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Bowregard
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PostMon Jan 24, 2022 1:45 pm 
https://durstongear.com/product/x-mid-pro-2p?mc_cid=6ed9c2a8af&mc_eid=be8f583fd0 My reaction to the initial specs - Single wall trekking pole design at 1.5 lbs for over $600 was not terribly positive. But now that I get a better look I am intrigued. I like the asymmetrical pole design and the sides are zippered bug-net so the low areas are not single wall. I think Dyneema fly / woven floor makes sense for weight/durability balance and it looks like they got the weight down to 20 oz. Thoughts? Disclaimer: I am NOT affiliated in any way with this product.

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rossb
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PostMon Jan 24, 2022 7:58 pm 
He calls it a single wall, but from what I can tell it is a hybrid wall, like the Skyscape by Six Moons (which for some reason is no longer offered in Cuben). It is a judgment call (like camber on skis) but it seems like ventilation is quite good (unlike some single wall tents). The big selling point in my opinion is the setup. This has a small footprint (essentially the space used for the tent) and relatively little fussing in terms of setting it up. Just make a rectangle with the tent, put in four stakes, and then the tent poles. Way easier than most (if not all other) non-freestanding tents.

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Eric Hansen
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PostThu Jan 27, 2022 10:24 pm 
Anyone on the list actually laid eyes on one of these? It is definitely interesting.

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Bowregard
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PostThu Jan 27, 2022 11:16 pm 
The silpoly version has been available for over a year now in 1p and 2p sizes. Those are 2-wall tents with a fully separate mesh/bathtub floor that can be set-up inside the rainfly once it is set. They seem to sell out very fast so they are either very popular or produced in limited quantities (or both). Lots of review videos on youtube. This single wall version with the Dyneema rainfly is a brand new design so nobody would have seen one yet unless they somehow got a prototype. The presale lasted about 28 hours before selling out but their servers were clearly were not prepared to handle the load as their website became unresponsive and crashed at least once the morning of the pre-sale.

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Opus
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 11:06 am 
I was lucky enough to get one of the new X-Mid 1p tents in this last order. They did two sales and both times they sold out in less than five minutes! It's not supposed to ship until April-May though. When I thru-hiked the PCT I used a Tarptent StratoSpire-1 which is similar to this design. The interior is offset at an angle which provided tons of usable space and great vestibules. It was somewhat finnicky to pitch since it's hexagonal. High hopes for this one.

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HitTheTrail
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 11:33 am 
Looks like an interesting design with lots of space inside and within the vestibules. But you would need a bit of real estate to set it up since it requires a space 80' x 100". The small footprint feature must apply to the tent floor only. By contrast, the BA Fly Creek 2 DCF tent only needs 86" x 52" and weights about the same amount with freestanding poles. Also, they don't mention using an optional set of carbon poles, that would add a few more ounces. I don't know about you but I can't hike much anymore without my trekking poles. And my preferred method is to set up camp and then do my exploring. When I come back I like to collapse into my tent to rest up before dinner. Not worry about setting up camp. Just my opinion, YMMV

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Bowregard
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 11:46 am 
From the X-MID 2P Q & A: Q) I don’t use trekking poles. What can I do? A) If you don’t use trekking poles, you can use folding poles instead. The X-Mid 2 pitches with the poles in the range of 47 – 48″, so if you buy a fixed-length pole, you should opt for 48″ and use that slightly angled as needed. We are working on a custom set of folding poles for the X-Mid that will be available in fall 2022, but in the mean time several other companies offer something similar. The best option is a custom, 4 piece, adjustable carbon fiber pole from Ruta Locura, but there are also cheaper options, such as the $16 poles from TarpTent. Also worth checking out are the carbon poles from SMD which are light, and pack short but non-adjustable, and at 49″, you should trim them shorter. Another option are the 47″ poles from CNOC The offset pole design does drive the outer footprint to be larger than some competing designs. But I think that is the trade-off for two vestibules and extra angular space inside. For me it would probably be a bit of wasted space but my wife likes to keep more stuff inside the bathtub floor.

