Why would I want to do a Durston X Mid review? Well, over many years of running multiple different tents, I typically found myself only bringing freestanding tents on backpack hunting trips due to their ability to handle the elements and their ease of setting up in less than ideal ground conditions. However, the most common downsides to freestanding tents are the weight and bulk when packed: enter the Durston X-Mid 1 tent. I was trying to find the ultimate balance between weight, packability, and the ability to withstand bad weather and was extremely interested to see if this unique design would fill that gap.
This led to me testing out the Durston X-Mid 1 last spring, summer, and fall. I was seeking a lightweight, budget-friendly, one-person tent that could not only handle the weather but was easy to pitch when in a hurry.
The Durston X-Mid 1 hit those marks. This review comes to you after having been tested on many different hunts in a wide variety of elements and conditions. I believe that is the only way to give an unbiased opinion on any type of gear, and it is what we strive for in every review we do here at Backwoods Pursuit.
The Testing – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
To be completely transparent, I did not love this tent the first night out but it quickly grew on me. One initial thing I did not care for were the low angle walls on the interior mesh of the tent. I found myself rubbing my head against them occasionally throughout the first night.
Pro Tip: If you do purchase this tent, play with the interior bungees by pulling them tighter or loosening them based on how steep you want the walls of the mesh.
During my time testing the Durston X Mid tent, I had it out in storms on multiple different occasions. Simply put, this tent can flat out handle the wind. Some of the guys with me on a bear hunt were running freestanding tents, and their tents were nearly caving in with the wind we experienced. The Durston X Mid performed very well, the geometrical design seemed to work great, and the exterior fly effectively deflected wind and rain.
The Design – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
These low angle walls are related to the geometrical shape and design of all Durston tents. Although it took me a couple of times setting it up to figure out how tight I wanted to pull the interior mesh, once I did I quickly realized the advantages of this design.
The Durston X Mid 1 handled wind better than any other trekking pole tent I have ever tested and was by far the easiest trekking pole-style tent I have ever pitched. A tent that is quick and easy to pitch is a must for me, especially with a one-person tent when I want to be mobile and moving my camp every day.
Let’s dig into this geometrical design of the Durston X Mid tent. It is probably the first thing that you noticed about this and other Durston tents due to its unique layout. The twin trekking poles are offset and this provides a combination of benefits that include a large amount of living space, a surprising amount of vestibule space for a one-person tent, and the ability to handle the nastiest of storms.
The slope of the walls allows for plenty of headroom while sitting up in the tent (46” at the peak), but more importantly does a phenomenal job of shedding water and wind. With previous tents I have been woken up in the middle of the night due to the exterior fly of my tent hitting me in the face because of one of Idaho’s severe wind storms. Not once did I experience this issue with the X-Mid 1 and it was not for lack of effort on mother nature’s part.
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This patented shape takes advantage of every inch of livable space and gives you 90” of length on the interior floor. The interior floor is also 32” wide and allows for even the widest pads to fit. This interior living space allowed me to not only have my sleeping bag and quilt in the tent, but also my handgun, Anker charger, cell phone, InReach, contact lens supplies, and my next day’s change of clothes.
As most of you know, this amount of interior space is not a common thing in a one-person tent. This is truly impressive for a tent coming in at 30.8 oz with six stakes, the tent, and stuff sack. With an MRSP of $240, it is very budget-friendly for a tent of this quality and versatility.
The Specs – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
| Durston X-Mid 1 Specs | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 30.8 oz |
| Peak Height | 46 in |
| Interior Length | 90 in |
| Interior Width | 32 in |
| Floor Area | 20 sq ft |
| Vestibule Area | 10 sq ft |
| Number of Vestibules | 2 |
| Fly Area | 100 in x 67 in |
| Packed Size | 12 in x 5 in |
| Canopy & Floor Fabric | 20D Sil/PE Polyester |
| Fly Zipper | YKK #5 |
| Inner Zipper | YKK #3 |
| Hystrostaic Head Rating | 3,500 mm |
Vestibule – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
Not only do you get a spacious living area but the vestibule space is also generous due to the living space being placed offset from the exterior fly. I had more than enough room for my Initial Ascent backpack with a yard sale of gear on one side and my rifle on the other side of my living space.
The X-Mid 1 has two vestibules and two doorways, which again is extremely uncommon in an ultralight, one-person, double-wall tent. This allowed me to store plenty of gear on either side of my sleeping quarters and still enter the tent with ease. These doors are also large and I do not feel like I am having to squeeze in and out of a small one-person shelter.
Materials – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
One important thing to talk about when looking into a tent is the material that it is made out of. Tent material is a huge factor in determining the weight of the tent, how durable it is, and how well the tent packs up. The Durston X-Mid 1’s exterior fly is made out of 20D coated polyester. Now, while polyester is not going to be as light or packable as Dyneema, it is more affordable and has some distinct advantages over Silnylon, such as less sagging when wet.
