X-Mid 2 Solid

Sale price$304.00 USD

Include stakes?: No

Pinnacle of Lightweight Tent Design

The X-Mid 2 Solid is a variant of the award winning X-Mid 2 that is tilted more towards use in the shoulder season, cooler conditions, and wind-swept areas like Northern Europe, while remaining an excellent all around backpacking tent. Like its sibling, it has been developed from the first principles of geometry to be the most weight efficient design for a trekking pole shelter. No comparable tent under the 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg) mark offers such a well rounded mix of stormworthiness, spaciousness, and simplicity, which is why the X-Mid 2 has become one of the most popular and highly awarded tents in recent years including top awards from BackpackingLight, The Trek, and Section Hiker.

STORMWORTHY

Most ultralight tents are designed more as fair weather shelters where they achieve their low weights by compromising in durability and stormworthiness. With the X-Mid 2 Solid, performance in tough conditions is a top priority, therefore the X-Mid saves weight through efficient design. This allows us to make a tent that is both ultralight and capable for tough conditions.

The X-Mid 2 Solid has a comprehensive set of protections including a full doublewall design, full coverage fly (extends low to the ground to blocks drafts and splatter), fly first pitch (keeps the inner dry during setup in the rain), polyester fabric (doesn't sag and loosen like nylon), large adjustable vents, robust waterproof coatings, durable 20D fabrics, factory waterproofed seams, and protected doorways that keep rain out even when open. No other tent offers this full list.

USER FRIENDLY

When you're tired at the end of a long day or the conditions are rough, it's essential to have a tent that performs simply and intuitively. To achieve this, the X-Mid 2 Solid is designed from obsessive attention to detail and from Dan Durston's extensive backcountry experience.

The result is the X-Mid's simple pitch with only 4 required stakes. There are no mandatory guylines, odd angles, or guesswork, which is a refreshing contrast to most trekking pole tents that require numerous stakes, guylines, and struts as part of a complex pitching process.

The eye for usability continues when the tent is set up including large doorways that are not blocked by trekking poles, roomy vestibules that are located beside the doors instead of blocking them, magnetic door toggles, a collection of 4 thoughtfully placed pockets, and one handed operating zippers.

Even the packed size of the tent has been obsessed over and optimized into a short shape that can store horizontally in any pack.

The Trek

Best Thru-Hiking Tent

"A laundry list of well-thought-out details makes these tents exceptional in rough weather...one version of the X-Mid or another should be near the top of your list."

Backpacking Light

Highly Recommended

"Exceptionally high quality. Field performance was outstanding. Overall, it has simply been a joy to use.”

iRunFar

Surpasses the Hype

"The Durston X-Mid 2 is one of the most hyped products in the ultralight backpacking world, and it lives up to, and maybe even surpasses, that hype.”

Section Hiker

10 Best Backpacking Tents

"It's shape makes it extremely weather and storm-worthy. The all-mesh interior tent has offset peaks to maximize headroom"

Adventure Alan

Top Pick

"A winning combination of low weight, a ton of livable area and great condensation control.”

SPACIOUS

The patented X-Mid geometry is the most space efficient architecture possible for a dual trekking pole tent. It accomplishes this with an innovative design that sets the two poles further apart for greater volume and headroom, while keeping them set back from the edges to avoid a boxy shape that would be less stormworthy and require more fabric.

The result is a generously sized 2P tent that provides ample space for two adults. That includes a 52" wide floor that fits the widest pads, and a long 92" length that accommodates hikers up to 6'4". The diagonal ridgeline also allows the two occupants to move further apart for greater personal space.

The dual vestibules are also generously sized and accommodate large packs and everything else - all without blocking the doorways.

QUALITY

The X-Mid 2 Solid is built at the most experienced tent factory in the world, who have been building nothing but premium tents for nearly 70 years.

In partnership with them, we go beyond high standards to specify premium components and robust construction methods including full double stitching, double folded edges, waterproof seam construction, and generous bartacking. We know of no other tent that uses double stitching as extensively as we do.

This focus on quality gives the X-Mid 2 Solid a higher cost of production than competing tents, yet the X-Mid 2 Solid is priced affordably because we sell it directly to you with only a slim markup.

Magnetic Toggles

Magnetic door toggles with pull tabs provide easy one handed-operation.

Large Doorways

Unlike most trekking pole tents, the doorways are large and not blocked by trekking poles. They also have a protected design to keep rain out even when open, and can be propped open with a stick or pole to create a 'porch'.

Full Coverage Fly

The fly extends low to the ground to block drafts and rain splatter, yet can be raised higher for more ventilation. Other tents cut away the bottom of the fly to save weight but it leaves you more exposed.

