Dan Durston/Massdrop X-Mid

WildAboutWalking

WildAboutWalking

Ultralighter
Mole said:
They did the TGO Challenge in 2014. I was also witness to it.
The afternoon they finished they didn't pitch their tents very well. Slack pitches and insecure pegging.*
It was the windiest evening of the event. When they returned from the Park Hotel 2 of the 3 Zpacks tents were on the deck. If I recall correctly, it was 2 Solplexes that fell down (not the Duplex that Joe had erected).

*Are winds in much of the US fairly infrequent or something? In my experience, often what appear to be experienced hikers from the US, are really quite slack at tent pitching.

Last year's TGO was very gentle weatherwise. Very low wind speeds for most of the crossing. I camped one time by a US guy with a Duplex. He pitched it really loosely, with all the pegs only half in the ground at a variety of odd angles. One puff and it would have been over. A child over here would have done a better job!

On the HRP, there was a chap started the same day as us with a new Strat Li. On day 6 (first one in the higher mountains) , there was a flurry of wind in the evening. His tent went over just like that. I ended up helping him stake it out again and showed him how to securely pitch it for a storm. Which was very necessary a week or so later.
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The pitching of the two tents in the ZPacks V Durston video above proves your point - the ZPack tent was a baggy mess, and the XMid pegs were only driven halfway into the ground - and then he grumbled about a crease in the inner!
 
Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
WildAboutWalking said:
The pitching of the two tents in the ZPacks V Durston video above proves your point - the ZPack tent was a baggy mess, and the XMid pegs were only driven halfway into the ground - and then he grumbled about a crease in the inner!
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I dunno if I can watch it. I've watched videos by both before. However interesting the content, I find those gurning, cartoon like faces, and over egged delivery are somewhat off-putting.
 
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BogTrotter

Section Hiker
WildAboutWalking said:
The pitching of the two tents in the ZPacks V Durston video above proves your point - the ZPack tent was a baggy mess, and the XMid pegs were only driven halfway into the ground - and then he grumbled about a crease in the inner!
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Although a couple of adjusters would help, that crease may have been eliminated by simply adjusting the pegging points.

The floor of the ZPack would be OK pitched as high as it was but lowering it (and the headroom) to seal the vestibule from UK winds would equally make the groundsheet a mess.
 
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Tychonius

Tychonius

Section Hiker
Pffft. Amateurs I’d have to guess.

Unless I choose to travel a distance, most of my hiking is in the great lakes region of the US. Constant high winds would be unusual, but we certainly have our fair share of them, and those in the know pitch properly. We often see 60 km winds where I live. Very, very infrequently we have a thing called a “derecho”. Last one that swept through did billions in damage. And damaging storms are common. I have camped in areas where I can see other tents nearby and have woken up the next morning after a torrential storm and see them flattened. Don’t know what to say…

The central plains states can have ferocious winds. But there’s not much to see there, so nobody camps there. :) To me the interesting areas are places where there is serious topographical change and elevation. I like to hike in the Rockies and also the Appalachian range on the east side of the country. Mountains always see wind. :)

Heading to Tucson, Arizona, in a week where I’m going to spend the better part of my time there trudging around part of the Sonoran desert. Not too hot this time of year and can be gorgeous. And can be windy.
 
Tychonius

Tychonius

Section Hiker
BogTrotter said:
25-35mph winds seem to be the norm around The Lake District at height.
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Huh. That’s not terrible. I live less than 2 km from Lake Michigan in Chicago IL. We have 40 mph winds at the lakefront very often. Sporting sailing, not so great to pitch in.

Where I like to hike and camp regularly is across that lake about 300 km NE from me as the crow flies, less than a km inland of the shore on that side in another state. The winds pick up as they cross the open water and hit us on the other side pretty sturdily.
 
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BogTrotter

Section Hiker
Tychonius said:
Huh. That’s not terrible. I live less than 2 km from Lake Michigan in Chicago IL. We have 40 mph winds at the lakefront very often. Sporting sailing, not so great to pitch in.

Where I like to hike and camp regularly is across that lake about 300 km NE from me as the crow flies, less than a km inland of the shore on that side in another state. The winds pick up as they cross the open water and hit us on the other side pretty sturdily.
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25-35 mph is the ‘norm’. Likewise it regularly hits higher speeds.
 
Tychonius

Tychonius

Section Hiker
BogTrotter said:
25-35 mph is the ‘norm’. Likewise it regularly hits higher speeds.
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Ah. When you wrote “at height” I interpreted your comment to mean that was the norm highest speed of the season, or something similar.

In any regard the wind sounds very comparable. And therefore, I’ve no clue as to why some of my compatriots do not know how to properly pitch a tent. I know how to do it, but then I am old, and have been doing this for a while with lots of different canvas. But I do certainly see my share of folks sporting what you all would call a “festival tent” in conditions where such would be inadvisable. :joyful:
 
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Gordon

Gordon

Ultralighter
I had a tent collapse on me when I camped at Grizedale Turn many years ago.

A storm blew in overnight and although it stayed up for most of the night, the two poles eventually snapped.

The tent was a Vango Hurricane.......
 
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F

Frederic

Day Walker
I just bought a second hand xmid 1P (v2) fly without an inner and i would like to use the 2 top buckles. I found nothing in what i had in stock or browsing through this thread. What is the type of buckle used ?
8esYxxwLK.xmid-v2-1P.jpeg
 
DaveL

DaveL

Day Walker
Do we think there will ever be an X-Mid 1+?

Just got an x-Mid 1P. Love the tent but not too sure of the size. Only ever had smallish 2 person tents before.

I will give it a fair crack, but was just wondering…
 
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dandurston

dandurston

Section Hiker
I do agree there is a big gap in size between the X-Mid 1 and X-Mid 2. The X-Mid 1 is a decent size for a 1P tent, while the X-Mid 2 is quite generous for a 2P tent, so if you want something larger than the X-Mid 1 then the X-Mid 2 might be overkill. I've considered a 1+ version and it could happen eventually, but it's not in the works right now so it wouldn't be out in the next year.
 
DaveL

DaveL

Day Walker
Thanks for reply Dan.
I’m pleasantly surprised at the size of the 1 person so far. Might consider a 2P for winter if need be.
I’ll keep an eye open for the 1+ should it ever happen.
 
D

Dickybeau

Trail Blazer
dandurston said:
I do agree there is a big gap in size between the X-Mid 1 and X-Mid 2. The X-Mid 1 is a decent size for a 1P tent, while the X-Mid 2 is quite generous for a 2P tent, so if you want something larger than the X-Mid 1 then the X-Mid 2 might be overkill. I've considered a 1+ version and it could happen eventually, but it's not in the works right now so it wouldn't be out in the next year.
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Please move it up. 😂
 
JRT

JRT

Ultralighter
Yeah a 1p+ would be perfect. I suspect a lot of us (myself included) use the 2p as a solo tent because the 1p isn't quite large enough.

Something that might solve that issue and perhaps be cheaper and easier to develop and manufacture with minimal extra weight, would be an extended inner option for the 1p with an additional section that covered one of the two vestibules. Sure it would mean one of the two poles would be inside the inner, but that's no real hardship.

I'd buy that and a separate 1p outer in a flash.
 
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