Durston X-Mid Professional 2+ Tent Evaluation

Backside Line

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

Though Durston Gear is a comparatively new firm, they’ve been steadily gaining reputation on long-distance trails because of a mixture 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 every other we examined. The design performs a big position 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 worth will nonetheless be a barrier for many individuals. Like all DCF tents, there’s no avoiding the truth that a tent comprised of expensive materials will even be costly. Luckily, the choice of a silnylon flooring helps cut back the value a bit, making it extra reasonably priced than different tents on this weight vary.

In the long run, we’re left with a tent that balances the vital features of tent design higher than every other 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 snug expertise at a weight that makes our backs grin.

Consolation

With a beneficiant 32.5 sq. ft of flooring area and a lofty 49 inches of peak in an offset pole design, the X-Mid Professional 2+ is essentially the most snug and spacious tent in our lineup. For its weight, there’s no different tent we’d moderately spend our nights in. Maybe the most important 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 area. In comparison with most different ultralight tents, the Professional 2+ felt like a breath of contemporary air for area. We have been capable of 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 when you and your tent buddy are round six ft tall, anxiousness a couple of 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 whole whitepaper that delves into the specifics of tent design and volumetrically environment friendly geometry. In abstract, the offset design is optimized to offer essentially the most livable inside area doable in a two-pole configuration. Now we have firsthand expertise with producers making daring however unsubstantiated claims about their tents, notably concerning their capacity to accommodate taller people, however we’re pleasantly shocked by Durston Gear’s design on this case. It genuinely appears to supply a beneficiant quantity of livable inside area with a two-pole design, particularly when in comparison with a basic A-frame.

That stated, simply because the X-Mid has math on its aspect doesn’t make it excellent. The draw back of an offset pole design like that is that it’s inherently asymmetrical. Which means that if each individuals 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 shocked by the quantity of headroom out there when sleeping within the non-ideal orientation. Frankly, it’s much more than when sleeping in different shelters within the right orientation, and we’re grateful that the design accommodates each forms of sleeping orientations.

A number of small but considerate design options improve consolation. The big sidewall pockets are simple 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 peak but additionally because of the prolonged diagonal of sustained headroom, which provides a extra livable expertise in comparison with a single peak.

Lastly, the vestibules are monumental and unbelievable. We appreciated with the ability to lean our backpacks towards the trekking poles at night time to stop them from falling over, whereas nonetheless having the realm protected by the smaller vestibule even when the principle door was open. They’re handy for any sleeping orientation and supply wonderful 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 out there, and their weights differ. The model we’re testing encompasses 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 dimension of a giant shelter like this extra manageable.

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

Ease of Use

With solely 4 stakes and two trekking poles wanted to pitch the tent, we discovered the Professional 2+ fairly simple to arrange and use. For many who haven’t used a trekking pole shelter earlier than, setup would require some adjustment, so we advocate training at residence a couple of occasions earlier than taking it on an journey. Nevertheless, 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 finished.

The draw back of this simplicity is that it is advisable make sure the rectangle is sq.; in any other case, the pitch will probably be uneven. Leaving a couple of inches of wire in both route with the nook Lineloc tensioners permits for changes to rectify this, however you could must re-stake to attain an excellent pitch. Though 4 stakes are the minimal, we advocate carrying two extra so the doorways may 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 challenge.

On the unfavourable aspect, the selection to have the rainfly lengthen so near the bottom limits the shelter’s versatility on uneven terrain. We perceive the design selection – the low rainfly provides wonderful safety from wind and rain – but it surely 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, constantly discovering methods to make them useful, so we don’t contemplate this to be a big downside.

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 area out there, there’s no avoiding the big footprint; greater tents are inherently more durable to place in tight areas. Nevertheless, Durston Gear offers guides for various pitching strategies that may collapse the vestibules, providing a significantly decreased footprint dimension when area constraints come up, which provides a pleasant versatility bonus.

On the inside, utilizing the tent is equally simple. The doorways are giant and cozy for getting 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 may be propped open with a kickstand from contained in the tent, which makes it tremendous simple 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 move it by way of the height vent and angle it up into the height. That is advantageous in wet climate, because it helps decrease rain getting into the inside, or in desert situations, the place lowering zipper use is essential to stop 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 certainly one of our favourite shelters for weathering a storm. The offset pole geometry helps disrupt the big aspect panels that always problem A-frame fashion tents. There are nonetheless attachment factors halfway up the edges and on the peak, which might considerably support in resisting robust winds.

The DCF material used within the rainfly is a wonderful materials for climate resistance. It options minimal stretch and provides excellent water resistance attributable to its building. Not like silnylon, it doesn’t soak up water and sheds it simply, making it fast to dry and making certain it received’t crush your pack after getting moist.

Though we total love the Professional 2+ for storms, it stays a big shelter. If winds strike it from the aspect, it can wrestle extra, similar to every other tent. It’s vital to attempt to orient it with the height ridgeline dealing with into the wind for optimum efficiency. We will’t complain an excessive amount of right here, as comparable tents will even carry out poorly when hit from the aspect and don’t possess pretty much as good a profile for chopping by way of 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 fascinating selection for lowering price and packed dimension. Based on testing performed 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 towards 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 unintentionally 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 calm down, it returned to its unique 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+?

For those who’re out there for a supremely snug backpacking tent that boasts nice climate resistance at an unimaginable weight, we consider the X-Mid Professional 2+ ought to be on the high of your listing. No different tent impressed us as a lot throughout testing. It’s the one we need 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 price, and like all DCF tents, the Professional 2+ is dear. To its credit score, it’s truly on the cheaper aspect of this class of tent owing to the silnylon flooring possibility, however even with that it’s a piece 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 finest 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 finest. The Offset Duo stole our hearts throughout testing by providing an unimaginable mix of reliable consolation for 2, wonderful options, and related sturdiness. In some ways, the editor’s selection award might have simply gone to the Offset Duo. Each tents got down to create a very snug expertise for 2 folks at an incredible weight, they usually solved sure design challenges in barely alternative 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 fashion of backpacking, we nonetheless want the Professional 2+, however when you’re not fairly as taken with it as we’re, the Offset Duo ought to be the following tent you give your consideration to, it’s really unimaginable.

Lanshan Professional 2 Evaluation: If the value 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 respectable livability. It’s roomy for an A-frame fashion tent, even for taller folks, and though pitching isn’t fairly as simple, we nonetheless managed to get an incredible pitch on the primary attempt. The climate resistance received’t be pretty much as good attributable to bigger material panels on the pinnacle and foot finish, and the trekking poles are in the course of the doorways, however total, we nonetheless got here away impressed throughout testing. And for the value, it’s actually onerous to beat.