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 greatest ultralight choices, this one delighted us probably the most, making it our high 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 pinnacle and foot ends. Mixed with glorious 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 recognition on long-distance trails due to a mix of fantastic design and aggressive costs. The Professional 2+ is their most premium mannequin, that includes a bigger design than the commonplace Professional 2.

After testing it within the native forests of Minnesota, we discovered ourselves dreaming of our subsequent massive journey with this tent greater than with every other we examined. The design performs a major position on this success; the Professional 2+ employs an offset pole geometry to maximise inner quantity extra successfully than different two-pole setups. This similar design additionally permits for straightforward 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 may even be costly. Happily, the choice of a silnylon ground helps cut back the worth a bit, making it extra inexpensive than different tents on this weight vary.

In the long run, we’re left with a tent that balances the vital elements 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 way in which we backpack, that is the one shelter we’d select if we needed a delightfully snug expertise at a weight that makes our backs grin.

Consolation

With a beneficiant 32.5 sq. toes of ground house and a lofty 49 inches of top in an offset pole design, the X-Mid Professional 2+ is probably the most snug and spacious tent in our lineup. For its weight, there’s no different tent we’d quite 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 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 if you happen to and your tent buddy are round six toes 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 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 doable in a two-pole configuration. Now we have firsthand expertise with producers making daring however unsubstantiated claims about their tents, notably relating to their means 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 excellent. The draw back of an offset pole design like that is that it’s inherently asymmetrical. Which means if each individuals are sleeping face to face, one individual 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 obtainable 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 forms of sleeping orientations.

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

Lastly, the vestibules are huge and improbable. We appreciated having the ability to lean our backpacks towards the trekking poles at evening to stop them from falling over, whereas nonetheless having the world protected by the smaller vestibule even when the primary door was open. They’re handy for any sleeping orientation and supply glorious splashback safety because the 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 gives this a lot consolation. There are literally two variations of this tent obtainable, and their weights differ. The model we’re testing encompasses a silnylon ground as a substitute of a Dyneema Composite Fiber ground. This provides two additional ounces however saves $100, which we imagine is an honest commerce that most individuals would settle for.

Moreover, we admire 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 available on the market, nevertheless it’s additionally not aiming to be. The inclusion of a plus in its title means that it targets a extra snug expertise for individuals who prioritize consolation over having the lightest weight tent obtainable.

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 working towards at residence a number of occasions 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 accomplished.

The draw back of this simplicity is that you should make sure the rectangle is sq.; in any other case, the pitch might be uneven. Leaving a number of inches of wire in both path with the nook Lineloc tensioners permits for changes to rectify this, however it’s possible you’ll must re-stake to attain a great pitch. Though 4 stakes are the minimal, we advocate carrying two extra so the doorways will 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 rigidity can safe it, however the Professional 2+ doesn’t have this difficulty.

On the destructive aspect, the selection to have the rainfly prolong so near the bottom limits the shelter’s versatility on uneven terrain. We perceive the design alternative – the low rainfly affords glorious safety from wind and rain – nevertheless 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 numerous uneven surfaces, persistently discovering methods to make them practical, so we don’t contemplate this to be a major downside.

Moreover, the footprint is kind of giant. The difficulty 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 obtainable, there’s no avoiding the big footprint; larger tents are inherently more durable to place in tight areas. Nonetheless, Durston Gear offers guides for different pitching strategies that may collapse the vestibules, providing a significantly diminished 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 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 will 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, in addition they allow one other neat trick. As a substitute of unzipping the door to position a trekking pole, you possibly can 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 circumstances, 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 way in which to the bottom, the Professional 2+ is one in every 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 may considerably assist in resisting sturdy winds.

The DCF material used within the rainfly is a wonderful materials for climate resistance. It options minimal stretch and affords excellent water resistance as a result of its development. In contrast to silnylon, it doesn’t take up water and sheds it simply, making it fast to dry and guaranteeing it received’t overwhelm 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 battle extra, identical 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 may even carry out poorly when hit from the aspect and don’t possess nearly as good a profile for reducing 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 power of the material has been examined over time on lots of the longest trails.

The 15D silnylon ground is an fascinating alternative for lowering value and packed measurement. In keeping with testing performed by Durston Gear, it performs equally to 1.0 ozsq yd DCF as a ground materials, although they provide each choices.

In our testing, we discovered that the 15D silnylon utilized by Durston Gear holds up effectively towards the pains of a thru-hike. We carried an X-Mid Professional 1 with the identical 15D ground for 1,000 miles on the PCT. One evening, we by chance 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 chill out, 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+?

When you’re available in the market for a supremely snug backpacking tent that boasts nice climate resistance at an unbelievable weight, we imagine the X-Mid Professional 2+ must be on the high of your checklist. 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 individual. Quite than dreading crawling right into a cramped inside, the Professional 2+ is spacious sufficient to make even taller customers sigh with reduction.

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 truly on the cheaper aspect of this class of tent owing to the silnylon ground choice, however even with that it’s a piece of change. For somebody embarking on a thru-hike with one other individual, we imagine 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 right 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 unbelievable mix of respectable consolation for 2, glorious options, and comparable sturdiness. In some ways, the editor’s alternative award might have simply gone to the Offset Duo. Each tents got down to create a really snug expertise for 2 individuals at a terrific 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 desire the Professional 2+, however if you happen to’re not fairly as taken with it as we’re, the Offset Duo must be the subsequent tent you give your consideration to, it’s really unbelievable.

Lanshan Professional 2 Evaluation: If the worth of the Professional 2+ is a bit an excessive amount of for you, our favourite funds 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 fashion tent, even for taller individuals, and though pitching isn’t fairly as simple, we nonetheless managed to get a terrific pitch on the primary attempt. The climate resistance received’t be nearly as good as a result of bigger material panels on the pinnacle and foot finish, and the trekking poles are in the midst of the doorways, however total, we nonetheless got here away impressed throughout testing. And for the worth, it’s actually laborious to beat.