X-Mid 1
Due to high interest the X-Mid 1 is currently sold out but will be restocked in late-September. Please sign up below for a notification when they are back. If you would like a tent sooner, we have the superlight X-Mid Pro 1 and the all season X-Mid 1 Solid in stock .
Pinnacle of Lightweight Tent Design
The X-Mid 1 has been developed from the first principles of geometry to achieve the most weight efficient, simple to use, and stormworthy design for a trekking pole shelter. The result is a double wall tent that is incredibly user friendly, capable and spacious while weighing just 25 oz (720 g). As a result, it has become one of the most awarded tents in recent years including awards for best tent from The Trek, Outdoor Gear Lab, Section Hiker and numerous other respected outlets.
STORMWORTHY
Many ultralight tents are designed more as fair weather shelters and thus trade important protection for weight savings. This includes less waterproof coatings, cutting away areas of the fly to leave you more exposed, and omitting important features like peak vents and guy out points.
With the X-Mid, we focus on saving weight through efficient design such as minimizing seams, narrow high precision seam tape, and maximizing the volume:surface ratio, so we can create a tent that is both light and capable in tough conditions. The X-Mid excels in rough weather with its fly first pitch, full doublewall design, non-sag poly fabric, large adjustable vents, factory waterproofed seams, full-coverage fly (blocks rain splatter and drafts), stormworthy shape, and protected entryways that prevent rain falling inside. No other tent can claim that list.
USER FRIENDLY
Simplicity and user friendliness are a major focus for the X-Mid because the last thing you want in bad weather or at the end of a long day is a tent that is a hassle to use. We avoid complexity and improve the user experience with our focus on first principles design, combined with obsessive attention to detail and extensive real-world validation.
Unlike most trekking pole tents, the rectangle based X-Mid offers a simpler 4 stake pitch. There are no mandatory guylines, no struts that are harder to pack up and store, and no measuring pole heights or estimating odd angles. It goes up quickly with just 4 required stakes and 2 poles that can be extended without measuring.
Once pitched, the user friendliness continues with large doorways that aren’t blocked by poles, vestibules that put the main area beside the door instead of blocking it, magnetic door toggles, 4 intuitive pockets, and one hand operated zippers. Notably, the X-Mid uses polyester fabric for the fly which doesn't sag and absorb water like nylon so your pitch stays tight and the tent dries quickly. Polyester was controversial when we launched the X-Mid with it in 2018 but our passionate advocacy for it has since led to an industry wide shift.
Section Hiker
Editors Choice
"The X-Mid 1 is my favorite tent...it is a great shelter if you want a trekking pole tent that is affordable, spacious, stormworthy, and packs up small."
Outdoor Gear Lab
Best Ultralight Tent
"It's still hard for us to believe that such an easy-to-set-up tent can be so delightful to spend camp time in while also being almost invincible to storms....it's our favorite 1P tent."
The Trek
We Love This Tent
"A laundry list of well-thought-out details makes this tent exceptional in rough weather....it is our all around best thru-hiking tent."
Paul Messner (YouTuber)
Best 2023 Tent
"A brilliant tent.....there's been a lot of hype around this tent and I think it's justified. It does everything really really well....the X-Mid ticks more boxes than any other"
Backpacking Light
Cottage Gear Innovation Award
"With a new type of design...the Durston X-Mid 1P offers light weight, livable space, ease of pitch, and storm resistance that we've never seen before"
Treeline Review
Best Ultralight Tent for Thru-Hiking
The Durston Gear X-Mid 1 is our favorite tent for thru-hiking because it’s great in high winds, versatile, easy to pitch, and surprisingly affordable. This tent is very well designed.
SPACIOUS
The X-Mid geometry maximizes the space possible from two poles by using a diagonal ridgeline that positions the two poles further apart, while avoiding placing the poles near the edges that would detract from wind performance.
The result is a spacious 1P tent with best in class headroom. The two poles give headroom throughout the length of the tent so you can sit up anywhere in the tent and easily transition from laying down to sitting up without hitting the tent ceiling.
The floor is a generous 93" (2.36 m) length which is combined with steep end walls to provide suitable length for hikers up to 6'4" (193 cm), while the floor width is a comfortable 33" (84 cm) that accommodates the widest pads. Also generous are the dual vestibules, which are spacious, tall, and easily hold even large packs.
QUALITY
In addition to the highest performance design, the X-Mid boasts the highest quality.
The tent is crafted at arguably the best and most experienced tent factory in the world using premium fabrics, full double stitching, double folded edges, and generous bartacking.
While this premium quality gives the X-Mid a higher cost of production than comparable tents, the X-Mid 1 is priced affordably simply because we sell it to you direct with only a modest 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).
Generous Space
The X-Mid's offset poles provide 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:
As an incredibly well rounded, spacious, and capable shelter, the X-Mid 1 is the ideal ultralight tent for everything from a long thru hike to a remote adventure in Alaska. That's why the X-Mid 1 has become both the most popular and highest rated 1P tent on all three triple crown trails (Applachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail) according to hiker surveys by The Trek and Halfway Anywhere.
Customer Reviews
I recently got my hands on the Durston X-Mid 1 Gen 3, and I have to say—this tent exceeded my expectations in every way. Dan Durston continues to raise the bar for ultralight shelters, and this newest iteration is the best yet.
Set-up is a breeze, even in less-than-ideal conditions. The intuitive pitch and non-fussy design make it ideal for both seasoned backpackers and those just getting into ultralight gear. I especially appreciate how roomy and well-ventilated it feels for a one-person shelter. The headroom and living space are incredibly generous for its weight class, and the vestibules are perfectly designed for gear storage and cooking in bad weather.