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dandurston
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 12:06 pm 
HitTheTrail wrote:
Looks like an interesting design with lots of space inside and within the vestibules. But you would need a bit of real estate to set it up since it requires a space 80' x 100". The small footprint feature must apply to the tent floor only. By contrast, the BA Fly Creek 2 DCF tent only needs 86" x 52"...
The Big Agnes Fly Creek is not 86" x 52". That is the size of the floor. The Fly Creek is 114" long counting the vestibule, and they say 52" wide in their diagram. Their diagram is not accurate though because it just shows the floor while the fly is wider yet by about 4" on each side and one the end. The Fly Creek is actually about 60" x 118". Ultimately, yes the Fly Creek does have a smaller footprint, but only because it's a vastly smaller tent. The floor is somewhat smaller since it tapers to 42", and then the single vestibule is tiny and the sidewalls of the interior slope in severely (vs being vertical) so elbow room and headroom are dramatically less. The X-Mid 2P has roughly 50% more interior volume. It's the difference between a real 2P tent and a tent called a 2P but really used mostly by solo hikers.
HitTheTrail wrote:
The BA Fly Creek 2 DCF tent....weighs about the same amount with freestanding poles. Also, they don't mention using an optional set of carbon poles, that would add a few more ounces. I don't know about you but I can't hike much anymore without my trekking poles. And my preferred method is to set up camp and then do my exploring. When I come back I like to collapse into my tent to rest up before dinner. Not worry about setting up camp.
The target hikers here are people who already use hiking poles, so indeed if someone doesn't it would add more weight (about 3oz x 2). In your case of preferring to set up camp and then take your poles for another hike, you could simply set up camp, and then steal the poles from the tent to go hiking and return them when you're back. The tent can be left collapsed in place where it will still protect your gear. If it was extreme winds it might not be a good idea - but then in weather that foul you're probably not going for an evening saunter anyways. I do want to emphasize how vastly different the X-Mid Pro 2 is from the Fly Creek 2. Some key differences are: 1) Approximately 50% more interior volume 2) Two large vestibules (vs 1 tiny vestibule) 3) Dual doorways (vs 1) 4) Dual peak vents (vs none) 5) Strong and no-sag DCF fabric (vs saggy nylon fly) 6) Headroom is vastly better. 7) Fly extends lower to the ground to block rain splatter 8) Setups with the interior protected from rain In essence, the Fly Creek is light because it is tiny and low function tent, whereas the X-Mid Pro 2 is much lighter yet (20 vs 29oz) while being much more stormworthy and spacious. The amount of space might be overkill for most solo hikers, but for two people wanting a very capable tent it doesn't get lighter than this.

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HitTheTrail
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 12:28 pm 
dandurston wrote:
I do want to emphasize how vastly different the X-Mid Pro 2 is from the Fly Creek 2.
OK, fair enough. But just a couple of points: first I was referring to the Fly creek 2 DCF tent. which has a DCF fly and is reported to not be saggy. And its trail weight is advertised as 18 oz. Also, it does not have top vents because it is a double wall tent and doesn't really need vents. But my main point is that the "spaciousness" of the X-mid pro is what makes it hard to set up in a small area. I think we are talking about two different things here. In the past 10 years most of the places I have tried to find a tent site required a narrow front entry tent. A side vestibule tent would not have cut it. That's why I sort of gravitated toward the Fly Creek model. Even though I am not a big fan of some of its features. People get different tent models for vastly different reasons. There is no one size fits all. I think the X-mid Pro 2 is a fine tent and it should be fine for alpine meadow camping.

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texasbb
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 12:37 pm 
Eric Hansen wrote:
Anyone on the list actually laid eyes on one of these?
I have a silpoly version of the 2P. It's a very nice tent. Absolutely palatial inside, extremely useful vestibules (your pack stands up where it's both out of your way for getting in/out and easy to access from inside the tent), sturdy in the wind, and quite easy to pitch, depending I guess on how well you can eyeball a 90-degree angle. Ventilates well. Sturdy zippers. Its footprint is a bit larger than I'd like, but only the floor part needs to be nice and flat. The ground-level corner tie-outs need to be a little longer for seriously uneven ground, but that's a trivial change if you think you need it. I'm a happy camper.

