ProTrail Li

You should take a look at the various gear exchange reddits. There have been several Slingfin Splitwing shelter bundles up for sale in the $250 range. They will pack down quite well and will provide reasonable room and pitching flexibility. You can also try the Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform tarp/bug bivy setup. Less compact but still compact is a Tarptent Protrail. I have all of these shelters (the Protrail in Dynema) and have easily fit them in my 38L Zpack Nero for longer hikes or 30L Sub Nero for warm weather weekend hikes. I also use a Katabatic bivy on short trips however it gets very claustrophobic after a few nights. I am able to fit my gear in all of these options. The Katabatic is wide/long and my pack fits above my head. You seem very set on what I assume is a 36L pack. However if you are going to successfully hike long distances on the AT you will need an incredibly compact and dialed in kit as well as incredible discipline and planning as food carries and accommodating cold weather gear etc will be quite a challenge. I find I struggle with the Nero in cold weather when the food carry gets over 4-5 days.

Many Tarptents have end struts (little poles that are ~2' tall) that go on the ends of the tent creating a lot more usable space. I'm 6'4, and wear size 13 shoe and fit in my dipole 1 Li with headroom to spare. I think the non-Li version is the same size. The dipole is a very similar tent to the durston, but I think it's a little heavier. I love my dipole. I also have an old version of the Protrail. It's a bit lighter, but not as roomy.

I'm 6'4", about 220lbs. First question is about your budget. I have two TarpTent tents, the Dipole 1 Li and the Protrail. Tarptents are particularly good for tall people. They have end struts (short poles) that lift the ends up and make much more livable space. The dipole is the analogous one to the XMid. I love the diple, ton of room, moderately light, easy to set up, small footprint (the XMid has an infamously large footprint). Point of information. No matter what your question is about tents, Reddit will suggest a Durston. They make good tents.

It looks like the Protrail moved the rear pole to the left and the front pole to the right, and then adopted the Ciriform door design.

The front pole sits right at the front edge, creating a high spot at the front, then tapering down? Even more in the way than it was in the Protrail, lol.

Isn't it just putting the former straight A-Frame into an offset position and then adding the Ciriform door design?

How? the X-mid uses two equally long trekking poles, a symmetrical design and a diagonal sleeping area in a rectengular footprint. The TT does none of that, it has unequal poles at the diagonal ends of the sleeping area it seems and an overall longish design. The Zpacks Pivot also has a pole configurations like that, but the TT puts one right at the front corner, which creates a max headroom there.

i’m 6’2” and get space in the Tarptent Protrail. Tarptent recently replaced this model with the with ProTrek. I use a 78” BA pad. Edit for pad size

Not sure I love the full length vestibule along the side, looks like it eats into the interior space a good bit. I know the Protrail has the mesh wings so it doesn’t have as much usable floor space as its footprint suggests, but sitting upright puts you at the tallest point of the tent and has plenty of space for shoulders (makes putting on and taking clothes off easier). Looking at the ProTrek it looks like the inner is reeeeeaaaaal narrow up top

Nope. Side entry Protrail, which has been around for over a decade if not longer.

Looks pretty cool, though maybe Little gimmicky with the two entry options. I have both Protrail and Notch, and this seems like a cross between them. If that diagonal seam does not flap around in the wind it could be great. Gotta love that durable fabric and light weight!