Polyester does not absorb water and did an amazing job of keeping its shape during wet conditions. On one of my backcountry bear hunts, it stormed for multiple days in a row, dumping numerous inches of rain with some brutal wind. Not only did the Durston X Mid 1 tent stay standing with zero issues, it never lost its shape or sagged like I have experienced with silnylon tents in the past. I was very impressed with the design of the polyester fly.
This polyester fly has full coverage and can be extended all the way to the ground or raised to increase ventilation. This is one of my favorite features of the Durston X Mid 1 tent. I have used multiple trekking pole-style tents in the past that do not stretch all the way to the ground and this can become a problem during less than ideal weather conditions (I experienced this specific issue in the past with another very popular trekking pole-style tent).
Wind drafts and water running into the floor of your shelter can quickly ruin a hunt, but due to the fact that I could extend the exterior fly all the way to the ground, I never had this issue when testing the Durston X Mid 1. On the flip side, strategically leaving a gap in the bottom can provide a welcomed draft on warmer nights and help prevent condensation, although I personally did not experience any condensation issues with this design. This is potentially due to the tent being an exterior fly with a mesh insert, also known as a double-wall shelter.
The exterior fly can also be used without the interior mesh insert as a floorless tarp-style shelter that can sleep up to two people.
Another unique feature for an ultralight 1p shelter that helped prevent condensation were the vents above each trekking pole peak. These vents are adjustable and can be closed or opened depending on the conditions and temperatures you are facing. There is one vent next to each trekking pole and this placement allowed for plenty of ventilation. At the end of the day, nobody wants to wake up to water dropping on their head, and during my testing, I found that you will not experience that in this tent due to its well thought-out design.
The exterior fly has a door on both sides of the tent, providing access to the interior from either side. Each door has one large zipper that runs from the peak to the floor, which makes getting in and out of the tent a breeze. As you open the door a magnet system is used to hold the door open while accessing the living area or the vestibules.
This is another design feature that I did not love at first, but after a few uses I really came to appreciate it. I was concerned about the magnet not keeping the door open if I bumped the fly, but not once did the door fall closed unintentionally. It is much easier to latch than the bungee style connections most other tents use.
Inner Mesh – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
Another unique feature about the Durston X-Mid 1 is that the interior mesh is attached to the exterior fly with a bungee cord-style system. This design makes it easy to take on and off, but more importantly, I felt like this limited the movement of the interior mesh during windy nights. The mesh insert also has doors on both sides so you can access the living area or your vestibule storage from either direction.
Due to the offset trekking pole positions, your living space inside the mesh is not taken up by the trekking poles as they are strategically placed out of the way. I never found myself bumping into the trekking pole when getting in or out of the tent like other trekking pole tents I have used.
Setup – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
One of my favorite features while testing for this Durston X-Mid 1 Review was the ease of setup. I talked earlier about wanting to find a trekking pole-style tent that is easy to set up, and I finally found one. I have run multiple trekking pole-style shelters that require ten-plus stakes and numerous guy out lines which adds to the time required to set up your shelter.
Not this one, though, as the Durston X Mid 1 can be set up with as little as six stakes. It does have guy out options, but in all the terrible storms I used this tent in I only had to use those guy outs once. That storm was one of those Idaho spring thunder/rain storms that try to blow you and all of your gear off the mountain. Good news, the X-Mid easily passed the test.
What I Liked – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
As you can probably tell, I became a fan of the Durston X Mid 1 tent after putting it through its paces out in the field. While I had a lot of hesitancy going in to this review, those concerns were quickly eased. A rundown of some of the things I liked about the Durston X Mid 1 includes:
- Ease of setup
- Only needs 6 stakes
- A lot of vestibule storage on both sides of the tent
- Extremely storm-worthy
- The magnets on the door
What I disliked – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
It is not often I come away from testing a tent (let alone a non-freestanding tent) without a laundry list of complaints, but that was the case with the Durston X Mid 1 tent. My only real complaint is the unique set up that takes time to get used to. It seems like I am often squeezing a one-person tent into a deer bed on a ridge, and the first few times I set this tent up, I probably set it up where it was not an ideal fit. Once I got the opportunity to set it up multiple times, I did not have this problem anymore. It just takes a little practice.
Conclusion – Durston X Mid 1 Tent Review
Reflecting on my time in the field testing for this review, I really came to love this Durston X-Mid 1. It is a great budget-friendly option for someone wanting a durable shelter with lots of livable space. The Durston X-Mid checks a lot of boxes most people are looking for in a trekking pole-style tent, and after testing it in a wide range of conditions, temperatures, and situations, I can confidently say that Durston made a bomb-proof tent, and I do not think you can go wrong with any of their options.
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