X-Dome 2

$489.00 USD

Interior: Solid

Regular Solid

Pole Set: Regular (ships Late May)

Regular (ships Late May) Short (ships early June)

X-Dome 2

$489.00 USD

The X-Dome 2 is now available to order with the tents shipping in late May (regular poles) or early June (short poles). Due to very high interest, this first batch may sell out quickly.

Pinnacle of Freestanding Tent Design

The X-Dome™ 2 is an ultralight freestanding tent developed from our focus on efficient design to be more spacious, protective, and simple to use. It combines our weight efficient and simple X-Mid floorplan with a structurally optimized pole set to provide unprecedented space and protection for the weight. The result is a generously sized and fully freestanding two person shelter that is highly liveable in tough conditions for just 2.7 lbs (1.25 kg).

SPACIOUS

The X-Dome 2 is a generous sized, true two person shelter that is noticeably more spacious than comparable tents. That spaciousness starts with the floor, which has a width of 52" (130 cm) for the full length so it can easily accomodate two wide pads. The floor length is suited for taller hikers with an 88" (224 cm) length that is made more useable by the near vertical end walls.

What really makes the X-Dome 2 spacious though is the taller interior height combined with a shape that perserves that height over more of the tent. The interior height of 43" (1.1 m) is 3 - 6" taller than comparable tents and the full length crossbar extends this peak height over to the doorways (creating vertical sidewalls) while the geometry extends the height towards the ends (creating near end vertical walls). The result is 20 - 40% more volume than comparable tents including outstanding headroom and shoulder room - allowing partners on two wide pads to comfortably share the tent.

The dual vestibules are also generously sized at 9 sq ft (0.83 sq m) each. Each vestibule can easily fit a large pack while having extra room for cooking, shoes, and wet gear.

PROTECTIVE

X-Dome 2 is designed to keep you protected and comfortable in tough conditions. That starts with the structure of the tent, which is stronger than most ultralight tents due to the larger diameter tubing in key areas, and the premium high strength carbon fiber poles that are stronger for the weight than aluminum. This makes the X-Dome sturdier than comparable tents, plus trekking poles can be optionally added to complete the crossbar into a robust third arch which adds substantial vertical and horizontal strength for snowloads and high winds.

What is often overlooked - yet usually matters more than outright strength - is how liveable the tent is during tough conditions. Here the X-Dome excels with overhanging doorways that keep out falling rain, 100% polyester fabric that is non-sag and fast drying, a fly first pitch that keeps the interior dry during setup, a full doublewall design to separate any condensation, and a fly that extends low to the ground to blocks drafts and rain splatter. No other ultralight freestanding tent has all of these protections.

The X-Dome 2 is also highly spacious so you have room to live when riding out a storm, and the details that matter have been obsessed over - such as taller doorways so you can enter without touching a wet fly and generously sized vestibules for wet gear. It's the shelter you want to have when wet weather rolls in.

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity and ease-of-use are an obsession with our tents because at the end of a tough day or in rough weather you want a shelter that is fast and intuitive to use.

Most notably, the pitch is simpler and more versatile than other tents. The rectangle based geometry allows the tent to naturally pitch in any order, including fly first during wet weather or inner first on a starry night, and it can pitch with the fly and inner pre-connected for the fastest pitch. It is also 100% freestanding, so you can let the conditions determine which stakes you use instead of the tent dictating certain ones.

Another important aspect is the doorways, which are often overlooked. The X-Dome uses a crossbar and angled zipper to create doorways that are larger, taller and more vertical so they are easier to step through and keep rain out. The doors secure with easier to use magnets, and the reach to close the fly door is intentionally shorter than other tents so you can comfortably do it from inside.

The X-Dome also has numerous other details that make the tent user friendly like one handed zippers, vestibules that position the main area beside the doors instead of blocking them, interior hang loops, 4 pockets, and a fully connected pole set with no parts to lose.

QUALITY

Our fixation with detail also extends to the quality of the tent, where we take every opportunity to build the best tent we can.

Durston has long been a leader in advancing polyester fabric for lightweight tents due to its excellent properties including non-sag and fast drying. With the X-Dome 2 we are using our lastest high tenacity 15D silpoly and combining that with premium Easton carbon poles that cost 2-3x what an aluminum poleset does, but leads all other poles in strength:weight.

We craft these premium materials into the X-Dome 2 at one of the most experienced tent factory in the world with high end tents, while using advanced construction methods like high precision narrow seams, narrow seam taping, waterproof seam construction, generous double stitching, and double folded edges.

