Durston tents now have DCF floor options.

[Mike]

Out of nowhere, Dan silently adds DCF floor options to his tents. I’ve owned every one that he’s released and I’m stoked for this update. I’m not a fan of water soaking through the floor, so this is perfect for me. Just ordered mine this morning.

https://durstongear.com/products/x-mid-pro-2-tent-ultralight-thruhiking

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Yes we have added DCF floor options to all of our DCF tents.

My historical preference to use woven fabrics is because 1.0 oz DCF is more expensive and bulky than a woven floor, yet hardly saves weight so there’s not a great reason to take on the added cost and bulk. However, we are using a new version of DCF for these floors that provides similar durability as 1.0 oz DCF  while reducing the weight and bulk, so now it packs similar to our woven floor tents and actually saves weight. It’s still an expensive way to save 2 oz but when a tent is getting this light it’s one of the first optiosn left. With the DCF floor option I think the X-Mid Pro 2 is now the world’s lightest 2P tent at 18.2 oz (515g).

[Mike]

Thanks for the update on the tents either way Dan. I think it has everything I could want at this point. Off topic, but I saw you respond to someone that the Wapta will have traditional straps. Would you ever consider a fastpack version with best style straps and pockets?

[Brad W]

Can you give more details on the floor material? Oz/yd2.

[Mike]

In this Justin video, he talks about how it’s heavier on the bottom than on the top. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cikcSb9nS7I

[Bradley Danyluk]

Is the new DCF material really going to be similarly durable to 1oz? I don’t understand how only having the thicker layer on the bottom can provide that – a puncture or abrasion would normally have to go through both thicker layers on 1oz to make a hole, and half that protection is sacrificed by having only one layer be thicker.

I understand the complaints about pack size and weight on 1oz floors but in my experience it’s pretty much the ideal floor material if you’re not using a ground sheet. Just want to make sure the new material will hold up as long.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Durability is a tough thing to sum up because there are so many different types of stresses (abrasion, punctures, tears) but my view on DCF floors is that abrasion is the main consideration and for this the mylar on the underside is pretty much entirely what determines its performance. There are also tears but all DCF is super strong so these are rare. A puncture can happen but also fairly rare and is avoidable with due diligence on site selection. For punctures having thicker mylar on the top would help some but still having it on the bottom is a big help compared to the thin mylar on both sides that some companies use.

I personally think only having the thick mylar on the underside is the right balance because get the same abrasion performance as 1.0 oz DCF (which I think is the main thing) yet you lessen the bulk and weight of the material. Those thick 1.0 oz floors are the main reason why DCF has a reputation for being bulky, and using the thinner mylar on the top does a lot to alleviate that.

So I think durability is “similar” but how similar it is will depend on the type of stress. For abrasion I think it’s the same. For tears and punctures it is less but I think those are lesser considerations. It’s a tradeoff but I think what we’re using here is the right balance.

[Bradley Danyluk]

Thanks Dan, I suppose that makes sense – with abrasion I’ve noticed as soon as any dyneema threads are exposed things fall apart, it doesn’t have abrade through both layers to cause a cascading failure.

[Dan]

I’ve been waiting for these to be back in stock and the lighter full-DCF version was a pleasant surprise. Just ordered mine.

[Brad W]

Does anyone have any abrasion testing data(ATSM 3884) on different DCF material thicknesses? I see it listed for other material-Ultra, etc. but not for DCF.

[Art Rhizhiy]

DCF doesnt have good abrasion resistance in general, hence not the best for floors. But some people will do it to same a few grams..

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I haven’t seen ASTM testing.

We’ve been using our DCF floor for about 1.5 years now and we had a ton of them on the long trails like the PCT in 2024. Our DCF tents are some of the most popular tents on the PCT and most of those buyers are choosing the DCF floor. Reports of wear/damage/problems are quite rare. I can’t recall more than 1 or 2. DCF is less durable than most woven fabrics in a floor application, but it does save additional weight and we are still finding that it is durable enough to have a good lifespan.

[Brad W]

We’ve been using our DCF floor for about 1.5 years now and we had a ton of them on the long trails like the PCT in 2024. Our DCF tents are some of the most popular tents on the PCT and most of those buyers are choosing the DCF floor. Reports of wear/damage/problems are quite rare. I can’t recall more than 1 or 2. DCF is less durable than most woven fabrics in a floor application, but it does save additional weight and we are still finding that it is durable enough to have a good lifespan.

