Durston - X-Mid Pro 2

X-Mid 2. Ridiculously good value (even being the most expensive on the list) and lighter than the other options. I got the Pro 2 for the AT later this year and the amount of room, ease of setup etc. is awesome, though the Pro is... not cheap. It hurt... but it won't hurt my back!

I'm about to take the Pro 2 on the AT. If you ventilate well with a good pitch, condensation is minimised and it's super light, plus it's big enough I'm not in any danger of brushing against the sides anyway. All Durston tents get massively glowing reviews and for good reason.

I've seen quite a few your height-gifted fellow hikers extolling the virtues of the internal room. Being aggressively average in height myself, I have a ridiculous amount of room!

As someone who is 6’ 10”. I have the Xmid pro 2 and it’s a game changer. I finally can fit without needing to curl up. I had the BA copper spur UL2 prior and it was ok but the xmid is another level.

I have a hornet 2p and while I liked it (I def wouldn’t go with the hornet 1p) I didn’t like the way it sagged when wet. Note the hornet is semi free standing so still an issue on rocky ground. I’ve since used a Durston Xmid pro 2 as it’s so light and roomy but it’s also pricy and needs a lot of space to pitch. My next tent will be the Durston Xdome 1+. Doesn’t sag, has lots of room but less than the Xmid , proper freestanding and a good price. I’ll use that for a while before decide whether or not to sell the Xmid.

I only used Durston but it is not free standing (the one I used) and in very windy Utah wild areas and by the California beach winds, it was untouchable. But I have used a hammer and stronger stakes than the ones they offer (the lightweight ones bend). I have XMidPro2 and 2+ (but it is one piece), here is the two part - XMid 2 - they updated it even more, not much more heavier than the pro2, but again they use trekking poles and I used rocks on the flaps during very heavy storms. Lol. I don't know how to use the storm lines yet. They send them with tent but I never learned how to use it. Though, at 300 price tag and below 2.5 pounds and the space inside, you may wanna check, got my comment removed for link, so had to remove the link. For hammer in hard soils, I used MSR mountaineering one, the link doesn't go through, sorry!

Durston is my vote! I got two tents from them, was thinking to resell one but thinking to keep it if my son starts hiking on his own, so he can keep it. I want to buy the nylon one (two wall tent) next. It would be better for the winter than the one wall tent (XMidPro) that I have I think. But, the quality of their products is great! If the shipping/fees isn't too bad, consider it.

Second Durston. They could even go to for the nylon tent that is around half the price point of the dyneema tent. I have both: xmid2pro and xmid2+pro and the 2+ is roomier like you said and it is really roomy for two people with wide pads and two big backpacks and some. I slept in it on a campground in Canada through a week of rain by the lake and all stuff fitted in it. I haven't tested much in mountains except in Rockies at ~8k elevation and it was great. I am not able to give any good comparison though as I only used the two tents and even solo camping, I prefer the 2+ one.

Second Durston. They could even go to for the nylon tent that is around half the price point of the dyneema tent. I have both: xmid2pro and xmid2+pro and the 2+ is roomier like you said and it is really roomy for two people with wide pads and two big backpacks and some. I slept in it on a campground in Canada through a week of rain by the lake and all stuff fitted in it. I haven't tested much in mountains except in Rockies at ~8k elevation and it was great. I am not able to give any good comparison though as I only used the two tents and even solo camping, I prefer the 2+ one.

I own a Copper Spur 2p. For two it is just too small at 28 square feet. Not bad for a weekend but it got to feeling cramped after a while. An XMid is 32 square feet and you can feel the difference in a larger tent. The silpoly doesn’t absorb as much water as silnylon and it handles rough weather well. Be careful of the Pro 2p (the Durston I own). It is smaller than the standard XMid and gets to feeling cramped with two after a few months on trail. I kept mine (instead of selling it) because it is an excellent tent and I have relatives it is perfect for. Satisfaction surveys on long trails are interesting. It is how I got into a Copper Spur. Btw, there is a larger 3p Copper Spur and couples like it better than the 2p. I haven’t tried it. I wish you well with your choices. One thing that might make a difference is how far you hike when you take your trips (distance and time). Livability for a week is different than the same for months. I found 28 square foot tents were ok in time periods under a week.

I have hiked with: REI Half Dome. Too heavy but free standing and plenty of room for two. Probably 90 miles with it. A couple discontinued tents. About forty-fifty miles with them. A Big Agnes Copper Spur. The 2p gets feeling cramped for two after a while. About 1,200’miles on the AT with it. A triplex. Great tent, especially with the pole caps. Finished the AT and did a good part of the PCT with it. XMid Pro 2. It is smaller than the XMid 2 and gets to feeling crowded after a while—which is why they brought out the 2+. Great for one person though. Did more of the PCT and part of the Oregon Coast Trail with it. Off-set Trio. My wife and I will be back on the trail in a couple weeks with it. 43 square feet. It is a palace. Almost 2,000 miles with it, mostly on the CDT.

If you’re comfortable with a trekking pole tent, get the xmid 2. It is a fantastic tent for the money and you won’t feel like you need to upgrade later.

