The X-Mid is built at the same high end factory as respected brands like MSR and Mountain Hardware. Our price is only lower because we sell direct to you rather than having a large retail markup (retailers typically double the price). By eliminating that markup, we can pass most of the savings onto you, while also investing a portion into building even better gear. For example, the X-Mid is the highest quality as we insist that literally everything is double sewn, and we use premium components such as waterproof YKK AquaGuard zippers that are rare even on the most expensive tents (e.g. Big Agnes doesn’t even use them on their $1000 tents), and yet our price is lower than anything comparable simply because of the slim markup.

There are a few other tent companies that also sell direct yet are still priced similar to tents at retail. That’s simply because they’re enjoying generous profit margins while hoping you wrongly assume their higher prices means higher quality. Take a close look and you’ll see those tents often aren’t even seam taped nor fully double stitched yet cost 50% more. Even at a higher price, you can’t find higher quality than the X-Mid.

The X-Mid 1 has a very typical footprint for a reasonably spacious trekking pole tent and is only sometimes considered large when it is compared to relatively tiny freestanding tents. This should not pose difficulties with site selection, as it is still smaller than almost every 2P tent (which are widely used everywhere).

Trekking pole tents do have a bit larger footprint than freestanding tents because freestanding tents can steepen the sidewalls to trim the edges, plus many mainstream freestanding tents are quite tiny. So certainly there are tents with smaller footprints but X-Mid is very similar to any other reasonably spacious 1P tent and smaller than almost every 2P tent. There is a trade off here between the amount of space and footprint size, where we think providing a comfortable amount of space is the right approach because it benefits you every night, whereas only on rare occasions is the bit larger footprint a small inconvenience. The X-Mid is one of the most popular tents on the Appalachian Trail where smaller campsites are common, which shows that this is not a substantial issue even in areas with limited sites.

There are tents with traditional pole sets that are as light as the X-Mid, such as the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 (27oz). Those pole sets are heavy (often about 8oz) to get those tents as light something else has to give. Commonly that’s space, performance, and durability. A traditional tent as light as the X-Mid is almost certainly far smaller and uses more delicate fabrics and much thinner waterproof coatings. You’ll also typically find they cut features (e.g., lacking vents) and use less durable #3 zippers (vs. #5), which are a common failure point. The X-Mid offers a more durable and high-performance shelter for the same weight to give robust 3 season performance.

Yes. The inner easily disconnects via buckles at the peaks and clips at the four corners to leave just the fly. If you want to pitch just the inner, you can remove the fly peaks’ guylines and tie them to the inner peaks while adding knots for the pole tips, but the Stargazer Kit on Durston Gear makes inner-only pitching much easier as it has separate guylines that clip right on plus grommets for your pole tips and tensioners for quick adjustment.

The X-Mid 1 and 2 are designed to work with almost all adjustable length trekking poles and some fixed length trekking poles. The length of pole needed can vary based on how it is pitched and uneven ground, but the X-Mid tents typically pitch with the poles in the range of 46-48" and almost always in the range of 45 - 50". Adjustable poles are ideal for fine tuning the pitch and the X-Mid is compatible with every telescoping adjustable pole on the market. At Kaviso, we recommend Fizan Trekking Poles.

The X-Mid 1 and 2 tents are designed to pitch with the pole 'tips up' by fitting the tip into a grommet. Almost every pole will be compatible with this grommet but it is possible that rare models of poles have unusual tips shapes that are incompatible. At present, we only know of the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z poles as being incompatible as they have thicker tips. These poles can still be used in a 'handles up' orientation with Tarp Tent adapters.

Durston Gear offers folding, adjustable length poles called Z-Flick poles that can be used instead of trekking poles. These are the lightest adjustable poles on the market and can be purchased in X-Mid tent bundles as well.

There are also less common folding style adjustable poles (e.g. Black Diamond Distance Z Carbon) which have more limited ranges and may only work in certain sizes so you should check the specified adjustment range to ensure it spans at least 46-48" (117 - 122 cm). Fixed length poles can also be used in the 115 or 120cm lengths, although these can be slightly too short or too long such that additional techniques are needed (e.g. angling them to make them lower, or shimming them up to be taller).

The main reason is that nylon absorbs water in wet conditions. That results in 3 big problems: First, it expands (or “sags”) about 4% which makes for a saggy tent in wet conditions. This is a common problem in nearly all lightweight tents, but low weight polyester fabrics are finally available which solve this. Second, nylon’s water absorption makes the tent slow to dry and heavy with up to a pound of water in the fabric, and third, nylon weakens by about 10% when wet. Polyester doesn’t absorb water, so it doesn’t have any of these issues plus it’s far more UV resistant so it lasts longer.

For the most weather resistant pitch, you should pitch it low to the ground (shorten the cord at the corners as much as possible), use the optional stake out points around the base to spread the load, and deploy the peak guylines. Orient the guylines towards the long sides of the tent to support those larger walls. For extreme conditions, you can add a second peak guyline by tying cord inside the peaks and running it out the vents. This way, you can guyout each peak from two directions, which makes it extremely strong.

The X-Mid geometry is the most volumetrically efficient shape possible. Thus, it is impossible to design a lighter tent unless you use lighter materials, fewer features, or make it smaller. If you find a more lightweight tent, it likely is a single wall design that isn’t nearly as good in sloppy conditions, or it uses DCF fabric and thus costs at least 2.5x as much.

Any tent that uses similar materials and is also a double-wall usually is quite a bit heavier. Of the few tents that are not, these are always smaller, less featured, or both. We could make the X-Mid smaller or less featured too, but its current design is carefully considered so that it is among the lightest tents in its class while still offering a comfortable amount of space and a useful feature set. Basically, the weight is similar to the lightest woven double-wall tents out there while providing more space and features. To save another two ounces would require large compromises in function or durability, such as hard to use door clips instead of zippers, smaller or omitted vents, and delicate hardware. Tents that make these compromises are much less well rounded.

The 20D floor is designed to be durable enough to use without a groundsheet, whereas many other UL tents use more fragile 10-15D floors. However, it still requires care not to pitch on sharp sticks and rocks, and the floor could be damaged on harsh surfaces like gravel. For harsh surfaces or a cleaner floor, Durston Gear offers a groundsheet.

A) Check out the Durston Gear repair guide.