Build quality is top-tier—you can tell a lot of thought went into the details. The materials strike a great balance between durability and weight savings. Even in wind and rain, the X-Mid 1 Gen 3 feels rock-solid and confidence-inspiring.
I also love the improved ventilation and condensation management—a huge step up from many other single-wall tents I’ve used. And of course, the weight and packed size make this a no-brainer for long-distance hikers, fastpackers, and anyone trying to trim down their load without sacrificing comfort or protection.
All in all, the Durston X-Mid 1 Gen 3 is easily one of the best solo tents on the market right now. Whether you’re thru-hiking, weekend backpacking, or anything in between, this shelter is a total win.
Thanks for the kind words Cody. Great to hear you are enjoying the tent.
- Dan Durston
Firstly, I'd just like to say that I love my new X-Mid 1 tent. Took it out over the last few days and it performed flawlessly. Still getting use to pitching it but getting better every time. It got put to its test in some pretty tough New Zealand weather and handled it like a champ. Even pitched it in some pretty insane wind without guy ropes and it didn't budge at all. Didn't even feel threatened that it was going to collapse. Out in another 3-day mission and can't wait to use it again. I'm 6'3 so is a little tight for room internally but because of the size of the vestibules that isn't a problem at all. Love it, Love it, Love it and highly recommend this tent.
Thank you for designing an amazing tent and all the effort that you put into customer service and standing by your product. You have lifetime fan and customer.
Thanks Damon :) Glad the tent is working well.
- Dan Durston
Best tent I’ve ever owned by far!
Bottom line: This tent can work in very specific, sheltered conditions, but it’s not versatile and I wouldn’t recommend it for mountaineering—even in good weather.
What didn’t work:
Fussy setup requirements. It demands a very particular site and gear. That alone makes it a poor choice for mountains.
Noisy fabric. If the fly isn’t drum-tight, even a light breeze sounds like a windstorm inside.
Pole compatibility issues. It only works with specific poles. My BD 105 cm poles (some reviews suggested this length is sufficient for the setup) were too short, and their tips didn’t fit the reinforced grommets due to slightly wider diameter of the pole tips. This caused them to fall out, and I’d have to buy new poles just to pitch this tent.
Large footprint. Bigger than most 2P tents I’ve used. While extra space may appeal to some, it’s a headache in rocky, sandy alpine terrain where staking options and space are limited.
High stake dependency. If a single stake fails, the structure collapses—exactly what you don’t want to discover during a nighttime storm.
Where it might fit:
Select conditions only. Calm weather, soft ground with reliable staking, and the correct pole set (adjustable with skinny tips).
Verdict:
Great for a narrow set of scenarios; not a do-it-all shelter. For alpine or mountaineering trips, look elsewhere.
PS. I did watch many videos of set up instructions, which most of them are in IDEAL conditions calm weather and grassy ground, which again, you wont find everywhere on the mountain.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Here are some replies to your comments:
1) SETUP: With the X-Mid a key goal is to create a simpler and more user friendly trekking pole supported tent, so the rectangular shape is simpler to pitch then almost any other trekking pole tent with fewer mandatory stakes, no mandatory guylines, no measuring poles, and simpler rectangle base to stake out, but still there is some learning required and it can be difficult in conditions where staking is difficult. It don't think you'll find a simpler to pitch non-freestanding tent, but it is true it can be harder to use in conditions were staking this difficult. There are solutions for conditions like that, such as time to rocks, but certainly it is not as easy.
2) STAKE DEPENDANCY: The X-Mid has fewer mandatory stakes that comparable other tents, so it gives the option of a simpler setup with less redundancy (higher stake dependancy) but this is just an option. If you want more redundancy/less dependancy you can just add more stakes. For example, if you have the peak guylines deployed the tent will no longer collapse if you lose a corner stake at those corners. The X-Mid can pitch with up to 14 stakes without single stake dependancy. You can also add multiple stakes per stake point.
3) POLE COMPATABILITY: I'm not aware of a review that says the tent works with 105 cm poles, but perhaps it was saying if you add a 'pole jack' tip extension. The X-Mid tents have a peak height of 113-122 cm (depending on the model) so they will work with almost any adjustable pole. For fixed length poles, these do need to be near the proper peak height of the tent (as with any trekking pole tent) but at least here that is a common pole height, so many fixed length poles will work as well. Overall, the X-Mid works with almost all adjustable poles, many fixed length poles, and can work in both tips up and handles up orientation, so it is as widely compatible as possible for a trekking pole tent. I don't think there is another trekking pole tent that has wider compatibility, but certainly there will be fixed length poles that are just not the right height. If you want yours to work, I would add a 15 cm pole jack extension and then use the pole handle adapters from Tarptent to pitch handles up.
4) FOOTPRINT: The footprint is smaller than most 2P tents, but yes it is larger for a 1P partly because it is a generous size, and partly because it is a trekking pole tent that cannot curve the wall steeper near the bottom like a freestanding tent can. There are ways of collapsing the vestibules to fit into smaller sites, but if you are in a rough alpine conditions where you need max performance, and trying to fit into a small site, then yes a smaller tent would be better suited.
We do see people having good results with these tents in alpine conditions when they are pitched well, including numerous reports of them handling 50-60 mph winds. So I don't think it is limited to 'sheltered conditions' but certainly it is dependant on having a good pitch including solid anchors, a tight pitch, and appropriate guylines for the conditions.
Thanks for considering our gear,
Dan Durston
The X-mid protected me from wind, frost, and rain over 6 nights in Mineral King, CA. I was happy with the ease of setup and 2 large vestibules. Definitely recommend guying out the long walls when camping near a lake to prevent condensation from wicking through the fly and mesh.
Get started with our comprehensive X-Mid pitching guide.