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dandurston
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 2:45 pm 
Regarding the Fly Creek, it sounds like you're using it solo and value a small footprint, so it certainly sounds like that style makes sense for your use case. Footprint size and spaciousness are one of those trade offs where you can't really have both. The X-Mid Pro 2 is a normal size for someone that wants a 2P tent that actually comfortably holds two people. Regarding the DCF version of the Fly Creek, it certainly is an amazing weight and non-sag. However, Big Agnes opted for the 0.3oz DCF which has almost no dyneema in it, and which no other tent company uses because it widely agreed to be too fragile for tents. Big Agnes went ahead with that but have had all sorts of durability issues with those tents (e.g. poles poking through the fly) and why Big Agnes has now discontinued it. We use a form of DCF that is much more suited to tents with over 3x the dyneema plus a vastly more durable 15D nylon floor, so these two tents are worlds apart in both space and durability. The X-Mid Pro 2 is 2oz heavier, but it's a lot more tent.
texasbb wrote:
I have a silpoly version of the 2P. It's a very nice tent.
Glad you're liking the tent. Yeah the corner cords are fairly short because we find giving less experienced users "enough rope to hang themselves" leads to some bizarre pitches, so we keep it shorter and then people can add longer cord if they wish to do more advanced thing like tying to rocks or pitching it higher. For comparison, the X-Mid Pro 2 does have a substantially smaller footprint since it is 10" narrower (80" vs 90"). It does give up a little space inside and in the vestibules, but only a few inches in each.

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HitTheTrail
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 3:40 pm 
dandurston wrote:
Big Agnes went ahead with that but have had all sorts of durability issues with those tents (e.g. poles poking through the fly) and why Big Agnes has now discontinued it.
Yeah, that's why I never bought one. I didn't want a tent that left me with lukewarm feelings about the design and was also made with flimsy material. But the size and shape fits my needs better than any other design, so I will probably get one if they upgrade the material.

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RumiDude
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PostFri Jan 28, 2022 5:49 pm 
Quick comment about the BA Fly Creek. I had one and currently have a Seedhouse 1, which is basically the same tent. At first I loved the small footprint. It can fit into very tiny plasces. But to get a really proper pitch requires a lot of stakes. It is a PITA to get into and out of and doesn't have much room for gear. It is a condensation nightmare. I have grown to despise it, so much so that I have not used it at all in the past three years. Funny how I loved it in the beginning and now despise it. But the required space to pitch is important to me, i.e. the actual footprint. Rumi

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rossb
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PostSat Jan 29, 2022 5:25 pm 
dandurston wrote:
In your case of preferring to set up camp and then take your poles for another hike, you could simply set up camp, and then steal the poles from the tent to go hiking and return them when you're back. The tent can be left collapsed in place where it will still protect your gear.
That is the way I like to backpack as well, and I've done a lot of different things. I haven't done it with this tent, but I have done it with similar tents (the Skyscape and Refuge X). One is to just let it collapse as mentioned. The drawback to that is if it rains it can be messy. Another is to find sticks to support it. The most common thing I've done is use a single pole, even though the tent is lopsided. I simply adjust the cords, and it worked well enough to keep any potential rain off. I have no idea if that would work well in this case, but I look forward to finding out. Speaking of which, I use 2 ounce poles that I think I got from Six Moons. They are more than adequate in my opinion, but have lost favor amongst folks who assume the worst. I can't think of a single backpack trip I've done where those flimsy poles would be inadequate for a good night sleep, which means they are more than enough to hold up the tent during the day. (I can always use my trekking poles at night.) I've used two poles when I'm planning on doing a lot of day hiking from camp. This doesn't happen often, but Waptus Lake (which I did last year) had several days of exploring from camp. It was just less of a hassle to keep swapping the poles (2 ounces is a tiny penalty). Unfortunately, I believe those poles are a couple inches shorter than the recommended height. I'll probably play around with it, and see if it at least works well for swapping back and forth. If not, I'll probably try and extend it somehow (duct tape and chopsticks maybe?).

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rossb
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PostSat Jan 29, 2022 5:28 pm 
@Dan -- Are you planning on making an X-Mid-Pro-1?

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