X Mid - Dan Durston

[Lamont]

2 Xmids nust turned up at my joint! Adressed to someone named Tutiose and Norwesterly I think it says. Looks like the packages went via Ulan Bator and Alaska.
Wow.
Nice tents.

You're a rum 'un, Lament. Tutoise is waiting for the partial solid inner. Maybe that will be available separately for some nice versatility.

Lament. I like it
I fear however now the Xmid is on Amazon we'll not see the partial solid inner.
I think their (Mass/drops business) model is settled and it's not settled on the inner the world outside the US wants. Europe is a bigger market than ours and I get the impression they are very desirous of it's advent, but .....
Until then-plant frost prevention cloth?
I just have a feeling the world may see the Xmid DCF first.
Lament out!

[Zapruda]

DCF Xmid mmmmm. Get it to around 550g and it would make me very happy.

[Lamont]

I believe he was talking sub 400.

[Zapruda]

It would have to be single wall to get to 400g I’d think.

[Lamont]

I thought DD proposed a single wall Xmid?
The 'Pro.'

[Mookie]

My Xmid 2P arrived this morning. Just like my 1P I am very impressed. I did change the cord to 2mm Lawson Ironwire and I strongly suggest people do the same. I had a lot of slippage with the standard cord on my 1P. I’ll hopefully use the fly on a ski tour this weekend.

Some pics.

Zapruda,

Xmid looks fantastic!
How much cord did you require to do this?

[Zapruda]

My Xmid 2P arrived this morning. Just like my 1P I am very impressed. I did change the cord to 2mm Lawson Ironwire and I strongly suggest people do the same. I had a lot of slippage with the standard cord on my 1P. I’ll hopefully use the fly on a ski tour this weekend.

Some pics.

Zapruda,

Xmid looks fantastic!
How much cord did you require to do this?

Its not much at all. 2m per Apex guy line and about 30cm for each of the 4 corners. 520cm should do it. Most hanks of cord will be more than enough.

[tazzi]

X-Mid in the wild. At Harry's Hut (Cooloola national park, Qld)

[Zapruda]

Lovely! Nice pitch.

[Ms_Mudd]

So you reckon the 2mm might work as well as 2.5mm? Going to replace my 1p and 2p Xmid with a bigger diameter. Never noticed slippage at linelocs but now I am aware other's have, best to get in and mitigate the risk.
A nice excuse to play with my tents too.

[Zapruda]

For me the slippage completely disappeared when I moved to the 2mm on my 1P. I also think the stock cord is way too stretchy and this might have had something to do with it.

I’d say use whatever you can get your hands on.

[Ms_Mudd]

I’d say use whatever you can get your hands on.

Thanks Zapruda. 2.5mm it is, I have a fair bit of it

[dandurston]

We are in the process of switching to a larger cord for the 4 corners on these tents. Originally the 1P had LineLoc3's with 2.5mm, which could slip a bit because 2.5mm is at the lower end of the range for LineLoc3's whereas 3.5mm is more robust. Then we switched to smaller tensioners with 1.5mm, where those tensioners look about the same but are rated for smaller cord. They work really well on 2.0 - 2.5mm line but 1.5mm was a bit too small so it ended up holding about as well as the original setup - which is to say it can slip in higher winds (and a few people have had it break in a severe wind gusts). So we are switching to using those same tensioners but with 2.5mm, which is quite a robust combo. The 2.0mm lawson line is likely quite robust as well - I have some on order to test and I expect it will do well because it's not so much about the unloaded diameter, as it is how much skinnier the cord gets under load. Nylon cord can squeeze thinner under load and that's a big part of why it slips, whereas dyneema core cord doesn't do that nearly as much.

The 2.5mm cord will be in place for the next batch of the 1P and 2P (along with some wider stakes). The current tents should sell out in the next few weeks or so, and then around November we'll have the next batch. Folks wanting the thicker cord can wait for the next batch or pick up a tent now along with a couple yards of cord and retrofit that. There's no changes to the 2P itself - just the corner cord and stakes.

The current cords are normal guyline which will have more stretch it in and a bit of sag when wet compared with a dyneema core cord, such as the Lawson Iron Wire. That is premium stuff and a nice upgrade. The corner lines tend to be short enough that any stretch/sag in the cords is relatively minor (e.g. 2-3% expansion on a 15cm cord is about 3mm of expansion) but admittedly it is nice to pair the no-sag polyester tent with a no-sag cord for a complete no-sag shelter. I think the stretch is probably a bigger factor. I haven't measured it, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can stretch normal accessory cord by 10% or so. That shouldn't relax to cause a loose shelter, but can contribute to being less stable in the wind as it flexes.

[Zapruda]

Great info Dan. Thanks

[north-north-west]

Good to hear the move to heavier pegs. I wouldn't trust those little Ti hooks in any sort of wind.

[Ms_Mudd]

Thanks Dan, great info, as always, from you. Much appreciated. Looking forward to spending my first night in the 2p in the coming week.

