MASSDROP X DAN DURSTON X-MID 1P TENT

[KyleR1985]

I’ve been messing with this tent for the last few days. If you’re under 6’3, and not super wide, this thing is jam up.

I have a protrail, and a silex, and this thing kicks their butts in setup time. Both of those shelters are really quick and easy to set up. But this is another level.

I went ahead and bought a second one off of a fellow who didn’t care for it so I have a spare.

I will probably keep the silex through this season, but likely will be selling if this pans out like I think it will. The silex has slightly more room for gear(it’s truly a 1.5 person), but all of my stuff fits easily under the x-mid. Protrail simply offered ease of setup, more room to wiggle around inside of bug proof, but no room for gear. The x-mid is roughly same weight as protrail and is much better for my needs. Protrail will be getting sold.

you won’t be holding a dance party in the nest, it’s made for sleeping or sitting up to eat. But it’s super easy to unclip and slide out of the way if you want to hang out and don’t worry about bugs.

It’s a million degrees and a million percent humidity around here these days. So I was sweating and getting eaten alive setting them all up. I noticed a significant improvement in airflow with the built in vents on the x-mid over the silex. The protail does ok with both ends open. It’s nice to be able to open or close the x-mid vents from inside or out.

I was initially concerned about fit - I’m 6’3 and 200lbs. But I’m fairly narrow with a big butt and legs. I fit just fine.

it is truly a well thought out design. And a hell of a value at 200.00, assuming it holds up well. It seems to be very well made.

the only change I could come up with is potentially making the thing out of DCF.

 

[Sammymusi]

I got mine is as well i havent had time to mess with it but im excited about it !

 

[TonySkyline]

Just got mine yesterday. Havent opened it yet as I doubt I'm still going out West this year now with quarantine requirements in NY and my job. Blows dead goat. I'll probably take it up North in a couple weeks to the Adirondacks and give it some use.

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[turley]

the only change I could come up with is potentially making the thing out of DCF.

I believe Dan Durston is currently working on a DCF version.....
I’ve been using the X-Mid 1P for most of this year and it’s a very well thought out design.

 

[TonySkyline]

Sorry to sound dumb but what is DCF? Just a different material?

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[Split toe]

Sorry to sound dumb but what is DCF? Just a different material?

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Dyneema composite fabric. The material the tent is made of. Much lighter.

 

[turley]

DCF (Dyneema Composite Fabric) used to be know as Cuben Fiber.
It not only is lighter than silnylon but has a better hydrostatic head (more waterproof) and does not sag when it becomes damp or wet (no need to retention lines).
The only negative of DCF is it is not as abrasion resistant as silnylon....but it is easily patched in the field using DCF repair tape.

 

[Jahvette20]

You won’t regret the purchase. It’s been my go to solo tent for the past year

 

[Sammymusi]

Are you guys using trek poles or did you get specific poles for the tent ?

 

[KyleR1985]

Are you guys using trek poles or did you get specific poles for the tent ?

trekking poles but I have a set of carbon poles for silex too that will work with it. They’re a little long so it’s not the perfect pitch but still work fine.

the way this shelter sets up, an adjustable pole is key. It’s designed around that feature.

 

[turley]

Adjustable trekking poles

 

[Sammymusi]

ok thats my plan just wanted to make sure I have all the recon covered !

 

[ElectricJellyfish]

I just received mine from the last run on Drop. I love my Half Dome 2 Plus, but this thing saves a ton of weight and space. I'm going to miss the room of a 2P tent, and I might get in on the current X-Mid 2P run before it ends in a month, but the vestibules are big enough to make it a non issue for the most part. I haven't been able to get a perfect pitch though. I always end up with loose side walls even if I'm making as perfect of a rectangle as I can and I'm snugging down the corners before I insert the poles (Gossamer Gear LT5s if anybody was curious). I'm going to practice a lot more before my next backpacking trip, but if anybody has any tips that have helped them get a consistently good pitch, I'd love to know.

 

[turley]

I'm sure you've seen this but I found them helpful....if you hit the tab that says "pitching" it has some good instructions and a nice video

X-Mid 1

The X-Mid 1 has been developed from the first principles of geometry to achieve the most weight efficient, simple to use, and stormworthy design. The result is a double wall tent that weighs just 28 oz (795 g) and has become one of the most awarded tents in recent years.

durstongear.com

 

[ElectricJellyfish]

I'm sure you've seen this but I found them helpful....if you hit the tab that says "pitching" it has some good instructions and a nice video

X-Mid 1

The X-Mid 1 has been developed from the first principles of geometry to achieve the most weight efficient, simple to use, and stormworthy design. The result is a double wall tent that weighs just 28 oz (795 g) and has become one of the most awarded tents in recent years.

durstongear.com

I have, and honestly I should practice more before looking for tips and tricks. I think I need to take more time to make sure the rectangle is as square as possible instead of having a "good enough" mentality.

