X-Dome 2 Solid

Maybe not relevant but I have a few tents all for backpacking. Tarptent hogback - circa 2kg used when 3 of us as a family go on a trip - the only light enough, big enough tent I could fine so imported it from the US. Xdome 2 for my kid and I - had it out a few times now. 2nd time out I managed to put my knee down on the bottom of the door while unzipping the fly (middle of the night pee and not careful enough) - zipper came clean off and the little bit of fabric above the zipper just ripped in two. Durston CS were good and shipped me a new fly at a discount very quickly but I feel, although it was my fault, it tore very easily. My 3rd tent is my Fjallraven Abisko Lite 3. About 50 nights in it now including high wind and heavy UK rain. It is a proper 4 season tent which the Xdome is not supposed to be. However, at 2kgs and easily sleeping2 wide mats, I trust it. It’s my go to tent and it’s so so stable in high wind. Never have to worry and I have not doubled poled it which it could do. I find tents have an unsaid trust score - my Fjallraven wind hands down. It’s not cheap and it’s a tunnel so not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s just solid. And light enough. Just my two cents worth.

Maybe not relevant but I have a few tents all for backpacking. Tarptent hogback - circa 2kg used when 3 of us as a family go on a trip - the only light enough, big enough tent I could fine so imported it from the US. Xdome 2 for my kid and I - had it out a few times now. 2nd time out I managed to put my knee down on the bottom of the door while unzipping the fly (middle of the night pee and not careful enough) - zipper came clean off and the little bit of fabric above the zipper just ripped in two. Durston CS were good and shipped me a new fly at a discount very quickly but I feel, although it was my fault, it tore very easily. My 3rd tent is my Fjallraven Abisko Lite 3. About 50 nights in it now including high wind and heavy UK rain. It is a proper 4 season tent which the Xdome is not supposed to be. However, at 2kgs and easily sleeping2 wide mats, I trust it. It’s my go to tent and it’s so so stable in high wind. Never have to worry and I have not doubled poled it which it could do. I find tents have an unsaid trust score - my Fjallraven wind hands down. It’s not cheap and it’s a tunnel so not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s just solid. And light enough. Just my two cents worth.

I have both the Portal 2 and the X-dome 2. My experiences: - The Portal 2 is not a 2 person tent as it is too narrow to fit two pads where one or both are wider than 20”. - The X-dome 2 feels even roomier than its dimensions suggest. - The X-dome 2 sets up fly first and is more flexible in its set up. - Both handle rain and condensation as well as any double walled tent. - The Portal 2 is more resilient in high winds due to its lower profile but if you are beyond the capabilities of an X-dome 2 you are in some truly apocalyptic weather, and you need to be a pro at site selection/guy lines - Neither have a place in an ultralight kit unless you are constantly camping in places where the hassle of setting up a freestanding tent outweighs the extra couple of pounds For my solo Patagonia and Iceland trips I brought the Portal 2; for camping in the Canadian Rockies with my wife I bring the X-dome 2. For camping in any other situation I bring a Xmid pro.

This is inaccurate. Ultralight does not mean making these sacrifices. There are well designed and poorly designed ultralight tents, though there are fewer and fewer poorly designed products given how few customers there are and the amount of research a typical consumer does. Modern fabrics have absurd strength for their weight. Modern ultralight tents can be as feature rich, weather resistant, well ventilated and roomy as a heavier tent. Compare the Xdome and Tarptent dipole with a heavier tent; there is no trade off other than cost (and in the case of the xdome, even that isn’t true).

This is super helpful! The width issue with Portal 2 is a big deal since OP specifically mentioned wanting more space than their current tent. Two 25" pads definitely wont fit comfortably in a narrow tent. X-dome's fly-first setup is also clutch for rainy conditions in Europe. Thx for the real world comparision!

Thats true, cheap tents waterproofing doesn’t hold up to extended periods of rain, but a good tent might go 10 years or more. REI has the Mountainsmith Cottonwood 6p for $220 in their outlet which means you can get an additional 20% off if you are a member. That a great price at $176, and much better then a Coleman in terms of quality (good waterproofing and aluminum poles). Then you can get a higher end backpacking tent for yourself. The Nemo Dragonfly mentioned earlier is 30% off at several online retailers. 3P is plenty of room for two adults, though I’d still get the 2p and make your friends get their own tent. Or for a little more money get the Durston X Dome 2P w/ Aluminum poles.

The X-Dome is commonly recommended because it’s the lightest freestanding tent on the market when equipped with the carbon poles while still being spacious. Their 2P actually fits two, so you’d have to compare that with many other 3P tents which makes the weight really stand out. Personally I’m not a fan of Carbon poles as they seem more fragile than aluminum and am ok with a little extra weight. Fortunately Durston sells the tent with aluminum poles now. The 2p is still about 6-7oz lighter then the Nemo Dragonfly 3P with aluminum poles but a bit more expensive then the current sale price of the Dragonfly. Personally I’d go with the Dragonfly since it’s on sale. Also the OSMO fabric is supposed to have very long lasting waterproofing. It’s too new to be sure (came out in 2022 I think) but I’d guess these tents will go 10+ years typically before re-waterproofing. The fabric is also a big reason why I’d choose that over MSR, BA etc. I hate tents that sag and most manufacturers use nylon which sags. Nylon also absorbs water which makes packing it up really messy if the fly is still wet. OSMO and Poly fly’s (Durston uses poly, as does Mountainsmith) can be shaken dry before you put it away.

Ill get bashed for suggesting it, but if the ordering wait isnt an issue (around a month) The X-Dome 2 from Durston is $480 and much lighter. I get not caring about if your ultralight, but if there are no clear downsides to going lighter, why not? Price is less then the hubba hubba and marginally more then the hornet, and living space is the same. (32sq ft for the Durston and MSR, 27.5 for the NEMO) So if price is the same, living space is the same, and it weighs much less, why not?

Not that the option is bad, just saying its better is bad. Just throw in abit of stats and reasoning and suddenly its alot more attractive

Recently I have finally received Durston X-Dome 2. Very happy with it: palace inside, 2 entances & vestibules, freestanding, total weight <1.5kg, light poly so no sag in a bigger rain, short very packable poles that fit nicely in a backpack / moto bag. There is an option for solid interior for windy weather.

I also enjoyed Mongar 2 as a not expensive but quite roomy tent for backpacking. Recently update to x-dome 2 and I enjoy it - even more spacious, still has 2 entraces & vestibules and is over 1kg lighter (I had mongar polyester 240 version).

If you are interested I do have a durston x dome 2 and a Xmid 1 that I would be willing to sell together. Both used once. And includes groundsheets and a spare inner for the x dome 2

Durston tents are great value but nature hike also have some great budget options that are more traditional in setup.