Durston X-Mid Professional 2+ Tent Evaluation

Backside Line

Few tents steadiness consolation and weight in addition to the X-Mid Professional 2+. Amongst all of the tents in our lineup of the greatest ultralight choices, this one delighted us probably the most, making it our prime choose for adventures with two individuals. The primary time we entered, we have been astounded by the quantity of space- not simply the ground house, however precise livable house. We simply match two lofty sleeping quilts inside with out worrying about touching the top and foot ends. Mixed with glorious doorways, vestibules, pockets, air flow, and simple setup, it was easy to fall in love with this tent.

Though Durston Gear is a comparatively new firm, they’ve been steadily gaining recognition on long-distance trails due to a mix of wonderful design and aggressive costs. The Professional 2+ is their most premium mannequin, that includes a bigger design than the normal Professional 2.

After testing it within the native forests of Minnesota, we discovered ourselves dreaming of our subsequent huge journey with this tent greater than with another we examined. The design performs a major function on this success; the Professional 2+ employs an offset pole geometry to maximise inside quantity extra successfully than different two-pole setups. This identical design additionally permits for simple setup, requiring solely 4 stakes for a primary pitch.

The value will nonetheless be a barrier for many individuals. Like all DCF tents, there’s no avoiding the truth that a tent constituted of expensive materials may also be costly. Happily, the choice of a silnylon flooring helps scale back the worth a bit, making it extra inexpensive than different tents on this weight vary.

Ultimately, we’re left with a tent that balances the necessary elements of tent design higher than another we’ve examined. Each half feels thoughtfully and cleverly designed, and the few negatives we encountered are intentional design trade-offs to allow a greater expertise elsewhere. For the best way we backpack, that is the one shelter we’d select if we wished a delightfully comfy expertise at a weight that makes our backs grin.

Consolation

With a beneficiant 32.5 sq. ft of flooring house and a lofty 49 inches of top in an offset pole design, the X-Mid Professional 2+ is probably the most comfy and spacious tent in our lineup. For its weight, there’s no different tent we’d moderately spend our nights in. Maybe the largest testomony to that is what we skilled throughout our first setup of the shelter.

After testing many different smaller tents, the primary time we crawled into the Professional 2+, we actually laughed at how a lot headroom there was and the seemingly ridiculous quantity of livable house. In comparison with most different ultralight tents, the Professional 2+ felt like a breath of recent air for house. We have been in a position to comfortably match a two-person setup with plush three-season quilts and a pair of.5-inch sleeping pads into the inside with loads of headroom and footroom. There was sufficient room that in the event you and your tent buddy are round six ft tall, anxiousness a few moist footbox or cramped headroom is a factor of the previous. 

A part of what makes this tent so efficient is the beforehand talked about offset pole design. Durston Gear has a complete whitepaper that delves into the specifics of tent design and volumetrically environment friendly geometry. In abstract, the offset design is optimized to offer probably the most livable inside house attainable in a two-pole configuration. We’ve firsthand expertise with producers making daring however unsubstantiated claims about their tents, significantly concerning their capability to accommodate taller people, however we’re pleasantly stunned by Durston Gear’s design on this case. It genuinely appears to supply a beneficiant quantity of livable inside house with a two-pole design, particularly when in comparison with a basic A-frame.

That mentioned, simply because the X-Mid has math on its aspect doesn’t make it good. The draw back of an offset pole design like that is that it’s inherently asymmetrical. Because of this if each persons are sleeping face to face, one particular person will find yourself with a sloping wall nearer to their face than the opposite.

We have been cautious about this when testing, however have been pleasantly stunned by the quantity of headroom accessible when sleeping within the non-ideal orientation. Frankly, it’s much more than when sleeping in different shelters within the appropriate orientation, and we’re grateful that the design accommodates each kinds of sleeping orientations.

A number of small but considerate design options improve consolation. The big sidewall pockets are straightforward to make use of, and the spacious L-shaped doorways enable easy entry no matter your mendacity place. The headroom is spectacular, partially because of the 49-inch peak top but in addition due to the prolonged diagonal of sustained headroom, which provides a extra livable expertise in comparison with a single peak.

