Too many Durston tents?

Brett,  I think a solid inner is OK if it covers only the portion of the inner roof directly over the floor, so that there is netting on the side-entry tent on both sides of the sleeper.  Otherwise, there would not be enough ventilation.  Also think that a light colored outer definitely reflects heat.

Sorry to hear that you cannot stretch out in the 1P.  Perhaps they will make a 1.5 P, or a lighter DCF 2P.  There have been several threads on BPL about this, and they discuss tents with floors longer in length.  Note that mids and A-frames, or the like, require  floors longer in length because they slope at sharp angles down to the floor.  A good fix for this is found in Ryan’s current article about a Dipole tent.

For myself, I prefer self-supporting tents with convex walls at head and foot so that all of the floor length is usable.

Four is a lot :)

I think you’ll find the solid inner versions aren’t too hot unless you’re in a seriously hot place like Arizona. They use white fabric and still have a decent bit of mesh/airflow. People in windy areas like the UK really like solid inners for blocking drafts, whereas in North America most people don’t seem to find much issue with a mesh inner. Realistically, you’ll probably find both the mesh and solid versions work just fine.

Regarding length, the X-Mid shape has much steeper end walls than a mid, and they are still steeper than almost all other trekking pole tents, so it does have more useable length for its total length than most trekking pole tent geometries. However, making it a double wall reduces that because you need a ~5″ gap between the fly and inner, so if the fly is 100″ long then the inner floor is 90″ long, and then the inner walls slope inwards from there so the useable length (length with at least 12″ height) is closer to 80″.

Because of this, when we make it into a singlewall version, the usable length grows substantially. The Pro 1 version of the X-Mid has a quite generous useable length – quite a bit more than the Dipole. The Dipole has 84″ of useable length (similar to most freestanding tents) whereas the X-Mid Pro 1 will be 90″ useable while also weighing about 1/2 lbs less.

Isn’t the Pro 1 not due out until next year and will probably be in that $700 range.  If you have a test one I could borrow it for a few weeks and see how it works for the 6’5″ people and could test it out in conditions from 60-95F.  :)

I would sell the 1P and if you want to save weight just use the 2P with no inner. Plenty of room!

The 1P without any inner also would likely be tons of room

As for the solid inners I usually don’t move to those (don’t have an Xmid just in general) until we’re talking about wind blown snow or major wind blown sand.

GatewoodCape is an excellent 1P shelter as well and would probably be a nice pair with the 2P Xmid (although you will be unlikely to fit the SMD inner tent).

I still want an X-Mid winter special with snow skirts on it and additional vents (like two tunnel vents in addition to the peak vent) and maybe a sewn in “window” on one of the doors like some mountaineering tents have. 40D silpoly or something a bit tougher would be ideal for heavy snow loading and of course all outer tie outs also replicated on the inside so one can place internal guyelines in shit weather. Or if we’re talking real dream tent here then some pricey Pertex Shield Air fabric like the newest Rab domes are using (or eVent). No inner needed.

There is a bit of a bathtub floor and I can pitch the fly pretty close to the ground.  I think I am going to sell the 1P Solid and 2P solid but going to run it by gf first.

“Too many Durston tents?” is like asking “Too many Tarptent tents?”

He!! no! We are in a golden age of tent design. both US and foreign. There needs to be designs for every need, quality, season and wallet.

If you’re ok with more than one Durston tent, my preferred set up would be the DCF 2p PRO and a 2p Solid. The Pro is cool in the summer, really lightweight (great for a solo hike) and due to the lack of an inner even easier to set up. The Xmid 2p Solid is great for shoulder seasons or even wintercamping. I have a Zpacks Duplex in Camo and I love it because it’s so lightweight and easy to set up, but I suffered just a bit too much from cold draft on a hike in december at around 1200m altitude. So I bought and just received an Xmid 2p Solid for a trip to the north of Sweden in September. If we’re unlucky and have a lot of rain and frost at night, I think the Xmid offers a lot more comfort and warmth than the Duplex. And on real wintertrip when there are absolutely no bugs, I could even take it without the inner and have a palace. But on a summer trip for two, a solo hike or hikes were it is difficult to pitch a larger tent, I would still take the Duplex.

Thanks Jan.

I just need some feedback on the 2P Pro to see if it will be cool enough for temps at night that start around 75F or possibly higher.  Stargazing is also nice with the mesh.

I found that I can fit into a 1P also

What do people think is the temp range of the Pro 2P?  Thanks.

The Pro is a singlewall/hybrid so you can’t pitch just the inner, but people use hybrid tents like these is super hot weather all the time (e.g. Zpacks tents are all over the southern parts of CDT, PCT). With the Pro you can full roll back both sides to expose the mesh and it has peak vents, so I think it would be at least as good and I don’t think you’d find conditions where it’s too hot to be workable – of course sometimes the weather is simply unbearable but you can have very good airflow in the Pro so it seems about as well suited as possible for that.

@DanDurston  Thanks, I was just thinking of those hot summer nights.  I am guessing it probably acts like the Mesh versions in that it will work in cold/freezing weather but there might be drafts and that sand or snow could possibly blow in if not staked down to the ground?

The gap around the bottom of the tents is adjustable. The corner cords essentially act like extensions of the fly, so setting the cords very short will pin the fly basically to the ground, whereas longer corner cords will lift it up to create a larger gap. So in hot weather you may prefer it higher and in sand/snow/wind people usually prefer it lower.

In those situations (very hot) I would just be cowboy camping

Thanks Dan!  Christopher, it is hard to cowboy camp in heat where there mosquitoes and other insects wanting pieces of you.

Bug netting is your friend in that case – I always bring a simple headnet – in light bug pressure if I tuck that into my shirt and seal up my quilt well it works good enough. With lots of bugs I would probably either want to be inside a net tent or bring a full mesh bug shirt jacket thing.