Durston - X-Dome 1+

I’m 6’2” and I fit but just barely. I keep my pack in the vestibule portion. You could look at the Xmid-2 or the Xdome 1+ maybe but both weigh a bit more of course.

I set mine up and found 2 issues that I am sure can be resolved via a better pitch (I'm all ears): 1. When going outer-only, the tent loses tension when the door is unzipped and topples toward the door-side. 2. My inner is a little off the ground at the short end (too tight). Despite this, it is almost too-loosely attached to the stake point. I loved how easy it was to set up outer-first, love the magnetic toggles, and love the space. I'm sure my 2 issues will be resolved with some changes to the pitch.

Thanks for the fast/thorough answers here. Very interesting to hear about the relationship between the crossbar & the corners. I'll try out these adjustments! Even as a longtime dome tent user this one feels like a huge step forward.

I contacted Durston support and they said that actually staking the tent out (impossible in my basement ofc) will help to properly tension the fly and prevent the imbalances.

Second this. I have the 1+. Love it.

The first run of the X-Dome 2 probably is going to sell out fairly fast, but it won't be 3 minutes. That was during peak covid. I expect it'll last at least a day. The X-Dome 1+ a few months ago was about 2 days. One nice thing with the trekking pole implementation on the X-Dome is that the poles aren't simply vertical supports (which helps with snow loads) but they are counter balanced (angled against each other) so they are more stable for side to side forces like high winds too, and they directly support the sidewalls from deflection. Our video explains how this helps more. For Europe taxes, most of the tax is VAT which applies on any tent (purchased locally or abroad) and the difference is mostly that you pay it separately when buying abroad instead of it being included in a higher price. Europe also has a 12% duty on tents, which is similar where it applies to most tents and the difference is usually just whether it is included in a higher price or charged separately.

*"I was quite stoked about the X Dome 1+....unfortunately, I've seen a few reports on YouTube about snapped frames"* I think there is some misinformation going around on this, as aside from some glue issues on the aluminum inserts, the tent is working very well for an ultralight tent (e.g. we haven't seen a single report of a broken carbon tube aside when the tent is used properly). Most of the issues that people have had was from a production gluing issue at Easton. Easton has had some glue issues in their production process that has affected quite a few tent brands. If the glue is not properly applied, the aluminum inserts can slide out of position. If it slides all the way out then it needs to be reinstalled or the pole set can't be assembled. In one or two cases, the insert slid most of the way out of the way out so it was barely inserted in the tube and then it did split the end of the tube. Absolutely this is a serious issue, but it is a solveable production issue and not a fundamental weakness in the tent. We are 100% standing behind this and sending all the first batch owners a new pole set with improved gluing. In the last two months I have worked with Easton to improve their gluing process so it is much improved now with more glue and better spreading for a far better bond. This updated process will benefit our tents and tents from all brands using Easton. We are building those replacement pole sets now and will send them out to all current owners soon when they are ready. Aside from those glue issues, we are seeing good results with the pole sets. Lots of reports of the tent being used in verified 35-47 mph winds (60-75 km/hr). I don't want to oversell the tent because it is not a 4-season tent and not as sturdy as a Hilleberg, but I do think it offers high performance *for an ultralight freestanding tent* (e.g. I don't think another doublewall freestanding tent under 1kg could hold up to more but a 2kg tent certainly can). Aside from the glue issues, the only pole set breaks we have seen are from user error. I can think of one break that was due to an improperly applied oversized sleeve, and two breaks that were due to high winds when the tent was only partly assembled. In a video yesterday that you may have seen they mention the poles breaking, but the backstory is that the conditions were very severe and it was hit with a wind gust while the poleset was only partly assembled which ending up breaking an aluminum joint. For severe conditions there is greater skill requirements so you would want to be strategic in when/how/where you set it up and you would want the optional trekking pole supports installed. In this case, they had only one trekking pole and no guylines installed when they were hit by a big gust on the other side. It broke on the non-supported side (which they did not manually support while it was in that vulnerable state). Ways to avoid this would be solving it by adding weight (a stronger tent) or solving it with skill (e.g. waiting for a lull in the storm, finding a more sheltered site, manually supporting the tent while it is partly assemble, less vulnerable pitching sequence). I do want to be clear that is not as strong as a Hilleberg Soulo (which weighs twice as much) so it may not be the right tent if you want something with similar limits to the Soulo. The X-Dome certainly has lower limits than a 2kg Hilleberg and more skill is required if you are pushing those limits (e.g. pitching sequence, using guylines, site selection), but I do think it is working very well for what it is (an ultralight freestanding tent around 1kg). If you want a no-brainer good tent in severe conditions then a Hilleberg is great, whereas if you are willing to apply skill/technique to mitigate lower limits, then you can often save quite a bit of weight with the X-Dome.