Zapruda, your XMid will be fancier than mine as it appears you have the primo cord to replace yours with. Classy!

[stry]

I shouldn't open these threads, let alone read them.

As I get older and less supple, I have become increasingly disenchanted with what are excellent tents, but simply too cramped for me. Like others, I have owned, and moved on, a range of excellent shelters in the search for something suitable for my solo use. Currently using a Hilleberg Unna which is spacious, breathes very well, and is storm worthy, but without a meaningful vestibule, and not light.

I followed the X-Mid 1 story but decided it too would not suit. Unfortunately, the X-Mid 2 has come along and seems to offer a lot. Like NNW, I would like to see a solid top on the inner, but this may actually increase condensation on the inner. I HATE condensation.

I would also like separate poles, rather than faff around re adjusting my walking poles to pitch the tent - no biggy.

Do we see the dual doors as being a structural weakness on the 2 P ?

So - how far away do we think a different inner might be ? A long way, judging by the posts in the thread.

Drop ships X-Mid 2s on Sept 11, so I think I need to make a decision smartly. What's the old saying - "get thee behind me Satan - and PUSH"

[stry]

Rolled the dice on a 2P.

Hopefully the fear and politics driven boot heel being applied to us in danstan will be eased up enough for me to use it before winter 2021 rolls around

Now to sort through the stash and see what I have in the way of suitable poles and pegs. I'd like to use my Gossamer gear walking poles, but not keen on the set up of my tent depending on something that I have succeeded in breaking in the past.

[Ms_Mudd]

. I'd like to use my Gossamer gear walking poles, but not keen on the set up of my tent depending on something that I have succeeded in breaking in the past.

I have gone back to using my clunky poles as was worried me being a clumsy goof with my carbon fibre poles could end in disaster. Having said that, I bought a lightweight pair of homemade CF section/folding poles off a forum member that weight nothing and worked well on a bikepacking trip. I could always pack them as back up if I did choose to keep using my CF walking poles.

Hope the dice roll works out well for you Stry. I have only pitched mine the day it came, it is huge inside, the vestibules are also very usable/ big, like I have come to love with the 1p. I am going to be spending a lot of time in it over the coming weeks though, debated just using my 1p, but the 2p is more or less the same size and barely different in packed weight, so am going to live it up in luxury.

[Ms_Mudd]

Well yes,I see now that the lineloc supplied with the 2p XMid really does slip. Took my new 2p XMid on a 4 day jaunt this week just gone and even in setting it up, I got slippages. I had gotten lazy and not swapped it out to 2.5mm prior to my trip as I never really noticed it as much of a problem with the 1p.
Impressions of the tent so far- It is a palace, very easy to sit up in at multiple locations, I appreciated the storage pocket placements. I have never watched a movie while walking before, but did this time and my phone with corded earphones going to me on my mat was perfectly placed in the overhead mesh bit. Vestibules huge, didn't need them for anything as was solo and spread out inside the tent.
I will say, for me, it is a bit trickier to set up than the 1p. I must not have been getting my square quite right given the larger scale and my own wonky sense of geometry. At my home pitch, I couldn't get great clearance at one end wall, same happened in 'the wild' with it. Two mornings I woke up to find I had put my sleeping bag against the inner mesh, contacting the outer wall and had a soggy toebox on my sleeping bag. Fine weather, so was able to air dry at my lunch stops along with the tent. I tend to get moving quite early in the morning, so packing up a damp tent is a regular thing.
Think I will watch and rewatch the youtube clips of getting the perfect square and have a practice, I am heading out again this week, so figure I will take it again and to get it right, it really isn't that hard, I am not even allowed to cut bread or cheese from the block at home, I cannae be trusted to do it straight

[north-north-west]

I did a quick pitch of the fly out in the yard with some trekking poles. Getting it square was surprisingly easy, didn't even need the compass I'd brought out to make sure it was right. But working out which way the inner goes ? I think the lesson there is "don't detach unless absolutely essential". Or mark which clip connects where. Or something.
Just have to finish the really dodgy hand stitching of that fabric to the inner and as soon as my poles get here, it'll be ready for a proper walk.

[Warin]

I did a quick pitch of the fly out in the yard with some trekking poles. Getting it square was surprisingly easy, didn't even need the compass I'd brought out to make sure it was right. But working out which way the inner goes ? I think the lesson there is "don't detach unless absolutely essential". Or mark which clip connects where. Or something.

Umm ... the inner is not 'square'... that is it does not have right angles on the base. The base large angle is closest to the pole. Hope that makes some kind of sense

edit ---------
Also the door vertical rise goes where the pole is. (Yes 2 poles ... but 2 doors too. )

[sailfish]

My X Mid 1P accurate pitch video went over 4000 views this week. I use an estimated 6 inch extension in the 1P video. Someone asked about the correct value for the 2P. Calculating from the published 2P specs, I make this to be 10 inches. Hope that's helpful to someone. Again, the angles involved mean that this estimate does not need to be accurate. Any guess will be fine.

