Aeon or Mid-1?

I have the Aeon tent. I have not camped in Scotland, but from the stories I hear it can be some pretty ‘full on’ conditions. I would not recommend the Aeon for that. I have no experience with the Mid-1… Generally, I would say that most ultralight tents would not be my first choice for full on conditions in Scotland…

Thanks for that – it’s helpful.

The lack of weight is tempting, but I’m less keen if they’re not really suitable for fairly severe conditions.  I’ll maybe stick to tunnel or semi-geodesic tents.

Wind is wind, rain is rain. While it may have more of each, those conditions are not unique to Scotland. I’d not shy away either. Id prefer the Aeon, just because of a bit more internal volume.

I’ve had my Aeon in some pretty severe weather. I’ve ditched the small stakes that came with it and replaced them with 9” Easton nail stakes. When above tree line I’ll usually stake a few rocks on each stake as well.

That said, the Aeon is not a “bomber” shelter, but at 19 oz all in, I wouldn’t expect it to be.

Have you looked at the Notch Li? Aeon doesn’t quite fit me at 6’2″. Bathtub is pretty shallow also. Notch has more room, doubled wall, fantastic vestibule space for a few more ounces.

I had an aeon li around when it came out (2018?) and I didn’t like the struts and the vertical packing.

I’d look at the xmid pro over these options

I now pack an Aeon Li for good service with lightest weight for week and longer trips moving daily in NM & CO Rockies, 3 season: light; fast taut setup; good in wind; good enough for rain, with condensation being biggest issue.

However, for the sustained gusting wind & rain I’ve  experienced in Scotland (albeit short durations, weekends from work there), I’d worry about shallow bathtub floor (already mentioned) and quite small interior and vestibule volumes including condensation, with Aeon Li.

(Aeon strut lengths are barely tolerable for me horizontally very near top of Durston pack.)

I don’t have a Notch Li, but it sounds more suitable for Scotland, albeit with weight added.  Suggest https://sectionhiker.com/backpacking-across-scotland-gear-list-may-2024/

I also have a Durston Xmid2 Pro and love/prefer its much larger interior and vestibule volumes when I’m not relocating daily, thus caring less about small weight penalty and slower storm setup time.  It can be well rigged for CO & NM thunderstorm wind and rain using long pegs and apex guylines, but it is a slower, more fiddly set up. It is much better about condensation than Aeon Li, in my experience, since volume is larger and  walls are not so close.

For me with Xmid Pro2, a 4 peg set is quick; but a really taut, uniform 4 peg set is usually longer, fiddling with stakes and pole heights, especially when ground is not truly flat & level. Apex rigging for storms is then straightforward but adds another time step.

The Mid1, if you can find one, removes the weight penalty vs. Aeon.  Based on my XMid2 experience, I think XMid1 provides more useful interior and vestibule volumes but will requires more time and care for severely windy & rainy setup vs. Aeon.

(I used a 2017 Zpacks Hexamid on the AT and a 2019 Duplex on the CT. I still own these and use/loan them occasionally; but I cannot recommend for Scotland.  — And I’ve used many more now out-of-production tents before these.  With tents and tarps, it’s always tradeoffs, even while technology has been improving remarkably.)

Thanks, everyone.  I’ll reconsider the Aeon, and have another look at its specs, including bathtub floor height.  I’ll also look at the Notch Li, but then that’s (and the Xmids) need two poles.

My other options are something like  a Solomid XL with inner, or a fairly lightweight tent such as a Hilleberg Enan.

Consider pitching and breaking camp in a high wind. With a mid the basic pitch is stake 4 corners and erect the pole. The reverse taking it down. With 2 poles the venture can become an adventure. One reason Roger likes tunnels: pitching in a wind is set up and then one motion gets the hard part done.

Thanks, Steve.  Yes, that’s something to consider.   My main tent has been a Macpac Minaret tunnel, and it’s so easy to pitch even in difficult conditions.  I bought a lightweight Terra Nova tent which pitches inner first, and I found it impossible to safely pitch it in high winds.

Something to consider is that a two pole “singlewall” tent (like the X-Mid but also many others) will normally still be doublewall on both sides for greater protection from touching condensation.

With a single pole shelter you’ll have a door on one side and then on the opposite side you’ll be directly exposed to the fly sloping above you, whereas a dual pole shelter has mesh walls and vestibules beyond on both sides, so you’re not going to touch the fly on the sides. With the X-Mid Pro 1 it is ‘doublewall’ on both sides and then you are still exposed to the fly walls at the ends and overhead, but the length and headroom are both very generous so overall it’s quite a bit easier to stay away from a potentially wet fly than most singlewall tents.

Aside from this, the dual pole offset structure adds a lot of volume (more space, less condensation). If you want a fairly small/lightest shelter then go single pole, but if you want good space then 2 poles is the lightest way to achieve that. Some single pole shelters will increase space by stacking on a lot of ‘add-ons’ (struts, guylines, stakes etc) but this approach usually winds up heavier while still being smaller. Even a single pole user will often get more space for same or less weight by carrying a folding pole instead of a more complex single pole shelter.

“With a mid the basic pitch is stake 4 corners and erect the pole. The reverse taking it down. With 2 poles the venture can become an adventure.”
The simplicity of a mid is awesome but that can still be largely retained with dual poles. With the X-Mid and some other dual pole shelters (e.g. BD Beta Light), you have a very similar process where you stake the rectangle base and extend the poles. There’s one more pole to extend, but no measuring, odd angles, extra stakes, etc.

David N, there’s a lot of UK experience on trek-lite.com, if you want to ask there. The X-mid is popular,  but there are other options.

Thanks for the comparison between 1-pole and 2-pole shelters, Dan.

Thanks, William.  I’m also on Trek-Lite, but thought there might be more Aeon and Mid-1 users here.

I’m still undecided.  The weight and pack size benefits of this type of shelter are obvious, but whether or not I’d like to actually use one, especially in inclement weather, is a different matter.  Once you start moving up the scale of trekking pole tents (ie adding robustness and space), then they seem to be less compelling compared to normal tents for someone like me who doesn’t use trekking poles (I’d often use the tent when cycle touring).

Plenty of options for lightweight folding poles (45”), 2-3 oz tops. The Aeon uses a single pole; without a trekking pole you’re still only at 20-ish ounces all in with a full bathtub floor, full bug protection and a very decently storm worthy shelter.

Almost seems like Elven trickery :)

I love my Aeon, it’s a great shelter. I have no experience with the Mid. I’ve had no major issues in bad weather, staked with 9” Carbon Stakes.

Although, the packability of the Aeon is slowly pushing me elsewhere. It’s just too damn impractical.

Although, the packability of the Aeon is slowly pushing me elsewhere. It’s just too damn impractical.

My larger hunting packs it will fit horizontally, my other packs I’ve just gotten used to packing it vertically.  My summer bags I can compress enough to stick in the bottom of the pack and still have room to stick the Aeon to the bottom (vertically).

You could remove the carbon struts, but that would be even more of a pain putting them back in when you went to pitch the tent.

I’ve watched a few Scots hike up on the hill on YouTube in all kinds of weather with a variety of tents, including a Notch and  X-mid 1. Seems like often you would want the rain fly to the ground on the windward side at least. As long as there was some wind, condensation wasn’t bad. But buttoned up in a still night created plenty of condensation. You will be camping where the ground is wet most of the year. The ability to control tent height and ventilation are key. Dan D is spot on about a double walled tent. Hilleberg is the standard for Scottish weather with double walled tents