X-Mid Pro coming: in DCF, 2-person tent

[Dan E]

Any updates?

[Jason Brooks]

I’d recommend designing the pole pockets for handle up. I own a 1p x-mid. the first one, my pole tip poked thru the the fly right thru the grommet. The second one, the fly tensioners vibrated loose in the wind, allowing the pole to pop out and tip rip right thru the fly.

[California Packrafting]

Dan just want to register my opinion that room for two 25″ pads is overkill and the smaller footprint is appealing for some, as well as the weight reduction.

 

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

The X-Mid Pro 2 will launch in a few weeks (prob Jan 24). We’ll have the full details and video at that time. As always, we recommend signing up for a notice on DurstonGear.com for when it launches:
https://durstongear.com/product/x-mid-pro-2p

Please note that’s the pre-sale. We are aiming to have the actual tents ready for summer but still can’t be 100% sure of that with all the supply chain headaches these days.

Jason: Yes the poles will be handles up. That works better on a singlewall. For the regular doublewalls, we have revised the peak design to address some incompatibility issues in the first iteration (some models of poles could poke through too far and damage the fly) and also improved the cord tensioners, although the premium cord we sell now is really the ultimate for secure performance in high winds.

[Diane Pinkers]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>With the woven floor, how is the waterproofness? I hike a lot in the Olympics,  and one of the things that attracted me to DCF is the improved waterproofing over sil-nylon. Also, lack of sag in dampness!</p>

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I like DCF for a canopy material, but I don’t think it’s strengths are well suited to use as a floor material. Indeed it is very waterproof when new, but it’s susceptible to abrasion, so if it’s used as a floor it can form tiny holes and leak over time. A woven floor can be more waterproof over the long haul, and also provides a much smaller packed size for the tent because the thicker DCF used for floors is what makes DCF tents normally so bulky. So in my opinion a woven floor makes more sense because it offers greater abrasion resistance and greater waterproof lifespan for the weight. Hence why companies like Locus Gear sells tents with DCF floors but then they use a woven for the groundsheet. Overall, I think a 1.0 – 1.2oz woven floor with silicone coating is longer lasting, more waterproof over the long run, and smaller packing for a similar weight. Tons of tents like TarpTent’s have been doing that forever with great results. For the canopy, DCF makes a ton of sense because that application sees little to no abrasion, so the outright awesome strength of DCF can shine, and it remains waterproof because there’s no abrasion.

The non-sag of DCF (and poly) is great for a canopy – I’m a huge fan of that which is why we only sell non-sag tents – but it matters much less for a floor though because (1) the canopy is really what you need to keep tight for stormworthyness, and (2) our floor is tensioned inside the tent with elastics at the 4 corners so even if it does expand a bit, it still stays taut.

[Jason Brooks]

Dan Durston, You have a brilliant mind, my brother. I’m bummed that both X-mids I’ve had got ripped in my backyard and I never actually got to take them backpacking. Can you do repairs? Thank you for replacing the first one that had the grommet issue. The replacement one, where the pole popped out of the grommet, has a pretty big tear.

[d k]

Dan, do you recommend rolling/stuffing or just randomly stuffing your DCF tents, for greatest longevity?

[Ethan A.]

Hey Dan, congrats on the new model. I see the silpoly X-Mid 1P design is being updated – any idea when these updates will be available on the silpoly X-Mid 2P, and when a solid inner might be available for the 1P and 2P? (Apologies for the thread drift)

[Roger Caffin]

do you recommend rolling/stuffing or just randomly stuffing your DCF tents, for greatest longevity?
Good question, but you may not like the answer. (All my own opinion, mind you.)
Whether you roll or stuff, you will be putting creases into the Mylar. After enough creasing the Mylar will start to crack and the fabric will start to lose strength. Edge of a slippery slope.
This is not supposition: it is known DCF behaviour.

Cheers

[Jason Brooks]

Hey Dan, Now that you’re coming out with an improved X-Mid 1p I’m not bummed at all, because, of course, I’ll have to get the new version!! Yay!

[Christopher S]

I always wondered if there was an easy way to more “loosely” roll DCF (as in rolled but much less angled). One might be able to wrap a bear canister in their DCF tent and reduce creasing? Or something similar? I suppose if you are putting your quilt / bag in a waterproof bag you could potentially also wrap your tent around that.

[Jeff McWilliams]

Christopher,

Suppose you’re gonna wrap your DCF tent around a BV500.  It’s 12.7″ high.  You’ll still have to fold the tent in some way so that the width of the DCF roll matches the 12.7″ height of bear canister, which means you’re still gonna have creases along those folds.

