Tarptent - Dipole 2 DW

Yes, how a tent feels is very hard to gauge on paper. I often spurn the CS Hotel because you could go lighter (and for that I have the wonderful Tarptent Dipole-2-dw). But... I keep going back to the CS Hotel because of that fabulous vestibule. You can sit on a chair inside it. You can scatter your gear around. You can leave it open as a welcoming large entrance.

Not sure what sort of wind speeds you encounter but I recently used my Tarptent Dipole 2 DW for the first time in 45km/hr winds. It was fine. I guyed the ends as well as sides and used rocks instead of stakes for those. It's not freestanding though.

Prefer the Dipole over the Xmid personally. It's a better design for livability and comfort. The Xmid would be better for snow loading though due to the steeper fly. I also find the Xmid to be a bit simpler to setup due to the extra effort required to stabilize and tension the strut connections on the Dipole. You need good long stakes on the corners due to all the tension. Just a note though, on the Li versions the end strut windows are held in place with a string and velcro, not zippers. If you want zippered windows those are available on the standard double wall silpoly version. I actually prefer the cheaper silpoly to the lithium due to the double wall and added features. I sold off my Li and own a silpoly dipole and a Xmid Pro 2+. Can't go wrong with either.

I thought about the xmid and the Tarptent Dipole. Ended up with the Dipole because I'm tall and I didnt like the large footprint required to set up the Tarptent. I got the 1p and it's huge in the inside (for a ul tent).

All Tarptent tents have end struts, which makes them good for tall people. I'm 6'4" and have a Dipole, I love it. Plenty of room.

To me, the dipole is the best tent on the market, but this tent looks really nice too.

You would have more potential airflow in the Dipole. With our tent you can fully open the sides (both the main door panel and the smaller vestibule panel) and the doors are overhanging so you do this in light rain (or half open things in heavier rain). With 2 doors it’s quite a bit of airflow/crossflow, but the Dipole can open the ends too so it has even more potential airflow. For other options, a double wall tent that can pitch inner only would be the absolute max airflow on a hot night. For singlewalls, Zpacks has nice options too that are popular in Florida (eg Zpacks is based there).

My thoughts: Tarptent Dipole is a strong contender and lines up nicely alongside those tents. I find the xmid 1p is plenty roomy for one. The new xDome is very attractive for its smaller footprint, no fuss setup and apparent (untested by the masses) wind resistance!

Both are single wall tents, which means condensation is a bit of a challenge to overcome. No amount of airflow will completely prevent condensation, many people in that type of weather usually have a door open if weather permits. I’d personally go for the Durston, because well… it’s a Durston, but the Dipole has 4 more sq. ft. For a third option, freestanding tents are always an option, and you can always split up the parts to make it lighter. I like the MSR hubba hubba because it’s close to 20oz per person, and it’s fairly spacious. Any double wall tents help with minimizing condensation, but might feel stuffier.

Do you hike with poles? If so, the single-walled Zpacks Hexamid can be set up with your hiking poles and is USD $499. My Zpacks single-walled tents perform poorly in rainy, humid conditions but making this compromise will save you weight. Tarptent makes several double-walled tents for less than USD $500 that perform well, and there are also some excellent Chinese-made Lanshan tents on Aliexpress. My double-walled Tarptent performs much better than my single-walled Zpacks tents when it's set up, but it's also much heavier to carry.