Durston X-Dome

[Benny]

Hi Dan, May I know any plan for releasing the X-Mid Pro 1 Tarp this year? I was excited when you said it was in the works last year.

[bradmacmt]

“it’s difficult to gauge the interior spaces from just the pics alone on your site, without some sort of interior cutaway”
Thanks for this feedback. Due to the unconventional angles it is hard to show a single view that fully represents the tent. I do have a top view and side view sketch for our tents now that is too scale but still doesn’t show the full picture. A 3D model would be great but right now the best perspective is likely our product videos where I try to pan around inside the tent and often have a person or at least pads in there. I would like to keep improving, so I’ll see how I can improve these resources.

Thanks a lot Dan – I can see how showing interior geometry could be tricky!

[SIMULACRA]

Thread drift moderator here: -Benny, it has been released. Please take a look at his website.

[Sam Farrington]

J Scott,

Was thinking of a photo used in a Hilleberg catalog that shows a guy sitting in his tent on the water away from shore.  You might have seen it also.

When using a self-supporting tent like the one I pictured above, the stress on the stakes is reduced considerably, if for no other reason that the framework of the tent contributes to the stakes’ resistance to high winds buffeting the structure.  But do not have access to wind tunnels to offer a precise measure, so am left with the old standby, common sense.

That also requires a tent shape that is aerodynamic; that is, the walls balance rigidity with elasticity, and limit near vertical and near horizontal surfaces as much as possible.  Using gothic shaped arches (a hoop with a small peak) rather than more bendy hoops to support a freestanding framework also presents less resistance to wind, unlike most hoop supported domes.  Even worse is the popular practice of using floating struts to support portions of a dome; thus weakening the framework.  One of the photos posted above shows zero struts, and no extremely slanted walls like an A-Frame.  And with respect to comfort and space inside the tent, it is considerably better than in the ever popular A-Frames because the sidewalls are convex.

When the stakes and framework combine to resist wind blasts, and the canopy is more aerodynamic, I think a tent will be more resistant to foul weather and much less likely to fail.  Works for me; but granted, I don’t go in for hauling boulders and carrying sledge hammers.  It is so much more restful to take a little time to select a good site for pitching.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Benny: A tarp version of the X-Mid Pro 1 that will work with our separate inner tent to make a double wall tent is still in the works. It’s taken longer than I hoped but should be out in the second half of 2024.

Sam: Thanks for the comments on structure. You mention ‘photo posted above‘ but I don’t see any. The gothic arches sound interesting. Why do you say a float strut weakens the framework? I can see how it may not add to it (if it’s just a floating member and not anchored) but I also don’t see how it detracts. It’s quite a popular practice with almost all tent makers using designs like that (e.g. Hillberg, SlingFin, Nemo, Big Agnes etc).

[Sam Farrington]

Hi Dan:  Was alluding to one of the two photos shown a bit earlier in this thread; albeit without front vestibule covers, or beaks, that add support.

Re; the floating strut, the second photo shows a long strut running over and beyond the two peaks to add support to the fabric canopy; but that involves more obstructions from guys needed to stabilize the strut.  A lot of tents using struts raise the same issue.  So am working on a design that has no ridge or other struts; but rather, increases the length of the ridge top to provide more cover over the front door.  (Note:  am working on a solo tent, but designed like the above photos.)  That is done by making the top ridge longer than the sidewall width at ground level, and increasing floor space by extending the floor into the rear vestibule.  Eliminating the long strut makes the framework more stable, not to mention the reduction in weight.  Guess the time spent in severe blows has biased me against too much ‘wiggle room’ in both the framework and canopy.  The intent is that they reinforce each other; and limit fabric stretch and pole movement to get as solid a structure as possible without losing elasticity and thus creating rigidity that allows ripping.

If I can get the solo done, I’d like like to make a similar tent, only with the floor rotated 90 degrees with a full front entry for two, and no  entry in the rear, except a covered peak vent; thus saving weight and adding wind protection.

With the success of laminate fabrics’ drop in tent weight, new ways must be found to drop weight in sil/poly tents to make them competitive.  Even the tents made with TNT show more wrinkling than silpoly does with some bias elasticity, and at much less cost.  Granted, the TNT fabric threads are much stronger, which is why I am longing for a woven fabric spun from Spectra or other stronger state of the art threads.  They weave it for guyline cordage.

Hope you are enjoying your remarkable progression into the gear business.  The comments on this and other threads from readers confirm that your efforts are much appreciated.

[Sam Farrington]

Dan, my first post on this thread showed two photos, one on top of the other, and was referred to in the later posts.  Now, I see that the lower of the two photos later disappeared, leaving just the one photo, and a big empty space below it.  So can see why you and others would be wondering.  In the good old days of BPL, I could go in and add the second photo back; but the edit function has now been greatly limited by the management.  All the same, I think BPL remains by far the best forum for addressing all the gear design issues that come up.

Please note that the other photo showed little more than the use of a trekking pole to add to the overhang protecting against rain; however, that adds another obstruction to entry/exit.  I apologize for the loss of the photo, and for the annoyance trying to figure out the meaning of the text.  And I’ve no idea how or when the lost photo was later omitted; except that it was at least a number of days later, if not longer.  So from now on, whenever referring to an earlier photo in a thread, I will go back and make sure the photo is still there before adding comment about it later in the thread.  Problem solved, to some extent.

[William Chilton]

Dan, my first post on this thread showed two photos, one on top of the other, and was referred to in the later posts. Now, I see that the lower of the two photos later disappeared, leaving just the one photo, and a big empty space below it.

@Sam Farrington: I still see two photographs in your post.

[SIMULACRA]

-Well I’ll be dang blamed* You mean without the attached inner to a single walled hybrid tarnt. I suppose you could always just cut it out as some have successfully done. Blessings.

[Sam Sockwell]

Wondering about dimensions. Two 25 inch pads will fit?  Somewhere between the Copper Spur 2 (tight squeeze we want more )and 3( we have the older  rectangle, could be smaller) would be sweet.  The 2 is too small – will carry extra to stretch out . Please beat it, if you can, and you’ll sell a lot of tents to those of us who want the simplicity of a dome for universal easy set up.  Will a Durston x dome rule them all?  Await arrival of more info.

[Sam Farrington]

William C:  I think BPL is haunted, or I may have gone nuts. Then again, maybe management saw my last post and somehow fixed it.  But thanks for the note.  All’s well that ends well.

[Benny]

Thanks Dan. Is there any chance of having a DCF floor inner tent? :D

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Sam: It will fit two wide pads for sure and would be larger than the Copper Spur 2 because I like having the entire floor the same width (e.g. not tapered) so it can fit wide rectangular pads. So it’ll be larger than the CS2 but still a 2P tent and not as large as a CS3. Maybe we do a 3P in the future but not right away.

Benny: My hope is to offer the tent in a regular and ‘Pro’ version where the Pro version is super light. So there won’t be a DCF floor right away since we’re launching the regular version first, but I hope it add it before too long.

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