Ken

[mikeRsyd]

Familiarise yourself with what 90 degrees looks like and make to corners match that. Eat. The hard part I find is working out where my head and what angle the inner will be on a slope

Sent from my Mi 9 Lite using Tapatalk

[sailfish]

Well, as stated initially on this, I have no problem pitching 90 degrees by eye myself, but I know that many people are spatially challenged and will never be able to acquire that skill. The capacity for developing skills is inborn or not. We all have our different capacities and weaknesses. Practice only works within the existing capacity. That is why I did the video and many people have expressed their gratitude for this.
Telling people to develop a skill they don't have a capacity for is just demeaning. I'm trying to be helpful, what are you doing?

[north-north-west]

Well, as stated initially on this, I have no problem pitching 90 degrees by eye myself, but I know that many people are spatially challenged and will never be able to acquire that skill. The capacity for developing skills is inborn or not. We all have our different capacities and weaknesses. Practice only works within the existing capacity.

Exactly. I'm far better at getting things square - which feeds into the OCD - than estimating distances. 6"? 10"? No chance unless carrying a ruler ... of course, one could have a bit of string of the appropriate length, or even just an extraneous knot at the right place in one of the guys ... hmmmm

[stry]

Getting the unseen inner where I want it in relation to a slope is the only challenge that I anticipate.

I'm surprised at the discussion of pegging out a rectangle. Whatever one's judgement of angles may be, it must surely be easier to peg out a rectangle than some of the complex floor shapes available, even if some minor adjustment is needed to get it nice.

And yes, I agree, even as a Victorian that Fosters has never been much of a beer.

[Ms_Mudd]

I'm surprised at the discussion of pegging out a rectangle. Whatever one's judgement of angles may be, it must surely be easier to peg out a rectangle than some of the complex floor shapes available, even if some minor adjustment is needed to get it nice.

:

You would think it was easy and it looked okay to my wonky self, but the inner just was too close to the fly for my liking, can only think the geometry of my pitch was off- or perhaps the uneven sites exacerbated it? The 2x mornings I contacted the wall with my sleeping bag, I was on uneven ground and had tufts of grass etc in one of my vestibules, I was being stealthy so had selected those two sites that were very hidden, but not cleared or uniformly flat.

[sailfish]

Well, as stated initially on this, I have no problem pitching 90 degrees by eye myself, but I know that many people are spatially challenged and will never be able to acquire that skill. The capacity for developing skills is inborn or not. We all have our different capacities and weaknesses. Practice only works within the existing capacity.

Exactly. I'm far better at getting things square - which feeds into the OCD - than estimating distances. 6"? 10"? No chance unless carrying a ruler ... of course, one could have a bit of string of the appropriate length, or even just an extraneous knot at the right place in one of the guys ... hmmmm

I make it very clear in the video that only a very rough guess is needed to achieve an accurate pitch.
The angles involved greatly reduce the effect of any error with the estimate to the point of having no practical impact on the accuracy of the pitch. The method is specifically designed to allow the most spatially challenged people to quickly achieve a highly accurate rectangle 1st go in the field with no tool or marking out or need for accurate estimation or fine tuning. Even if you don't use an estimate at all you still end up with a reasonably good result but making any genuine attempt at the estimate is an improvement. Nobody says anyone has to use my method. You pitch whatever way floats your boat, but I get plenty of positive and grateful comment for putting that video up. Maybe that indicates people are finding it very helpful. My video isn't monetized, I offer it free for anyone to use or not as they choose. So I ask again, what exactly is your agenda with your comments?


Ken

[north-north-west]

Well, as stated initially on this, I have no problem pitching 90 degrees by eye myself, but I know that many people are spatially challenged and will never be able to acquire that skill. The capacity for developing skills is inborn or not. We all have our different capacities and weaknesses. Practice only works within the existing capacity.

Exactly. I'm far better at getting things square - which feeds into the OCD - than estimating distances. 6"? 10"? No chance unless carrying a ruler ... of course, one could have a bit of string of the appropriate length, or even just an extraneous knot at the right place in one of the guys ... hmmmm

I make it very clear in the video that only a very rough guess is needed to achieve an accurate pitch.
The angles involved greatly reduce the effect of any error with the estimate to the point of having no practical impact on the accuracy of the pitch. The method is specifically designed to allow the most spatially challenged people to quickly achieve a highly accurate rectangle 1st go in the field with no tool or marking out or need for accurate estimation or fine tuning. Even if you don't use an estimate at all you still end up with a reasonably good result but making any genuine attempt at the estimate is an improvement. Nobody says anyone has to use my method. You co go do it whatever way floats your boat, but I get plenty of positive and grateful comment for putting that video up. Maybe that indicates people are finding it very helpful. So I ask again, what exactly is your agenda with your comments?

Que???? I'm agreeing with you about the different things work for different people bit. You have a problem with that?