Glad you're liking the tent. Yeah it's a palace :) Regarding the inner zippers, I have come to prefer a 90 degree corner (like the X-Mid Pro) over a curve because it is two actions instead of potentially one, but it will operate smoother without a curve and the curves are the largest contributor to zipper wear so it lasts longer, plus you always know exactly where the sliders are (instead of having to hunt for them in the dark). There is potentially a hole, but the sliders should close very close together (lots of tents do this) and there is the flap to cover. From here, adding the third zipper to open the small side of the door gives more options to access the vestibule but also doesn't need to be used (you could even take the cord off the slider if you don't think you'll use it). I am looking at color coding the cords so it is easier to identify the right one. Having the inner able to clip to both the fly and poles (for an inner only pitch) does leave those extra connections in the normal mode. It They are about 1.5g each, so it is about 20g on the tent. If they weren't attached then each one would be a separate part, so there would be \~10 little parts to keep track of. Glad the weight looks good. It seems like the first batch is slightly lighter than spec. That 1040g for a 'typical setup' is assuming 4 of the smaller stakes, so your 1085g with the 4 larger ones (16g ea) also included, should give about 1021g for just the 'typical setup or about 975-980g for just the tent.

FWIW, I am going to add a 'bikepacking' poleset in the spring that will pack to 12", so it will be able to pack horizontally with that.

Glad you're liking it. I am going to start color coding the 3 way interior zipper pulls (which is also an easy retrofit). What else would you like color coded? So the inner goes the right way?

The tent itself is quite compact, but the poles are a normal length around 18 inches. We are going to have a shorter bikepacking pole set in the spring that will be about 12 inches.

We are saving that spec for the launch, but 2P tents are typically 20 to 30% heavier than a one person tent, so somewhere in that range is a good guess

Yes they’ll fit

Yes it can pitch inner only to stargaze. We have a pic here: https://durstongear.com/products/x-dome-1-plus-ultralight-backpacking-tent The groundsheet is not required, but it is available for added protection

The X-Dome 2 is silpoly (vs DCF) and doublewall (vs singlewall) and more spacious, so it won't be as light. The X-Dome 1+ is about the same weight, but obviously the 2P version will weigh more.

We haven't seen an X-Dome 1+ break when it is assembled properly. The only "fails" are either improper assembly, or from a glue issue with the pole inserts. The most popular 'fail' video was someone who didn't do up all the clips on the poles - leaving the poles untensioned. This allowed the pole sections to disconnect, so there was essentially no structure to the pole set. They also tried to use the trekking pole supports but installed them wrong. With both of those issues together, the tent had almost no structure. This person did not realize this, so the tent was blamed but the actual cause was that the normal structure was not in place. Aside from that, there are a few videos that had breaks from a glue issue where the metal insert slid out of position leaving the pole was unsupported. That is a serious issue, which is why we worked with Easton to improve their glue process and then sent improved poles to everyone. With proper assembly, the tent is working very well. Ultimately it is a backpacking tent and not a mountaineering tent for severe conditions, so at some point it would break, but we've seen lots of reports of it handling verified 30-50 mph winds.

The ‘solid’ inners for our X-Mid have a panel of mesh (on the upper part of the doors) that can’t close, but with the X-Dome this mesh panel is accompanied by a second layer of solid material that can be closed to have it ‘full’ solid (no areas of exposed mesh). I don’t have a great photo of it, but [this shot](https://durstongear.com/cdn/shop/files/16_-_Durston_X-Dome_2_Ultraight_Tent_-_Solid_Inner_446.jpg?v=1757631867) shows it when the solid layer is shut behind the mesh