Would that be better than tightly rolling the tent on itself and putting it into a stuff sack?  I suppose, but is it enough to make a difference?  *shrug*

[JCH]

I’ve been folding and rolling a duplex and putting it in a 8L sil stuffsack for 7 years and see no evidence of damage

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Regarding DCF packing: The consensus is that it’s better to roll DCF because it avoids the much greater number of creases that you get with stuffing and thus prolongs the lifespan. That’s what seemingly all DCF makers recommend.

Jason: Thanks for the kind words. We have a repair article here. For that second tent where the pole came out of the grommet and stabbed the fly, the tear is likely at a lower stress area where it’s fairly easy to repair with something like Tenacious Tape Sil.

Ethan:  The 2P came out a year after the original 1P so it already has a lot of these updates (e.g. pole handle connections, different panel orientation). For some others, we are also adding them to the 2P now, such as the side panel guyouts which will be on the batch of the 2P sold next week too. Both designs will continue to evolve pretty much every batch, so you’ll see further changes to the 1P and 2P in the batches ahead, but this 1P update is a major one. The 2P has less need for a major update so we’re not doing that at this time.

[Ethan A.]

Dan, thanks for the overview. Continuous refinement is a good thing. Will there be a solid inner or mostly solid inner available soon for the 2P and 1P?

How’d you add 30% internal space to the X-Mid 1P? That’s quite a bit of extra space and I’d imagine it would take more than the guyouts alone.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

There will be solid inner versions mid-late summer for the 1P and 2P. Just as small batch though. Our main first batch will be towards the end of the year.

The X-Mid 1 is now about 15% wider, 5% longer, and 10% taller, which work together to add about 30% interior volume. It was easy to make it longer and taller because we had quite large gaps between the inner and fly there in the first version out of caution. The 2P has been using smaller gaps for a couple years, and now the 1P gets similar gaps. Then we were able to make it wider by rotating the inner a little bit more, so there’s not wasted space at the skinny end of the vestibules. Instead of a little 8″ deep strip there, the inner is made wider but rotated about 2 more degrees to increase the width (28″ -> 32″) while keeping the main vestibules the same size. Then we also added those clips to the fly at shoulder height so the inner is pulled out about 25% wider at shoulder height.

[Ethan A.]

Dan, would it be possible for you to also offer a solid inner on its own, as other shelter makers offer, for people who have the standard mesh inner that comes with the 2P and 1P, so that they have an option?

[Christopher S]

Mostly solid inner with a bit of mesh at the very top (maybe on the parts that are NOT next to the vestibules?) has been my favorite usually. Or an inner with small vents that matchup with where the outer ventillates like tunnel tents do

[Erik H]

Any idea on the pricing on the tents yet, or will that not be public until they go on sale?

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

We’ll probably have the solid inner on it’s own eventually, but with production shortages right now we’re focusing on complete tents, so the first solid inners in 2022 will be complete tents.

The pricing for the DCF X-Mid Pro 2 is likely a little over $600. DCF is really expensive and only gotten moreso, so that represents about the lowest possible price. It’s less than anything comparable, and the comparable shelters are likely going to be increasing further in the next few months as the DCF price increases kick in. We will launch the X-Mid Pro 2 on pre-sale on Jan 24 on our site (durstongear.com)

[Rick Reno]

Dan- You don’t need to explain $600!

Stratospire and Duplex are both now $700 and

[Erik H]

How about pricing on the standard xmid 1 and 2 models? Thanks

[theRVN]

Just saw the  PreOrder pricing. The 2P is still $300 but the 1P has been redesigned and is now $240.

 

 

[ian h]

I’m really close to deciding whether to try and buy the X-mid Pro2 when it comes out, but also tempted by the X-mid 2p, although i will probably wait for one with a solid inner. The whole concept is great, and i’m impressed by how much Dan cares about the fine details.

I live in North West England, so a major concern for me is condensation and the dreaded ‘midge’ flies, especially when visiting Scotland. I know the fine details of the tent aren’t out yet, but I’ve read that it is a single wall tent with sewn in floor. Does this mean that the inside will be completely sealed from insects outside once zipped up? Will the vents have ‘midge’ resistant mesh or just be completely open, as there will be no inner to protect you? Also, without having the added protection of an inner, how will it be affected by condensation with the vents fully open?

I realise there is a compromise to be made with such a light tent, but like i said, i live in North West England, so i can’t compromise too much.

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