Overall, the X-Dome 2 advances what is possible in an ultralight two person freestanding tent. With a weight of 2.7 lbs (1.25 kg) it is among the lightest fully freestanding doublewall 2P tents while providing increased strength, protection, spaciousness, and ease of use. It is the ideal two person freestanding tent for backcountry hikes on the Arizona Trail to the Annapurna Circuit.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS

WEIGHT

Complete Tent

2.7 lbs / 1.25 kg (Regular version)

-

Fly

17.6 oz / 500 g

-

Inner Tent

14.8 oz / 420 g (Regular)
18.3 oz / 520 g (Solid)

-

Pole Set

11.6 oz / 330 g (Regular)
12.9 oz / 365 g (Short)

Features

FEATURES

Optimal Geometry

Our patent pending X-Dome geometry combines our unique rectangular X-Mid floorplan with a freestanding pole structure to enable improved space and protection while making it simpler and lighter.

Structurally Efficient Pole Set

A single larger tube can be stronger and lighter than multiple smaller tubes, so the X-Dome pole set modifies the classic dual arch design by combining the dual arches together into a single arch across the top of the tent, while also upsizing this "spine" tubing to be about twice the strength, so it offer the strength of a dual arch tent at a lower weight. This pole set also uses premium Easton carbon fiber to further improve the strength and lower the weight.

Spacious

The X-Dome 2 is a highly spacious 2 person tent, including class leading interior volume and a floor large enough to two wide rectangular pads. Headroom is 3-6" taller than comparable tents with a 43" interior peak height and the shape extends this over a larger portion of the tent, while steep walls provide excellent length and useable width.

Compare

COMPARE

The X-Dome 2 provides improved stormworthiness, simplicity and space for a 2 person freestanding doublewall tent. To illustrate this, the table below compares the X-Dome 2 to other leading tents in this class.

STORMWORTHINESS

X-Dome 2

Main Competitors

Fly First Pitch

Yes

No or Not Easily

Protected Doorways

Yes

Sometimes

Polyester Fabric (Non-Sag & Fast Dry)

Yes

No

FAQ

Browse the FAQ to learn more or get in touch if you have further questions.

Contact Support

Q) How tall of person does the X-Dome 2 work for?

The X-Dome 2 floor is longer than average at 88" (2.24 m) and has steep end walls so the length is highly useable. Typically users up to about 6'4" will find this to be a good amount of length, but your individual experience will depend on several factors including how bulky your sleeping equipment is, how straight you sleep, and how much room you expect.

Q) How do I pitch the X-Dome?

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.

Q) Which pole set should I get?

The regular pole set is designed to be as light as possible while packing to a reasonable 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".

Both pole sets have the same strength. The regular pole set is lighter (330g vs 365g) while the short pole set can back shorter (13 vs 18" / 33 vs 45 cm)

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.

Q) Should I get the regular or Solid Inner?

The X-Dome is a doublewall tent with a waterproof fly and a separate interior. We offer two types of separate interiors: regular and solid.

The regular inner of the X-Dome is mostly built of mesh but with a strip of solid fabric around the lower walls. This is fully bugproof and provides good ventilation in hot conditions while also blocking cold drafts in colder conditions. The solid inner increases the solid fabric so the entire interior has solid walls with mesh window that can optionally be opened on the upper half of the door.

The regular interior is intended as an all-around interior for a blend of hot and warm conditions, while the solid interior is intended for colder conditions. 95% of the time either interior will work fine but the solid is nice to have in winter use but can be too warm in a heat wave. The regular interior is more popular in the USA, while the Solid interior is more popular in colder areas like Canada and Northern Europe. If you frequent both hot and cold areas, we will make the inners available separately so you can have both.

Q) Is the X-Dome a 4-season tent?

The goal with the X-Dome is to make a very capable backpacking tent at an ultralight weight. It offers above average strength for this type of tent, and can be strengthened further for tough weather with the optional trekking pole supports, but we do not call it a "4-season" tent since that applies it is rated for severe winter conditions. It can do well for winter camping including some alpine use, but it's main focus is 3 season backpacking.

Q) The X-Dome doesn’t seem lighter than some ultralight tents.

The X-Dome 2 places a huge focus on weight efficiency (rather than saving weight at any expense) so there may be lighter tents that make additional trade offs to save more weight but for a nicely sized, fully freestanding and double wall tent, the X-Dome 2 is about as light as the lighter models while being more spacious, sturdy and protective than comparable tents.

We obsess over every gram to make sure we are getting the most performance possible for the weight so we can create a tent that is both ultralight and capable. The X-Dome 2 does that through weight efficient geometry and by using perhaps the world's lightest polyester fabric and premium carbon fiber poles. But still you can find other lighter tents if you are willing to accept something substantially smaller and less protective. For a fully freestanding tent this spacious and protective there is nothing lighter, but you can find lighter 2P tents if they are much smaller, singlewall, or semi-freestanding.

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 but not in 2025).

Q) Why polyester over nylon?

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 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.

Q) Should I use a groundsheet?

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 suggest being careful and not using it, but you may wish to have it for harsher surfaces or times when lightweight is not a priority.

PITCHING GUIDE

Get started with our comprehensive X-Dome pitching guide.