Thanks Dan. With the silnylon floors seemingly superior to DCF, was the push for using DCF in the floors based on popularity of the material over practicality? Silnylon packs smaller, I imagine is much less expensive and is better suited durability wise. Slight weight penalty aside, only downsides seems to be some moisture retention and in field repair ease.

 

 

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

There are pros and cons to both, and a lot of passionate people on both sides, so we offer both types. The DCF floor is mostly about saving more weight. Another 50g saved is substantial on a superlight tent like our Pro series. People also like the non-water absorption/faster dry of DCF and how tape repairs look better than patching silnylon. We see about 2/3rds of people choosing DCF. The silnylon floor is certainly more affordable though and yes packs a bit smaller. We see broadly similar durability results with both, so the durability isn’t widely different.

[jscott]

I always use a polycryo sheet beneath all of my tents. It keeps tent floors clean and protects against abrasion and even punctures to a degree. For the ounce and a half weight penalty it’s worth it to me.

So I wonder what numbers look like, or even reported accounts, given the use of a polycro sheet beneath tent floors? I’m guessing wear is greatly reduced due to abrasion.

[JCH]

Anecdotally, I rocked a 2014 Duplex with 1.0 DCF floor for 8 years, always with a diy polycro footprint (2x thick Duck patio door kit).  When I sold them on, both were in perfect condition.

I now have a XMid 2P Pro with the sil floor and made a similar footprint for that shelter.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[Todd T]

With the silnylon floors … Slight weight penalty aside, only downsides seems to be some moisture retention and in field repair ease.

And slipperiness!

[David D]

Another data point, I wore through my Xmid silpoly floor in many spots in a year using 2*thick duckpro footprint.  My son did as well with his Xmid 1

Still like the tent, I replaced the inner and Dan was great as usual

Our sites are often sub optimal and I’d have to set up on granite a few times at designated sites or get sunk under water, which may have been a factor

[Brad W]

Interesting David to wear through that fast. Was the polycro worn through also or was it from the silpoly rubbing against the polycro?

[David D]

Hi Brad.  The polycro was mint, no leaks, and no abrasion between it and the floor to see.  The floor had broad weeping through:

and at least a dozen pinholes, marked by painters tape:

Here’s a pretty good illustration how wacked our sites can get, not much more of an acid test for a floor then this.  Sudden flash storm and huge rainfall and sheet lightning over 20 mins, and the entire hill emptied its rain load down the approach path right onto the designated tent pad.  The inside was soaked and I had to empty out the tent and dry everything in it but not sure any tent could survive this one.  You can see in the first picture that I took to eating a few ounces base weight and started to carry a polycro sheet inside the tent in case the floor leaked (it did), in addition to the footprint. That helped save my pad and quilt from getting completely drenched (just wet)

We never figured out and agreed why the floor was like this but Dan was cool about it.

[Brad W]

Interesting. I have been using tyvek myself and find it helps quite a bit in the desert from things poking through.

[David D]

I used to use Tyvek with older tents but it’s too heavy (double or more).  There were no leaks in the ducky polycro so Tyvek is overkill for me.  I religiously clean my site of pine needles, sharp stones and twigs.  Judging from how much crap I clean off designated pads, I’m way more anal about this than most any other camper so this wasn’t caused by negligence

[Jerry Adams]

they need to work on that designated site pad

put some fill in it, for example, so water doesn’t collect

 

[David D]

It needs a wood pad over it or be moved.   It’s dead center in a river that forms every large rain.  I spoke with some rangers and suggested even cutting some bigger notches in the front so it drains quickly, but they seem to think this is ok.

I chose the same site for one day on one of my summer weeklongers in ’25 because it’s has direct access to some great bushwhacking, but I’m setting tent off the pad this time.  This is just loopy

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

We saw some leakage reports in our silpoly floors mostly around 2022/2023. It’s hard to say exactly what led to that leakage, but it seemed like they were waterproof initially but could wear down from usage/abrasion more quickly than expected. It’s a tricky thing because any floor can be damaged/abraded to leak, but it did seem to happen too easily then which suggested thicker coatings would be a benefit, so we increased the coating thickness on our silpoly floors back then.

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