I have a xmid pro 2 and love it. It’s super light, really spacious, storm worthy, and easy to set up. However, it’s a pretty big footprint, so may not be your best bet if you’re dealing with small campsites.

While I sort of agree as a xmid pro owner, not everyone wants to spent $800 on a tent. And some use cases favor a free or semi-freestanding tent. OP didn’t give us much info to go one for advice here.

No worries. This helps! Based on what you said, I think you maybe should consider a xmid. Seems like you’ll save weight and potentially money over the nemo or BA. The xmids are super solid, so don’t worry about them feeling unstable, even in wind (exception might be somewhere crazy windy like Patagonia. If I was planning a trip there, I’d probably buy an xdome). And they are honestly easier/quicker to pitch than a tent with poles. You stake out the corners, throw the poles in, then tighten everything up. That’s it. I’d recommend watching a “how to pitch…” video and practicing once or twice before you head out on trail, but that’s the same for any new tent. There is potentially a bit of nuance if you are pitching in an area where you can’t get stakes in the ground, but then usually there are rocks around (also, it’s not a common issue in the Southeast). The regular xmid has a mesh inner and a rainfly that can be pitched independently of each other or together (pretty sure you need a small cheap adapter to pitch just the inner). IMO it’s a great deal for the quality tent you get. The xmid pro is a single wall dyneema tent. I love mine bc it’s super light but really spacious. But the pro is super expensive, so you have to consider if that’s worth it for you. You are right that the footprint of a 2-person xmid is on the large side. I’ve found you can shrink the overall size a bit by pitching it with the lines tightened so the stakes are not too far from the corners. I haven’t had an issue so far (I’m in the southeast too), but obviously depends where you’re trying to camp. I personally think it’s worth it for the space to weight ratio. Anyway, I’ve obviously drunk the Durston kool-aide a bit, but I’m really happy with my xmid.

I’m 6’3” and use the Durston x-mid pro 2 everywhere but the desert and high alpine areas. It’s a bit small for my wife(5’11”) and myself but we just fit. Footprint is 80x100” Bathtub is 46x90” Dyneema version is 21oz, silnylon is 23oz

I have the XMid Pro 2 and backpack with one of our huskies almost every trip. Mika is 45lbs, Max is 50lbs. Just one dog and me fit easily with extra room for gear. Two people and one of our dogs would work but be tight. (replaced a Strat Li but below applies to both tents) To protect the floor, I bring a full size z-fold pad (generic z-lite). I cut it into two pieces - about 1/3 and 2/3rds. I place them together to put where the dog will be sleeping. I cut it into two pieces so that I can use the 2/3rd piece under my pad in the event I get cold. They can still use the 1/3rd. I lay a costco quilt over the top of the pad. The like to "dig" sometimes. Between the pad and quilt, it protects the floor long enough until I can tell them to stop. For just casual walking in and out of the tent, laying down etc, there would be no need to protect the floor. Kneeling on a sharp rock or stick would probably do more damage than a dog stepping on the floor. We also have a Big Agnes UL2 and UL3 we've used for people and dogs. Only damage to any of the tents (first time out in a brand new UL3) was when I walked away with the dog in the tent and she paw'd at the screen and ripped it. Luckily, she hit the pocket so it didn't affect the door.

I backpack with one of our Siberian Huskies (one is 45lbs, other is 55lbs) using either and XMid Pro 2 or Copper Spur HV UL2. I'm about 5'10". I like having some room in the tent for stuff or just hanging out. Both of the above tents work great for this.

The xmid is way more storm worthy though, and comfortable for 2 people to actually sit up in and have some space to spare

I have extended guylines to make pitching easier on unlevel ground and for Big Rock Little Rock. Visualizing the space is a lot more difficult (especially when tired or in bad weather) than just putting the Nemo in any little spot without much thought. I rarely had to wipe the Nemo down before packing and regularly spend 10-20 min daily getting the xmid clean enough to pack it (and I use the durston groundsheet) Also the Xmid gets way more debris on it due to hitting the ground exponentially more than the Nemo during setup and breakdown The Nemo fly fabric is not as good as the Xmid, the Nemo fly soaks in and takes a very long time to dry. Also the Nemo pitches inner first so definitely can be an issue if you have lots of rainy days I sold my Nemo after getting the Durston, but rebought the Nemo recently because of the issues I have with pitching the Xmid in small alpine spots. The footprint is literally massive on the Durston

I had a hubba Hubba nx2 but wanted lighter so I got a hornet osmo 2P. Returned it because I couldn’t get in the tent during rain without the poorly designed fly dropping water on tent body mesh. Now I have a Durston xmid2 pro for most trips and a BA copper spur 1 if its platform tenting. I love the hubba. Old style was just too heavy. All the Durston products are fantastic!

That will be so easy to drop a ton of base weight when you get a good tent. I was at 6 lb 2 person eureka. Got a 3.75 lb MSR Hubba Hubba in 2020. Last 2-3 years I have had the extreme pleasure of carrying the just over 1 lb Durston xmid pro 2. It’s pricy but the regular xmid is much more affordable. And double wall vs single wall of the pro. Nemo Hornet and any of the BA tents are great too.