Lastly, the vestibules are huge and improbable. We appreciated with the ability to lean our backpacks in opposition to the trekking poles at night time to forestall them from falling over, whereas nonetheless having the realm protected by the smaller vestibule even when the primary door was open. They’re handy for any sleeping orientation and supply glorious splashback safety for the reason that fly extends almost to the bottom.

Weight

We measured the Professional 2+ at 21.8 ounces on our scales, which is spectacular for a tent that provides this a lot consolation. There are literally two variations of this tent accessible, and their weights differ. The model we’re testing contains a silnylon flooring as an alternative of a Dyneema Composite Fiber flooring. This provides two further ounces however saves $100, which we consider is a good commerce that most individuals would settle for.

Moreover, we recognize that silnylon packs down a bit smaller than DCF, making the packed measurement of a giant shelter like this extra manageable.

The Pro2+ isn’t the lightest two-person shelter in the marketplace, however it’s additionally not aiming to be. The inclusion of a plus in its title means that it targets a extra comfy expertise for individuals who prioritize consolation over having the lightest weight tent accessible.

Ease of Use

With solely 4 stakes and two trekking poles wanted to pitch the tent, we discovered the Professional 2+ fairly straightforward to arrange and use. For individuals who haven’t used a trekking pole shelter earlier than, setup would require some adjustment, so we advocate training at house a couple of instances earlier than taking it on an journey. Nonetheless, amongst trekking pole tents, the Professional 2+ makes it comparatively easy. Stake out a rectangle utilizing the 2 corners, push up the 2 trekking poles into the peaks, and also you’re executed.

The draw back of this simplicity is that it’s essential make sure the rectangle is sq.; in any other case, the pitch shall be uneven. Leaving a couple of inches of twine in both path with the nook Lineloc tensioners permits for changes to rectify this, however you might must re-stake to realize pitch. Though 4 stakes are the minimal, we advocate carrying two extra so the doorways might be staked out for handy one-handed opening and shutting.

One benefit of the design is that when inserting the trekking poles into the rainfly, they’ll stand on their very own. Many different tents require an extra stake whereas stabilizing the pole till three factors of stress can safe it, however the Professional 2+ doesn’t have this situation.

On the adverse aspect, the selection to have the rainfly prolong so near the bottom limits the shelter’s versatility on uneven terrain. We perceive the design selection – the low rainfly provides glorious safety from wind and rain – however it represents one other trade-off in optimizing a tent’s design. When testing different X-Mid tents with the identical limitation, we’ve set them up on rocky ledges and varied uneven surfaces, persistently discovering methods to make them practical, so we don’t contemplate this to be a major disadvantage.

Moreover, the footprint is sort of giant. The problem arises primarily as a result of its rectangular form makes it more difficult to suit into pure spots in comparison with shelters with a extra hexagonal design. Given the quantity of inside and vestibule house accessible, there’s no avoiding the big footprint; greater tents are inherently tougher to place in tight areas. Nonetheless, Durston Gear supplies guides for various pitching strategies that may collapse the vestibules, providing a significantly lowered footprint measurement when house constraints come up, which provides a pleasant versatility bonus.

On the inside, utilizing the tent is equally straightforward. The doorways are giant and cozy for coming into and exiting.The closure mechanisms for each the rainfly and mesh doorways are all magnetic which makes securing and shutting them a breeze. And the height vents might be propped open with a kickstand from contained in the tent, which makes it tremendous straightforward to make use of.

Talking of these peak vents, additionally they allow one other neat trick. As a substitute of unzipping the door to put a trekking pole, you’ll be able to go it by the height vent and angle it up into the height. That is advantageous in wet climate, because it helps decrease rain coming into the inside, or in desert circumstances, the place lowering zipper use is essential to forestall failure.

Climate Resistance

With a design that successfully sheds wind and a rainfly that reaches all the best way to the bottom, the Professional 2+ is one in all our favourite shelters for weathering a storm. The offset pole geometry helps disrupt the big aspect panels that always problem A-frame type tents. There are nonetheless attachment factors halfway up the edges and on the peak, which may considerably help in resisting sturdy winds.