Stormworthy Shape

The X-Mid provides the ideal shape with consistent and moderate panel slopes. All the panels are an ideal 50 - 55 degrees which balance wind and snow shedding to provide excellent all around performance. Most tents are less consistent with a mix of shallower panels (worse for snow shedding) and steeper panels (worse for wind performance).

Ample Headroom

The X-Mid's offset poles provides a longer diagonal ridgeline that extends the headroom over more of the tent. There is ample clearance to transition from laying down to sitting up without hitting the tent, and room to sit up anywhere in the tent.

PATENTED GEOMETRY

The X-Mid shape has been developed from the first principles of geometry to be as weight efficient, simple, and functional as possible.

That includes avoiding all the common pitfalls of trekking pole shelters such as a complicated pitch, mandatory guylines, poles blocking the doorways, and a lack of interior volume.

Read the story about how the X-Mid geometry was developed:

The X-Mid 2 Solid is a spacious and simple ultralight tent that shines when the weather turns challenging. It's a well rounded tent ready for everything from hillwalks in the UK's Lake District to remote traverses of Alaska's Brooks Range.

Customer Reviews

Based on 80 reviews
88%
(70)
8%
(6)
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C
Christopher White

The build quality is excellent, and every detail seems well thought out. It's also easier to set up than any other UL tent I've owned. This tent seems like a crazy good value so far. Looking forward to taking it on some rad adventures!

J
Jesus Ortiz
Durston X-Mid 2 Solid

1st weekend use of new tent. Rained all night long. Not one drop of water leak into tent and no condensation on inner tent.

Nice! Glad the tent is holding up well. My goal is design tents that make tough conditions more liveable, so it's nice to hear it is working well.
- Dan

D
Dominic M
Amazing tent that lives up to the hype, can highly recommend

I couldn't be happier with the x-mid 2p solid, my only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner. I do most of my camping in the north of the UK, so I went with the solid for the wet and windy conditions that we often get here. I added trekking pole handle adaptors from tarptent so I could use the tent with the trekking pole handles up, tips down. This was to avoid any risk of puncturing the tent with the tips, and also to keep the handles clean. Setting up the tent correctly, especially when on uneven ground, can be a bit challenging, but I think you get better at it with practice. I've been using a trick seen on YouTube where you create an isosceles triangle to find the mid-point to ensure a rectangular base. The inside of the tent feels very spacious with two people inside, and the vestibules are great for storing kit. When it was raining I used a third trekking pole to create an awning with the tent door open on side, which was great for cooking out of the rain. If you are looking for a light yet spacious trekking pole tent with many nice quality of life features, I highly recommend the xmid.

Thanks Dominic! Glad the tent is working well and spacious.
- Dan Durston

F
Filip H
Easy, spacious and functional

I'm super happy with my Durston X-Mid 2 Solid tent! Before I bought it, I checked out several reviews and videos, and that made it even easier to set it up the first time.

The best part is that it's basically done once you've staked out the four corners. Watching Dan's troubleshooting video beforehand really helped me understand how the tent works.

Since this is my only tent, I bought the tent poles for hikes when I don't bring my trekking poles. They are incredibly light, weigh almost nothing, and still feel sturdy. Really good! 👍

The tent is surprisingly spacious for being so light. I have plenty of room for both me and my gear.

Good pockets and hooks and such for easy storing and access. LOVE IT!

Thanks Filip!
- Dan Durston

M
Mateo
Amazing design…with just a wish

Had the pleasure of taking the Xmid2 Solid on several outings this summer. A couple of quick overnighters with the wife, and a longer trek into the high Sierra over several nights. In all instances, the design made for comfortable nights, even in near freezing temps, and ease of carry when on the move.

In the Sierra, I ended up in the tent solo, as my hiking partner had his own tent. It was great having an absolute palace to myself, and the weight was not overbearing at all. When packed away, it fit great inside my Kakwa 55.

My only “gripe” with the tent is that I wish it were less “solid.” Or rather, I wish the solid parts only extended halfway up (or the current height on the doors) from the bottom of the tent, with the top half completely mesh. This would make it still great for protecting occupants from wind, blowing dirt, or rain splatter, whilst still leaving the top half open for stargazing and/or great ventilation without the fly when the weather is nice. Currently on warm days and the fly peeled back, it was just a bummer to feel so contained because the only mesh is the windows on the doors. Also, you just don’t get enough view of the stars if you’re using the stargazer kit. Yes, I know the tent is called the Solid. This is just my personal take on what would make the Xmid perfect for me. But an Xmid Halfsies would theoretically be the best of both worlds.

Still, I’ve been enjoying the tent and am looking forward to more adventures with it.

Thanks for the kind words and feedback. A half solid inner would be a nice option. We might do something like that in a future revision, but it is hard to offer too many versions since we do have the full mesh and the solid versions now. You could get a mesh inner too so you have both of those options.

- Dan Durston

PITCHING GUIDE

Get started with our comprehensive X-Mid pitching guide.