New HMG Unbound Tent
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The video lists the fly as 0.8oz but the specs suggest it is 0.5oz since they list DCF5, DCF8, and DCF11 Ā for the materials while saying the floor is DCF8 and the reinforcements are DCF11, leaving DCF5 as the fly presumably. A 0.5oz fly would be surprisingĀ from HMG, but I do think 0.55oz is the way to go for a fly because 0.8oz is 40% heavier while not improving the main vulnerabilities (delamination, abrasion).
For sure the floor is 0.8oz (both the video and product page say this), which is also surprising from HMG since 0.8oz (CT2E.08) has the much thinner/less abrasion resistance outer layers compared to the thicker floors they (and most others) normally use for a DCF tent.
It looks like they are adding DCF backed tape to properly reinforce the bias (diagonal) on the end panels too, so the diagonal forces won’t stretch the material apart:
Peak vents are a nice touch but don’t seem to have any way to close them, nor prop them open so they’ll probably sit there partially open.
Looks like a nice tent. Quite a few nice improvements compared to the Duplex (fly zippers, bonded, peak vents, reinforced bias) but also quite a bit heavier and with a less durable floor.
That YouTube review of the X-Mid Pro wasn’t accurate because he wasn’t sitting in the high parts of the X-Mid Pro. He was basically using it and measuring it like you would for the Duplex instead of taking advantage of the unique attributes of the X-Mid.Ā I talked to the reviewer about it and he has agreed they only tried it once and weren’t sitting in the high parts and it would have been more spacious if they were. He’s considering issuing a correction. The X-Mid Pro 2 has a diagonal ridgeline so with two people you do need to sit offset a bit to get max headroom. This is a small change in behaviour but it quickly becomes second nature to shift a bit as you sit up (you already do this in most tents without realizing it) and if you do that you get quite a bit more headroom than the Duplex because the diagonal ridgeline is much longer so the two occupants can be further apart. All other reviews of the X-Mid Pro note how spacious the headroom is.
Regarding the 4-stake pitch, the main advantage here is not so much that you only need to bring 4 stakes, but rather that a tent that can pitch with 4 stakes will have a simpler setup. There’s a lot less guesswork and measuring to stake out a rectangle rather than a hexagon. Once it is up, you would often add two more stakes (at the doors) with the X-Mid Pro and Dipole, but the basic pitching process is still simpler than the Duplex/Unbound where you need 6 stakes for the basic shape and would normally use 8.
I wouldn’t say the X-Mid ridgeline is ‘weak’ with just 4 stakes. In the BPL video Ryan mentioned that the X-Mid Pro is more stable/rigid with just 4 stakes than the Dipole and works well for a lot of conditions. But yes adding more stakes certainly beefs it up. Ryan found a rigidity advantage for the Dipole once more stakes are added, but I think that was largely because I supplied shockcord on these extra stake points so they are stretchy and don’t anchor the peaks like static cord does. We also supply a bundle of static cord with the tent and the tent is immediately and dramatically more solid if this is used at the door stake points. Originally we made the shockcord stock because it is quicker/easier to use, but people aren’t always realizing that using the supplied static cord would be better for rough weather so we are switching to making static cord standard for the next run. With static cord, it is remarkably robust once the door stakes are added (6 total). Typically it would be 6 stakes for the X-Mid and Dipole, and 8 stakes for the Duplex and Unbound.
“Duplex is 100ā³ long and 53ā³ wide at the ridgeline, whereas the Unbound just says 90ā³ long and 48ā³ wide. Is that only the bathtub floor or the overall dimensions of the main body (not including vestibules)? If the Unbound is really only 90ā³ long total from end to end (fly) you can bet that it has much less headroom and livable space than the Duplex (both are 48ā³ high).”
I’m pretty sure HMG’s specs of 90″ x 48″ are just for the floor (versus 90″ x 45″ for the Duplex). They list the size as 90″ x 48″ and it’s clear 48″ is the floor width so most likely 90″ is also referring to the floor. HMGs pictures show the fly extending a decent bit past the floor by ~5″ (circled below). I wish they had more info, but it appears that the floor length is 90″ and then there is about 5″ of fly overhang for a similar fly length as the Duplex.
Looks like the Unbound’s floor is sewn directly to the fly at the corners and then opens up with some noseeum to create a slight arch or semi-circle, maxing out the gap in the middle. At 1:34 of the video you can clearly see it. Am I wrong? Is it a true floating floor with a 5″netting gap all around like the Duplex? I don’t think so.
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