Has anyone tried a Durston tent?

[bf1002]

Came across this tent brand and was wondering if anyone had any experience with it? Seems to be reasonably priced and very lightweight. Wondering if it is a good deal or too good to be true?

Durston Gear | X-Mid Tents

Our premium X-Mid tents are developed to be stormworthy, simple and highly user friendly while pushing the limits of ultralight. These tents are perhaps the most highly awarded line of tents in recent years and are among the most popular tents on challenging long trails.

durstongear.com

 

[DoubleAron]

They are really popular in the backpacking/through hiking realm. Never used one but lots of reviews around.

 

[keakakea]

I just got a X-Mid 2 Solid. Used it a couple nights this year, it's definitely different, my first non free standing tent. I don't use trekking poles as I usually camp off my motorcycle so I got the z Flick poles with it. I will say the footprint of the tent is pretty big, you have to find a larger than normal spot to pitch it. I like it, lots of vestibule space and fairly quick to learn to put up after a couple tries.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

Love it. I have X-Mid 2 solid - its great, lightweight and has tons of room. Only issue is the large footprint. I've been thinking of getting the 1 person tent because that 2P could be considered an excessive amount of room for one person with hunting gear. There is a slight weight benefit to going to the 1P or 1Ppro but, I really thought that I could put the 1P into tighter places which could be helpful at times.

I've used it in windy and cold conditions and it worked great. It held sturdy to the wind and rain (maybe more sturdy than other tents). You can hear the wind and rain hitting the walls but It doesn't seem to flap around like my buddy's tents. I managed to sleep better than they did. I've had it in the snow but only up during a light snowstorm before (about 1.5 to 2.5 inches), and worked great. I have no idea how it would react to a snow dump of a foot or more but I suspect that it would perform well.

I don't really have an excessive condensation issue with this tent even though it's the solid version. There are vents and large doors to help with airflow.

It doesn't get water logged and heavy like nylon tents tend to after snowy or wet conditions. You have two doors which aid in ventilation and seems to be fancy compared to other lightweight tents. Other hunters with small lightweight tents were a bit envious of the two doors for some reason.

Pic on a sunny day in ID to give you an idea of the foot print and roominess. Sorry there's no gear in the pic, it's all in the tent.




On this trip

Shelter	X-mid 2 - Trekking pole tent (Fly)	21.00 oz
Shelter	X-mid 2 - Trekking pole tent (Inner solid)	15.50 oz oz
Shelter	Tent Stuff Sack	0.50 oz
Shelter	tent stakes	0.42 oz
Shelter	stake sack	0.20 oz
Tent poles	Gossamer Gear three section poles
Additional Stakes	MSR Groundhog Stakes
Trekking Poles	Sissy Stix	17.00 oz
Sleeping Bag	EMS Mountain Light 20 Sleeping Bag Regular (comfort rating 27deg, Limit Rating 15 deg, Extreme Rating -15 deg	40.00 oz
Sleeping Pad	Nemo Tensoner Sleeping Pad Reg Wide, R-value 3.5 14oz	14.00 oz
Ground Sheet	Tyvek

 

[bucdoego]

You might be interested...

 

[maconbacon]

Interesting tents, but from a Birds Eye view they don’t seem to offer anything more (and are much heavier) than seek outside trekking pole tents

 

[Elkmagnet]

Interesting tents, but from a Birds Eye view they don’t seem to offer anything more (and are much heavier) than seek outside trekking pole tents

If i remember correctly the Xmid 1 is about 5 oz lighter than a silex 1 xl with a nest and a couple cubic feet bigger. It actually has a lot of usable space because of the pole location and is much easier to get into.
Nothing wrong with SO either

 

[Elkmagnet]

Durston is also half the price!

 

[maconbacon]

If i remember correctly the Xmid 1 is about 5 oz lighter than a silex 1 xl with a nest and a couple cubic feet bigger. It actually has a lot of usable space because of the pole location and is much easier to get into.
Nothing wrong with SO either

This is true, but I don’t typically run a nest so that cuts the weight almost in half. Are the nests removable on the Durstons?

 

[Islander]

This is true, but I don’t typically run a nest so that cuts the weight almost in half. Are the nests removable on the Durstons?

Yes, so a giant outer is 20 oz, 26.5 if you use his poles instead of trekking poles. 4 stakes and it's up. 2 more and you have 2 huge vestibules.

 

[bf1002]

Love it. I have X-Mid 2 solid - its great, lightweight and has tons of room. Only issue is the large footprint. I've been thinking of getting the 1 person tent because that 2P could be considered an excessive amount of room for one person with hunting gear. There is a slight weight benefit to going to the 1P or 1Ppro but, I really thought that I could put the 1P into tighter places which could be helpful at times.

I've used it in windy and cold conditions and it worked great. It held sturdy to the wind and rain (maybe more sturdy than other tents). You can hear the wind and rain hitting the walls but It doesn't seem to flap around like my buddy's tents. I managed to sleep better than they did. I've had it in the snow but only up during a light snowstorm before (about 1.5 to 2.5 inches), and worked great. I have no idea how it would react to a snow dump of a foot or more but I suspect that it would perform well.

I don't really have an excessive condensation issue with this tent even though it's the solid version. There are vents and large doors to help with airflow.

It doesn't get water logged and heavy like nylon tents tend to after snowy or wet conditions. You have two doors which aid in ventilation and seems to be fancy compared to other lightweight tents. Other hunters with small lightweight tents were a bit envious of the two doors for some reason.

Pic on a sunny day in ID to give you an idea of the foot print and roominess. Sorry there's no gear in the pic, it's all in the tent.

View attachment 350341


On this trip

Shelter	X-mid 2 - Trekking pole tent (Fly)	21.00 oz
Shelter	X-mid 2 - Trekking pole tent (Inner solid)	15.50 oz oz
Shelter	Tent Stuff Sack	0.50 oz
Shelter	tent stakes	0.42 oz
Shelter	stake sack	0.20 oz
Tent poles	Gossamer Gear three section poles
Additional Stakes	MSR Groundhog Stakes
Trekking Poles	Sissy Stix	17.00 oz
Sleeping Bag	EMS Mountain Light 20 Sleeping Bag Regular (comfort rating 27deg, Limit Rating 15 deg, Extreme Rating -15 deg	40.00 oz
Sleeping Pad	Nemo Tensoner Sleeping Pad Reg Wide, R-value 3.5 14oz	14.00 oz
Ground Sheet	Tyvek

Thank you for the information. One of the things I was concerned about was condensation. Appreciate it.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

Interesting tents, but from a Birds Eye view they don’t seem to offer anything more (and are much heavier) than seek outside trekking pole tents

They are different tents for different things I think. Lots of useable space in the x mid, very wind and weather resistant but not for a hot stove. You can just use the outer tent and get even more room.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

This is true, but I don’t typically run a nest so that cuts the weight almost in half. Are the nests removable on the Durstons?

yes

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

When comparing tents, I think the other thing to think about is the additional weight when wet, with nylon shelters. The nylon tents get heavy where the polyester tents are hydrophobic. Polyester tents won't absorb water and weigh you down or sag. They say that the nylon is more tear resistant than polyester but I don't think it would be enough of a difference that you would notice in real world use.