I’ve liked mine. Echoing what others have said: does take some practice to get a feel for how to set up. Pole height and angle really affects the bathtub floor. Condensation (though it is a single wall tent. Gonna have that with any single wall.). I always use my second trekking pole to pull out the head end and if I’m feeling motivated find a stick to pull out the foot end. Interior space is good for a one person tent. For me it’s my fair-weather tent. If I were going somewhere with a lot of rain and/or wind I’d use something different. I have a xmid 1P but for me it’s too small.
towards the end in a larger group I was skinny pitching my 1p durston and both 2p tents in my group had 2 people in them just to fit in tent sites. honestly 2p solo tents in some of the sites on this trail felt like a selfish move. if you fit in a 1p, you aren't spending enough time in it to need extra space, save the weight.
except the very very tall, solo 2p durston owners seemed to agree it was a little ridiculous to hog that kind of real estate. it was usually their first ul tent. 1p durston owners should all know how to skinny pitch. for one thing, it saves you when your door zippers start to go.
in bad weather, 1p let me sneak off to a tiny wind protected ledge and have a peaceful night. 2p would have been stuck w the brunt of the wind up on the ridge spots established by fair weather weekenders....
I have the xmid 2 and xmid1pro. I used my 1p on my thru last year.
Condensation is not a big issue on the PCT but space is. Although you can find a spot to pitch a 2p xmid , you may be look for awhile.
The xmid 2p is huge. Another 2p tent such as a Nemo, big Agnes , are much smaller than the. Xmid and would be much easier to find a place to pitch.
To sum.it up. If using an xmid i highly recommend a 1p. If using another brand of tent I recommend a 2p.
I have used the Durston original Xmid 1 on two long AT section hikes (112 miles and 250 miles). It’s an incredible tent for the value and weight (only $200 when I bought mine), especially for being double walled.
Just prior to those hikes I completed two thru hikes using a Tarptent Moment DW and loved this tent. It’s my favorite tent of all time and have owned 2 versions over the last 10 years. I would highly recommend looking at Tarptent as they have several tents in non DCF that might be more budget friendly but still offer a great low weight and space ratio.
I have a love/hate relationship with trekking pole tents. I love that they generally reduce the weight of a tent but I hate the fiddle factor, amount of stakes for a good pitch, and area of ground needed for most trekking pole tents. I have used trekking pole tents from Zpacks, Lightheart Gear, Six Moon Designs, and Tarptent as well. In my opinion, the Durston sets up the quickest and has the least amount of fiddle factor.
My Moment DW set up with 2 stakes in a minute and had a more narrow profile that allowed me to sneak into some areas my Durston wouldn’t have worked in. I also like the ability to change the floor size and the variety of ventilation options the tent provided at only a penalty of 6 ounces more than the Durston. I believe the newer version of the Durston is even lighter.
Edit: you don’t need the solid inner of the Durston unless you’re starting in January.
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