The short answer is that it is a combination of sewn on and zippers, and is included in the weight. The long answer is that the ‘flap’ of solid fabric is a triangle that is sewn along the bottom edge (permanently attached & part of the weight). So the bottom edge is ‘sealed’ such that any snow building up on the solid panel isn’t going to slide down into the tent. Then the other two sides are both sewn for the lowest 4-5” to further prevent wind blown snow from sneaking in, and this creates a pocket that the rest of the flap can be tucked into when it is open. Then above that, the side of the triangle along the main zipper has a zipper to zip shut. The zipper is not vertical, but angling over the flap, so it does a nice job of raising up the flap to cover the mesh. Operating the zipper is what closes the flap. As it does that, the final side near the top is pulled closed and sits shut with a bit of overlap. It is an overlap closure for the upper part of the ‘top’ side, such that the mesh is covered but the edge here is not ‘sealed’. We could’ve put another zipper here (or Velcro etc) but it’s at the top, sits shut nicely now, and is shielded by the fly. If it’s so windy it’s forcing snow through there, it’s probably not the right conditions for this tent anyways, but if a user wanted it would be easy to add a bit of velcro

Also look at the Naturehike cloud up 2. Usual price is about £100, but I picked mine up for under £70 on Ali express, but you can pay a bit more and get it on Amazon if you prefer. If you want a bit more space a mongar 2 is similar in terms of internal floor space but its walls are more vertical so there is more width up to the top of the tent and a usable awning on both sides of the tent. Either one is fine for doe I would have thought. If your budget can stretch a little there ar lightweight versions. Also check out a lanshan 1 or 2 if you use trekking poles. It’s not free standing so needs a bit more certainty when you pitch it but it’s very popular for a reason, the lightest variation is only single wall and can suffer from condensation. If you are going to keep using the tent and want to buy once the Durston x dome 1+ looks like a dream tent for that sort of trip. Weighing about 1 kg it pitches very quickly in one cycle with ground sheet, inner and fly connected if you want. Plenty of space inside for one, large vestibule. Not sure where you can source them from in uk though and the US price is $ 379 though to be fair that looks good value for what you get. Customs duty may bump this up further though.

I am now using the durston X dome 1. I really like it is still lightweight but you have a bit more room then in other tents.

Pretty consistent rain with minimal wind on my first use of the tent, so I don’t consider it to be extreme weather but definitely wet. The design obviously will keep you dry just by looking at it. You can kind of raise or lower the fly depending on if you want more ventilation or more protection from sideways rain. Still, the fly seems to sit far out away from the inner fly. Your first setup will be a bitch, so maybe practice first. Once you understand how to pitch it, it’s much easier and can be done in the rain without getting the inner tent even exposed to rain. The weird thing is I think you have to buy extra guy lines separately, as it only comes with two attached, so you might want to do that if you plan on crazy winds. However, there’s a lot of vids of it holding up well against strong winds. 

I personally just got the x dome 1+ and the major selling point for me is ease of setup and take down, sooo quick, and by strapping the poles outside I can pack the whole tent down half the size as advertised. It’s worth checking out.

Do you think you might slightly widen the narrow end to make both ends feel a bit more natural to place your head in for the June mesh inner batch? Also seen some users wanting their 30inch pads (Exped megamat, BA etc) to fit, in fact I would love to take my Exped Megamat 10W for a car camp in this tent. I also see that narrow end corner with cord pulling oddly to the 4th corner, never looks that neat in videos. I would love to see a bit of the vestibule space deleted for a slightly larger narrow end (which would then make it a more natural head end) and also support an inner only pitch on nicer nights with more 'head' end room (if ground dictated laying that direction) as there is no covered vestibule, just the pole of the 4th corner 'floating'.

Nice Dan! Thanks, it really is looking like a super sweet tent.

Durston X-Mid 1p, X-Mid Pro 1p with the nylon floor. If you want a free standing get the X-Dome 1p+ with the shorter bike pack poles. For the X-Mid if you don't travel with trekking poles you could use the Durston zFlicks carbon fiber support poles. Tarptent, Zpacks, Six Moon Designs and 3F UL Gear's trekking poles tents also have small pack sizes.

Marmot Tungsten, Naturehike Mongar 2p, Big Agnes Copper Spur, Durston X-Dome... Lots of great options out there. Get a tent with a mesh body, not a solid body, for summer. The Sundomes is a good tent but gets hot and doesn't air out as well as a higher grade shelter since it has mostly solid walls.