X-Mid 1 Solid

I have an elixir 2 and hubba nx 1 and rarely use them. Subpar tents where you’re paying for the brand name. I have a xmid 1 solid which I much prefer but it’s by no means a 4 season tent. Maybe look at the new Fjern Stormgrotta when it’s back in stock. It looks like it can take a beating and you can’t beat it for £160.

Xmids are extremely easy to pitch. Watch the Dan Durston pitching video on YouTube, it’s very versatile. If you pitch it square and taut it’s pretty sturdy, I’ve camped above treeline in torrential rain and it’s held up perfectly with a little seepage through the zipper. For stuff like summit camps i would use a sturdier 4 season tent though. It can be pitched inner only with the stargazer kit.

I was lucky and found a hubba 1p on clearance for £100 at go outdoors. It’s a decent tent but there’s no way I would pay full price for it. I massively prefer my x-mid

In the first 700 miles of the PCT the bugs aren’t too bad, so you could use just the fly with a ground sheet, but it is sandy sometimes so the interior can be nice. The regular interior is much more popular on the PCT and works well, but certainly people do use the solid as well. I would only opt for the solid if you are quite a cold sleeper.

What you'll probably find is that if an interior is 100% solid then it gets pretty stuffy and humid in there sometimes. This is why most pure solid tents will have mesh windows. Having windows and zippers adds weight though, so most ultralight focused tents will probably just have a mesh panel. On our X-Mid Solid the mesh is just the top half of the door (for fresh air) and then everything else is solid. As you move into a bit heavier tents you do start to get the option to fully close it up.

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

Yeah I could also provide you pictures of it pitched with the inner of it helps. It works great as a winter tarp in anything other than wind blown snow. As you can see in the video I managed to completely close up the front with a tarp but it isn’t the roomiest tarp to spend a lot of time under. It does shed snow pretty well and weighs around 300 grams without stakes so it is a great option for lightweight winter trips. I have upgraded my winter shelter last year to the x-mid 1p solid outer and I couldn’t be happier. It is a palace in winter and you can easily sit up inside and sleep without worrying about touching the sides. It does need a bigger footprint though and the four corner stakes need to be kind of Bomber if you really want to tighten it down.

I have the durston x mid 1 solid. I’m 6’2” and fit comfortably in it while backpacking for a week in The Tetons out in Wyoming. It was the only trip I’ve taken with it, but it was light and easy to setup/take down and pack.

I setup the tent this afternoon. My feet barely touching the tent, i had about 6” of space above my head. I think you’d be fine. It might be tight, but layout the specs on the floor with tape. That’s what i did prior to buying.

I have a Durston X-Mid 1 Solid, packs very small. 26x15 cm, with good headroom and comfort.

The Solid is unnecessary for the AT. I got a X-Mid 1 Solid for hiking in New Zealand this year from January to June (I did the South Island Te Araroa and a bunch of shorter hikes). It was particularly lovely for fall/early winter in New Zealand, but I think you'll appreciate more mesh for hiking the US East Coast from spring to fall. It gets hot and humid on the AT and you'll want as much ventilation as you can get. The X-Mid 1 is quite spacious! I'm 5'6"/150 lb and the tent has SO much room for activities. Unfortunately that does mean it has a larger footprint than a lot of single-person tents. Its size felt like its main drawback, because the space for camping along the TA (or the AT) is sometimes very limited, especially if you're in the bubble. I'm a big fan of the tent. I love that I can set it up with just five stakes most of the time (4 for the corners and 1 for the door that I'm going to use), but I can also use like 20 stakes in super high wind (holy shit is New Zealand windy). I love that the rain-fly goes up first and comes down last, which means that my stuff doesn't all get soaked if I'm making or breaking camp in the rain. The tent inner was fantastic to keep the sandflies off in New Zealand and will do wonders to keep mosquitoes away in the US. It works better than most tents above treeline, but it certainly doesn't work anywhere near as well as a proper mountaineering tent for high wind. This definitely isn't a concern for the AT, but it's something to keep in mind. Have a great hike!

The Solid is unnecessary for the AT. I got a X-Mid 1 Solid for hiking in New Zealand this year from January to June (I did the South Island Te Araroa and a bunch of shorter hikes). It was particularly lovely for fall/early winter in New Zealand, but I think you'll appreciate more mesh for hiking the US East Coast from spring to fall. It gets hot and humid on the AT and you'll want as much ventilation as you can get. The X-Mid 1 is quite spacious! I'm 5'6"/150 lb and the tent has SO much room for activities. Unfortunately that does mean it has a larger footprint than a lot of single-person tents. Its size felt like its main drawback, because the space for camping along the TA (or the AT) is sometimes very limited, especially if you're in the bubble. I'm a big fan of the tent. I love that I can set it up with just five stakes most of the time (4 for the corners and 1 for the door that I'm going to use), but I can also use like 20 stakes in super high wind (holy shit is New Zealand windy). I love that the rain-fly goes up first and comes down last, which means that my stuff doesn't all get soaked if I'm making or breaking camp in the rain. The tent inner was fantastic to keep the sandflies off in New Zealand and will do wonders to keep mosquitoes away in the US. It works better than most tents above treeline, but it certainly doesn't work anywhere near as well as a proper mountaineering tent for high wind. This definitely isn't a concern for the AT, but it's something to keep in mind. Have a great hike!

I completely agree. For me personally, I don’t need more than the X-Mid 1 Solid for 3 season hiking in the UK.

I for one love my X-Mid, and have used it all over the UK, including many summit camps. I would argue it’s weight, livability, and weather resistance make it an ideal ‘thru hike’ tent. I have a DCF pyramid as well, and while it’s both much lighter and better in wind, it doesn’t stand a chance vs. my X-Mid when it comes to rain/condensation and long term livability.

Just to give what seems to be a contrarian opinion: I have nothing but great experiences with my X-Mid 1 Solid all over the UK. If you pitch the fly without a gap (this is important), and use guy lines on the mid panels, it can withstand a lot more than you’d think! I got stuck right on top of a cliff on the SWCP when an Atlantic storm made landfall. Yes, it was loud. No, I didn’t sleep. But the tent stood its ground, which really is quite amazing for this weight and price. I wouldn’t seek out a storm with it, but it’s an ideal tent for a UK long distance walk for sure.