The DCF cloth used within the rainfly is a wonderful materials for climate resistance. It options minimal stretch and provides excellent water resistance attributable to its development. Not like silnylon, it doesn’t take in water and sheds it simply, making it fast to dry and guaranteeing it gained’t crush your pack after getting moist.

Though we general love the Professional 2+ for storms, it stays a big shelter. If winds strike it from the aspect, it’s going to battle extra, identical to another tent. It’s necessary to attempt to orient it with the height ridgeline dealing with into the wind for optimum efficiency. We are able to’t complain an excessive amount of right here, as comparable tents may also carry out poorly when hit from the aspect and don’t possess nearly as good a profile for chopping by the wind when oriented correctly.

Sturdiness

With 0.55oz/sq yd DCF for the fly and 15D silnylon for the ground, the Professional 2+ boasts acceptable sturdiness for an ultralight tent and aligns with its friends and our standards for a tent on this class. DCF is a wonderful materials for rain flies, and the tensile energy of the material has been examined over time on lots of the longest trails.

The 15D silnylon flooring is an attention-grabbing selection for lowering price and packed measurement. In keeping with testing carried out by Durston Gear, it performs equally to 1.0 ozsq yd DCF as a flooring materials, although they provide each choices.

In our testing, we discovered that the 15D silnylon utilized by Durston Gear holds up properly in opposition to the trials of a thru-hike. We carried an X-Mid Professional 1 with the identical 15D flooring for 1,000 miles on the PCT. One night time, we by accident arrange on a pointy, abrasive granite rock and woke as much as deformation within the silnylon however no tears or punctures.

After permitting the material a while to loosen up, it returned to its authentic form. We’re nonetheless going to deal with the fabric with a bit extra care than the 20D or 30D flooring present in different shelters, however we’re happy with its efficiency.

Ought to You Purchase the X-Mid Professional 2+?

Should you’re available in the market for a supremely comfy backpacking tent that boasts nice climate resistance at an unimaginable weight, we consider the X-Mid Professional 2+ ought to be on the prime of your checklist. No different tent impressed us as a lot throughout testing. It’s the one we wish to seize for almost each journey with one other particular person. Somewhat than dreading crawling right into a cramped inside, the Professional 2+ is spacious sufficient to make even taller customers sigh with aid.

All that efficiency and luxury come at a value, and like all DCF tents, the Professional 2+ is dear. To its credit score, it’s really on the inexpensive aspect of this class of tent owing to the silnylon flooring choice, however even with that it’s a bit of change. For somebody embarking on a thru-hike with one other particular person, we consider it’s a worthwhile funding in long-term consolation.

What Different Ultralight Tents Ought to You Take into account?

If the Durston X-Mid Professional 1 Tent is the proper match, our greatest ultralight tents information has many different choices.

Zpacks Offset Duo Evaluation: No tent comes nearer than the Offset Duo to rivaling the Professional 2+ for what it does greatest. The Offset Duo stole our hearts throughout testing by providing an unimaginable mix of professional consolation for 2, glorious options, and comparable sturdiness. In some ways, the editor’s selection award may have simply gone to the Offset Duo. Each tents got down to create a really comfy expertise for 2 individuals at an important weight, they usually solved sure design challenges in barely other ways. And on the finish of the day, the Offset Duo isn’t a factually worse tent than the Professional 2+, it’s merely a distinct expertise, and one we’d enthusiastically advocate for anybody . To our type of backpacking, we nonetheless desire the Professional 2+, however in the event you’re not fairly as taken with it as we’re, the Offset Duo ought to be the subsequent tent you give your consideration to, it’s actually unimaginable.

Lanshan Professional 2 Evaluation: If the worth of the Professional 2+ is a bit an excessive amount of for you, our favourite finances tent is to the rescue. With a complete weight of 32.3 ounces, it’s not as featherweight because the Professional 2+, however nonetheless boasts first rate livability. It’s roomy for an A-frame type tent, even for taller individuals, and though pitching isn’t fairly as simple, we nonetheless managed to get an important pitch on the primary strive. The climate resistance gained’t be nearly as good attributable to bigger cloth panels on the top and foot finish, and the trekking poles are in the midst of the doorways, however general, we nonetheless got here away impressed throughout testing. And for the worth, it’s actually laborious to beat.