Durston X-Mid Pro 2 arrived :)

[Manfred]

The wait is over. Too bad we didn’t get it before our JMT hike in July – it would have been interesting to test it in the recent monsoonal rains. Now we will just have to plan another trip to the Sierra – may be around Labor Day.

Our first pitch – done in a minute without any re-adjustments. Not perfect, but pretty good.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice! Glad it arrived.

For the pitch it looks like you could set the base tighter before adding the pole so the sidewalls are tighter, but as you say it was just a quick pitch. Looks like lots of extra length with those pads in there.

[Manfred]

Nice design, Dan!

It was very easy to pitch. For our prior tent we had to stake the four corners loosely so the trekking poles can be inserted. Out of habit we did the same here.

The extra length is highly welcome! I’m 6’1 and actually fit into the tent on my inflatable mattress without touching neither foot nor head end of the tent. That used to be an issue in our prior tent.

 

[Murali C]

Is there enough vestibule space for changing clothes if setting up the tent in rain? Just curious about the size of the vestibule – what is the distance at its widest? thanks!

[Manfred]

Murali, the photos in this review might give you a better impression of the vestibule’s size. The review also states the vestibule area as 21.5 sq ft, but not its width. I won’t be able to measure it soon. May be Dan can answer this.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

The vestibules a wedge shape that wides from 0″ deep at one end to 33″ deep at the opposite end. They are 25″ deep at the poles. They are also quite tall and put the largest area out of the way of the doorways, so the work very well as vestibules (e.g. a pack fits easily and is out of the way). As for getting changed in there, while they are generous it would still be a tight move. You could probably do it but it would be a bit awkward.

[d k]

Mine is supposed to be coming on Friday…we’ll see.

[Edit: tracking now says it’s out for delivery!]

[Todd T]

They are also quite tall and put the largest area out of the way of the doorways, so the work very well as vestibules (e.g. a pack fits easily and is out of the way).

As a 2P (silpoly) owner, I can attest that the vestibules fit a pack better than any tent I’ve ever owned.  It stands vertically, completely out of the entry/exit path, well within reach from inside the tent, and leaving plenty of room for boots and other stuff on the other side of the door.  And the height makes getting in and out pleasant, especially for us tall folk who usually have to play pretzel.  It’s one of my favorite features of the X-Mid design.

[Murali C]

I had to set up tent twice in rain and looking for a way to remove my wet rain gear in the vestibule before entering the tent….33 inches is pretty nice. With 33 inches, I think I can definitely remove my wet rain jacket/pants in the vestibule….

[Andrew D]

Ordered both models when they were offered. Plan on reviewing them on site and selling at a minor loss. Speaking of this, have you seen the facebook groups for X-Mid tents?

Ravenous!

[JCH]

Mine is still “processing” :(

Patience is a virtue, or so I am told.

[Michael M]

Supposed to be here in 6 days but haven’t been able to track it since it crossed the border.

[d k]

It arrived!  I’ll get to a local park tomorrow and set it up.

[jscott]

Show Manfred how it’s done, DK.

( wait, I’m supposed to be nice. Oh well!) (tidy up that pitch, Manfred!)  (Kudos in that you did it first time in a minute. That shows a lot! Ease of pitch is one reason I like this tent!)

[Murali C]

DK – can you show pictures of yourself in the vestibule just to get an idea? :-) thanks!

[d k]

I’ll try, Murali!

[Mike]

Mine said it was supposed to arrive on the 16th, and I got it on the 9th in California. Stoked to get it out. Feel light and packs small.

[d k]

I got it set up – seemed to be less taut at the roofline between the 2 poles – any suggestions?  I may have set up in a slight depression.  Tightening the guylines more seemed to make the zippers pull too much on the fabric.

As far as changing clothes in the vestibule goes, it’d be snug.  A fair amount of floor/foot space, but it narrows as you go up, so my 5’8″ 155ish lbs. self was rubbing shoulders on the fly and netting while squatting as low as possible.

If I had to change in there, I’d try it like this:

1) get in and squat, zip tent fly closed, drop trousers

2 sit my butt (in cleanest/driest layer below the waist) on a piece of foam/tyvek/silwhatevs in the wide end of vestibule

3) extend legs out towards the narrow end of vestibule and remove outer layer(s) below the waist

4) remove whatever from upper body

5) get into tent and put on dry clothes from pack in other vestibule

Hope this helps.

Overall, I’m impressed with the headroom.  It’s narrower than 2 person tents I’ve used before, so that may take some adjustment, but hopefully the pluses of the weight, non-sagginess, and stable design will make up for whatever elbowing gets on each other’s nerves at night.

 

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice. Looking good. If you put your pole tips in those little shockcord loops on the sides of the floor it’ll pull the floor a few inches wider.

For the ridgeline, the height of the poles can be limited by the corner seams before the poles are extended enough to tighten the ridgeline (this happens if the base isn’t quite square). If the ridgline is loose and you can’t extend the poles more, what you need to do is:
1) Loosen the two corners that are perpendicular to the ridgeline. This will allow the poles to extend more.
2) Extend poles more to snug up the ridgeline.
3) Re-tighten the two corners you loosened.

Another common pitching issue is loose sides. For that the solution is basically the opposite. Sometimes you can’t tighten the sides by snugging up the corner tensioners because they are pulling on the peaks first. So what you do is:
1) Lower the poles by a few inches
2) Now you can snug up the sides using the corner tensioners
3) Re-extend the poles until snug

[d k]

Thanks, Dan, that’s very helpful!

[Murali C]

Thanks DK for the very helpful post and pictures! Thanks a ton!

[JCH]

Has anyone with an order # higher than 10165 received their shelter?

[jscott]

I found that line-locs attached to the tent helped a lot in firming up any pitch. But that was more in terms of higher up the body.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

We shipped up to about 10,200 in the first batch a few weeks ago. There’s only about 3 or 4 orders below that that haven’t shipped. We’ll get the rest shipped in about a week, as the rest of the tents should be arriving Friday or Monday (Aug 26 or 29).

[JCH]

Guess I’m lucky enough to be in that 3 or 4 :)

[Author]

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