 

[turley]

After the base is a good rectangle and taut (took me a bit to visualize it correctly) the X-Mid sets up very quickly and easily. I use the Gossamer Gear LT4s....the two piece version before the LT5s.

 

[dandurston]

It's already been mentioned, but I'll elaborate a bit more on why you want to stake the base tight in addition to getting the rectangle reasonably accurate.

Imagine if you staked out a rectangle that is accurate (e.g. nice 90 degree corners) but way too small (e.g. 2' x 1'). If you then tried to extend the poles until the fly limits their height, they would extend a lot higher than normal until finally they'd run out of loose fabric. As you can imagine, the sides of the tent would be very loose because the tent is the wrong shape (much too tall but with tiny base).

If you pitched it like this, noticed the sides were loose and then realized it's because you staked the base way too small, you might think "well I'll just re-stake the corners out further". The problem is that you can't because you over extended those poles, which has pulled the corner seams tight so you can't move the stakes out. The only way you can re-stake them further is if you first lower the poles. That's the correct thing to do. If you lowered the poles down to the correct height, that would free up enough slack to stake the corners out at the proper distance giving you the proper shape with tight sides.

The same thing is happens if you stake out a loose base because it is just a less extreme version of this example (e.g. the base is a bit too small instead of a lot). In this scenario, your poles over extend by a few inches such that the shape is a bit wrong (too tall, small base) which gives loose sides. And again you can't pull the sides tighter by re-staking or using the corner tensioners because that corner seams are already tight. The way to solve loose sides is to shorten the poles by a few inches, which will let you tighten things up at the corners including pulling the sides tighter. You don't need to measure them vs the spec or anything. Just make them 2-4" shorter, which will let you tighten the corners up to pull the sides tighter.

Of course the ideal solution is to not have this problem in the first place. A tightly staked rectangle will limit the poles to the proper height, such that you can simply extend them until taut and you're good. Taut poles are good, but don't go crazy because if you crank it super tight that will stretch the tent a bit taller which can put you back to a bit of looseness on the sides. The best approach is to stake your accurate rectangle, pull it nice and tight with the tensioners, extend the poles until taut, and then finish with a final round of tightening around the 4 corners.

All of that is nothing specific to the X-Mid, but would apply to pretty much all trekking pole shelters were the recommended pitching method involves staking the base first. Hypothetically you could pitch it another way (e.g. stake one end and then establish the ridgeline) but it would be harder (you'd be measuring pole heights, estimate funky ridgeline angle etc) and less suited to setup in high winds.

 

[ElectricJellyfish]

Woah, I did not think Dan himself would be on Rokslide. I appreciate the info Dan which I'm sure you've explained hundreds of times. I definitely think my issue is overextending the poles. It seems like I'm staking out a decent rectangle, but I'm so fixated on getting the poles as tall as possible because I think that's what will get everything nice and tight. Thanks for explaining how that's not the case to a non engineer over here. I did think to myself that I seemed like the height to base ratio was off (too tall in relation to base in comparison to pictures I've seen online). This also explains why my inner tent was floating off the ground a decent amount. I'll give a go tomorrow keeping in mind what you said and report back. Thanks again.

 

[ElectricJellyfish]

So, I did find some success pitching the tent today. Still not perfect, but my last pitch was the closest I've gotten to everything being nice and tight. The ridge line still seems loose, but from the pictures it looks like there's supposed to be a slight downward slope so maybe that's a non issue? Below is my current method for pitching the tent along with some notes:

1) With all four line locks loosened all the way, I stake the tent into the most accurate rectangle I can. I stake them taught but not tight so there's some metaphorical breathing room for the line. Almost all of the time, at least one line is not pulling straight out in relation to the corner of the fly. As in it's at a slight angle inwards or outwards of the corner. The rectangle *looks* good despite this, but should I be aiming to stake all four corners straight out?
2) I tighten all four corners. I don't crank down as hard as I can, just until I feel some good resistance.
3) I insert the poles and extend until taught. Now, the pictures say 116cm, but I know that I'm extending my poles taller than that. Probably closer to ~125cm. I know there's some wiggle room around the 116cm, but should I be tightening the base more before inserting the poles?
4) I go around and further tighten the four corners.

The results vary most definitely because of how I'm staking the tent, but I was happy to feel like I improved at getting a good pitch.

 

[dandurston]

Glad things are improving. A few comments:
- With regard to your #1, yes aiming for the cords to be straight out from the corners is ideal but it's not too picky on this.
- 125cm is too long. 120cm is about the max for a good pitch. If you are setting the cords longer at the corners the whole thing will pitch higher (and vice versa), it does vary from 115 - 120cm.
- The ridgeline will have a slight dip due to the "catenary cut" but it shouldn't be loose. If the ridgeline is loose, you can use the peak guylines as a stop-gap measure to tighten it, but the better solution is to loosen the two corners that are perpendicular to the ridgeline, which will allow you to pull the other two corners off the end of the ridgeline tighter to snug up the ridgeline. There is a video showing this here: