2p double skin xmid?

If it is made smaller there would be more tension to the pegs and the wall seams (needed to tension across the top) ... may not be as good in high winds due to that extra tension. And that tension will be more upwards on the pegs.

If the vertical scale were decreased in the same ratio as the plan then the tensions would be similar to the original .. but you would sacrifice head height.

That raises a good question: does anyone know the practical maximum angle, in degrees, of a tent wall, that won't pull the pegs out of the ground?

I understand that the answer to this question would depend on the type of ground and type of peg, and how strong the wind.

I am not really expecting an answer, because probably no one knows, or there is no real definite answer, but perhaps there is a reader who would have a ballpark figure. Besides, just a thought, don't want to hijack this thread.

[Warin]

That raises a good question: does anyone know the practical maximum angle, in degrees, of a tent wall, that won't pull the pegs out of the ground?

You right that the answer would depend on many factors.

Tents that have vertical walls still use pegs at the ground, only to keep the bottom of the wall in place. But for the roof tension they use guy lines to place the pegs out. I suppose you can do that with a smaller tent too, but it seems like a waste of extra pegs and their weight to me.

[Ms_Mudd]

Just realised Dan's website had updated since I last looked at it with more info re Xmid Pro. Sub 566g (if my conversion is correct)

I didnt keep my original 2p Xmid, but guarantee I will cave and jump in on the Pro if us Aussies get a chance to,despite not necessarily needing it. Not needing it at all really. I can't even pretend I will have any will power. Sigh.

[Moondog55]

It's not Will Power you need but his brother Won't Power

[Ms_Mudd]

Haha I don't know those brothers very well at all, more familiar with their cousin, No Self Control.

[dandurston]

It's not really possible to make the vestibules on the X-Mid smaller. On both the 1P and 2P the poles are about 120cm tall and set back from the edge about 70 cm, so you get a wall about 50 degrees steep. If we kept the height the same, but made the vestibules less deep (e.g. 40cm) then the sidewall would be much steeper (e.g. 75 degrees). That wouldn't shed wind as well (since it's closer to vertical) and it wouldn't pull out on the ridgeline enough, so peak guylines would become basically mandatory. The current slope is set so that if it's not too stormy, you don't need the peak guylines. It also works well, since the vestibules are a nice shape and size.

So the 1P and 2P have about the same vestibules and wall slopes, and we can't change that much. We can make the tents smaller/larger though by changing the space between the vestibules - much like how the 1P and 2P are quite different sizes. We just widen that area between the poles.

For the upcoming X-Mid Pro 2P, I lean towards making it smaller than the current 2P for three reasons: (1) the current 2P is quite generous, (2) the Pro is a singlewall which would feel even larger if it was the same size, and (3) the Pro is trying to be as light as possible, where an unnecessarily large tent works against that. So the plan is to still have it be a nice size, but it likely will be smaller than the current 2P. The current 2P will remain the best choice for most people as a very well rounded tent, while the Pro will be for people that are willing to sacrifices some money/space/durability/doublewall to get a much lighter tent.

Regarding availability, this Pro is something I'm doing myself (not with Drop) so I'll have full control over distribution and I'm very much wanting to make it easy for everyone to order. Sales will be through DurstonGear.com and we'll ship everywhere. The plan is to do a pre-sale around September for spring delivery (I know that's not ideal timing for Australia). Anyone interested can sign up for an email when the pre-sale opens at the page below:
https://durstongear.com/product/x-mid-pro-2p

[stry]

I wouldn't like the vestibules smaller. Space is nice. However if the 2P was trimmed a little in size for the design reasons outlined, I would be cool with that. (don't have a 2P anymore)

[johnw]

Used my X-Mid 1P for the first time on the weekend and found it great. So easy to pitch and such liveable space. Not too much condensation either.
It rained on one of the days and I stayed dry and comfortable. My only issue was that I managed to bend two of the flat stakes that I used for the corner points.
The ground was very hard and I could only partially insert them. Unfortunately I tripped on them and possibly so did one or more of my camp mates.
One is destroyed beyond redemption and the other isn't far off. What is everyone using for stakes/pegs on this tent?
I normally use titanium shepherds hooks on my other tent and the X-Mid comes with 4 of those as well. Thinking of just getting 4 more.
In softer ground they lose some advantage though.

[stry]

Not a fan of the shepherd's hooks (crooks?) Too little grip on most types of ground for me.

I replaced mine with some Helinox J stakes, for the always valid reason that I had some

[Warin]

The Ti shepherds hooks are nicely light .. but fragile and don't grip the ground well.

I use the flea bay knockoffs of the MSR ground hogs, not quite as strong nor as grippy as the genuine thing but much cheaper.

[Joynz]

I bring a combination of a few of the Titanium Shepard’s hooks that came with the tent and 6 MSR mini groundhogs.

[johnw]

Not a fan of the shepherd's hooks (crooks?) Too little grip on most types of ground for me.

I replaced mine with some Helinox J stakes, for the always valid reason that I had some

The Ti shepherds hooks are nicely light .. but fragile and don't grip the ground well.

I use the flea bay knockoffs of the MSR ground hogs, not quite as strong nor as grippy as the genuine thing but much cheaper.

I bring a combination of a few of the Titanium Shepard’s hooks that came with the tent and 6 MSR mini groundhogs.

Thanks All, I'm currently tossing up between the J stakes and MSR Mini Groundhogs. I will probably use 4 of whichever type plus the 4 supplied shepherd hooks.
Those worked OK for staking out the vestibules and guys.