X-Dome 1+

If you sleep "straight" (along the backwall) in the X-Dome 1+ then the length is 85" and with the steep end walls that is almost all quite useable, so the length is about average for a tent and should work to about 6'2".

However, the unique trapezoid shape of the floor allows you to sleep on a diagonal (like our X-Mid series) which adds 5" of length so it is excellent for taller hikers with about 90" of length. We recommend the tent up to 6'6" when sleeping on this diagonal but the actual max height can be more or less depending on individual factors like sleeping bag size, how straight you sleep, and how much room you expect.

The X-Dome is simple enough that you can probably just lay out the tent and figure it out, but for the best results we recommend watching our pitching video.

Briefly though, the most common approach is to lay out the fly, assemble the pole set, clip the pole set to the 4 corners of the fly and then connect the rest of the clips between the fly and poles. The interior may already be connected inside, but if not, lay it out with the wider end to the left and then connect all the buckles. If you want to pitch inner first, clip the interior to the poles instead of the fly.

The regular pole set is designed to be as light as possible while packing to a reasonably length of 18". This gives a reasonably sized package with the lowest weight.

Some users place more of an emphasis on a short packed length, such as bikepackers and hikers preferring to store the tent horizontally inside their packs. For these people we offer a "short" version of the pole set that divides the length into more sections so it can pack shorter at 13". This has the advantage of packing shorter, but with the downsides of a small increase in weight and hassle to assemble.

For most people we recommend the regular pole set, but the short version is nice for people who don't mind some added weight for a shorter packed length.

The goal with the X-Dome is to make a very capable all around tent while keeping the weight ultralight. We do not call it a 4-season tent, and it's main focus is 3 season backpacking, but for many people it will be sturdy enough to use year round.

More specifically, the definition of a "4 season" tent is imprecise because some people use it to mean a tent that can be used in the winter (which is almost all tents), some people use it to mean a tent with a solid interior and snow skirts (which is a winter only tent), while other people use 4-season to refer to a tent that can survive extreme mountaineering conditions (which is very few tents).

The X-Dome is a very capable tent that for most people can be used on all of their trips. It can survive big snow loads and fairly high winds (especially with the optional trekking pole supports). With almost no skill it can be used in winds up to 50 km/hr. With good skill in using guylines and deploying stakes, it can be used up to 70 km/hr. We do not recommend it above that, but it can be used higher than that with advanced skill and higher risk acceptance.

Overall, the performance depends partly on the tent and partly on the user. We designed the X-Dome as an all around ultralight tent that can work for 98% of conditions, but it is not as sturdy as a much heavier 4-season rated tent. We prefer to call it a 3+ season tent, while noting it will be suitable for many winter trips.

The X-Dome is designed with a maximally weight efficient design including the simpler rectangular fly, structurally efficient pole set, and advanced materials like carbon fiber, so there is not another comparable tent that offers similar or more capability at a lower weight. Comparable tents are similar in weight or heavier while being smaller and less sturdy.

Of course there are other tents that are lighter, but these will always be smaller, less durable, reduced functionally (e.g. only semi freestanding) or all of the above.

The lightest 1P tents are very small inside and either not freestanding or semi-freestanding. In the niche of fully freestanding tents, all of the double wall tents are similar in weight or heavier than the X-Dome 1+ while still being smaller and less protective.

The only exceptions to this are tents that use much more expensive Dyneema based fabrics (which we offer in our other tents and hope to introduce to the X-Dome series). If you are after a fully freestanding, double wall tent with woven fabric, the X-Dome 1+ is amongst the very lightest options while being much more spacious and stormworthy than comparable.

The X-Dome is built with top of the line materials including Easton Carbon poles, custom hardware, and advanced high strength polyester fabrics, and it is constructed at the same high end factory that builds many of the world's top tents with premium construction including double stitching and high precision narrow seams.

This gives it a substantially higher cost of production than comparable tents with aluminum poles, generic fabrics, and less robust stitching - yet we are able to offer the X-Dome for a lower price because we sell it direct to you (without a 50% retailer markup) and we only have a slim markup ourselves.

Essentially, we eliminate the retailer markup and instead invest most of that into making an even better tent, while passing along the rest to you as cost savings. Even at a higher price, you can’t find higher quality than the X-Dome.

Our tents and passionate advocacy have been a major reason for the modern movement towards polyester in ultralight tents. When we introduced the X-Mid with polyester in 2018 it was controversial. Many other companies were initially skeptical of our fabric choices before later switching themselves after our tents demonstrated the strength potential of polyester and set of standard of fabric sag being unacceptable.

As background, in the 1980's only nylon was available in the lightest weights so it became popular in lightweight tents even though it absorbs water and expands - making the tent loose, structurally unsound, and slow to dry. With modern advances in polyester to reduce the weight and increase the strength, polyester can now be similar in strength while being a much more suitable tent fabric because it has much less water absorption, dries faster, stays lighter, and remains taut in the rain.

With the X-Dome 1+, we are again moving things forward with a new generation of high tenacity polyester fabrics. These may exceed all other lightweight polyester in strength:weight.

The X-Dome uses a new high strength version for polyester for the floor. It is a fairly durable tent floor, but still is a balance between low weight and durability so some care during use is recommended.

We have selected this material for the floor because we think it is as light as possible while still being reasonable to use without the added weight and hassle of groundsheet. However, that does assume you apply some care to avoid sharp objects like sticks and sharp rocks on your tent site and that the site is a normal surface (e.g. dirt). Many people will prefer to be careful and not use a groundsheet, but a groundsheet is recommended for harsher surfaces like gravel, pine needles, or bedrock, and also provides a cleaner floor and added peace of mind. We expect about half of owners will opt to use our groundsheet. We suggesting being careful and not using it, but you may wish to have it for harsher surfaces or times when lightweight is not a priority.