Dan Durston/Massdrop X-Mid

HillBelly

Section Hiker
Ditto. Not interested in taller bathtub walls.
I don't have one, but looking at Robins images of the inner on the other thread, my idea would be...

each end panel - solid

The bottom arc of the side panel (containing J zip). solid.
Top arc side panel mesh.

(see Robin's pics for how the side panel is in 2 parts)

Applies both sides, this would make it less of a faff to manufacture for a starters as its not needing any design mods. The sides oppose each other so it should give enough fabric both sides to keep draughts output also less claustrophobic with not being all enclosed.

Just a thought. What do you all think???

X mid.jpg
 
Last edited:

Charlie83

Thru Hiker
I'd be happy with just the lower half (like @Whiteburn has done) but all the way round. I tried Scottish mountain gear, to see if they could do it but received this answer.

"I’m afraid this is not something we are able to help with as we would be altering the existing manufacturing of the tent and this is not something we would go ahead with"

I cant see drop doing a solid inner to maybe only sell a couple of hundred when they've had so much success selling a mesh version, but you never know.

It was a "whim" buy for me, not used it yet and I've started saving for something else now Just dont know what :D wouldn't be surprised if I cut my losses and ebay it over the winter. It's so close to being my perfect tent as well
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Here's something that I was wondering and found the answer at Drop discussions by @dandurston

This is a new batch. There have been some tweaks. The main one is that the peak/grommet area has been revised to better accommodate the diversity of pole tips out there. The grommet is a bit lower and has an extra strip of webbing above it, so it should hopefully eliminate incompatible pole tip issues. The inner lines are the same. A handful of people have reported finding them short, but many more people have said they are the right length. It's possible that some individual tents were not to spec and were too short, but mostly this appears to be people that have too loose of a pitch on the fly, such that a properly tensioned floor does pull it in and make the sides loose, but the ideal solution is more tension on the fly rather than less on the floor. If someone disagrees they can always adjust/re-tie the existing lines, but in most cases pulling the rectangle tighter gives a tight fly and tight floor, while loosening the cords gives a still loose fly plus now semi-loose floor.
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
Here's something that I was wondering and found the answer at Drop discussions by @dandurston

This is a new batch. There have been some tweaks. The main one is that the peak/grommet area has been revised to better accommodate the diversity of pole tips out there. The grommet is a bit lower and has an extra strip of webbing above it, so it should hopefully eliminate incompatible pole tip issues. The inner lines are the same. A handful of people have reported finding them short, but many more people have said they are the right length. It's possible that some individual tents were not to spec and were too short, but mostly this appears to be people that have too loose of a pitch on the fly, such that a properly tensioned floor does pull it in and make the sides loose, but the ideal solution is more tension on the fly rather than less on the floor. If someone disagrees they can always adjust/re-tie the existing lines, but in most cases pulling the rectangle tighter gives a tight fly and tight floor, while loosening the cords gives a still loose fly plus now semi-loose floor.

I replaced the shorter corner line with shock cord https://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/2019/04/26/dan-durston-x-mid-mods/

image6.jpeg
 

craige

Thru Hiker
I cut all the corner lines on the inner down a little because they were all doubled. Iirc the short corners I just used the shockcord in a single strand and tossed the line. Did the same with the long corners but kept maybe half the line. I've now got each line slightly shorter on each corner when resting but will stretch slightly longer than the way it was originally. Saved a whopping 8g I think but that more or less offset the extra weight of the longer, won't slip in LL3s 3mm guys.
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
I could’ve used a single strand of shock cord I suppose but it seemed to work well with the way I’ve done it so couldn’t be bothered to change it :angelic:

On the long corners I replaced the cord with thinner stuff, 1.25mm I think.
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
I would use guyline and line locks on the corners so no matter how the fly is pitched you’ll always get a near/perfect
tensioned inner, and probably lessen setup time.

I considered that but decided it was too fiddly. So far with this I get a perfect pitch every time without needing to adjust. It also means less strain on the inner. The existing cords do have a small loop of shock cord anyway.
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
Quote from BPL.com email today :-

"In our new online course I talk extensively about the design and performance features that make a backpacking shelter suitable for inclement conditions.

One of the features that help a shelter be resistant to wind and cold, wet conditions: asolid fabric inner tent, which is rare in ultralight tents. Solid fabric inner tents are also nice because they provide some protection against condensation dripping off of the inside of the fly fabric."
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
What was the price for the X-mid 2p?

@dandurston When do you think 2p will be shipping?

Now that 1p drop has ended, is the 2p second drop coming soon?

I didn't get into the 2p drop yet, but I joined the notification list to grab one when it comes available again, but I did manage to snatch 1p.
 

dandurston

Section Hiker
Thanks for the support! The pre-sale price for the 2P was $250 for folks willing to sign up with the long 9 month wait. Then it's going to be available for the regular price of $280 once it is in stock.

I don't know what Drop's plans are for future sales, but it sounded like they weren't going to do multiple pre-sales. Rather, they did one 2 months ago and then indicated they would be available in stock in the spring. So I expect they'll open up orders a few weeks before the batch arrives in the spring. The estimated ship date for the 2P is April 2020, so my guess is that we'll see them open orders around March for tents shipping in a few weeks.
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Thanks for the support! The pre-sale price for the 2P was $250 for folks willing to sign up with the long 9 month wait. Then it's going to be available for the regular price of $280 once it is in stock.

I don't know what Drop's plans are for future sales, but it sounded like they weren't going to do multiple pre-sales. Rather, they did one 2 months ago and then indicated they would be available in stock in the spring. So I expect they'll open up orders a few weeks before the batch arrives in the spring. The estimated ship date for the 2P is April 2020, so my guess is that we'll see them open orders around March for tents shipping in a few weeks.

Wow, that was quick. Thanks for the quick reply.

Hoping to get the 2p for May 2020.

PS loved your GDT videos.
 
Last edited:
Just got an alert that my 1p Xmid is in the country, from the most recent drop, so a bit ahead of schedule I think.

For the curious, this is what I had to pay:

Customs Entry £ 8.50
Import Duty £ 4.24
Import VAT £ 32.35
Total £ 45.09

So excited to get out and try this out. Relatively new to hiking, so this is by far the most expensive thing I've purchased, but seems like good value based in everything that's been said about it so far.
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Just got an alert that my 1p Xmid is in the country, from the most recent drop, so a bit ahead of schedule I think.

For the curious, this is what I had to pay:

Customs Entry £ 8.50
Import Duty £ 4.24
Import VAT £ 32.35
Total £ 45.09

So excited to get out and try this out. Relatively new to hiking, so this is by far the most expensive thing I've purchased, but seems like good value based in everything that's been said about it so far.

Same here

Charges due
Customs Entry £ 8.50
Import Duty £ 4.24
Import VAT £ 32.35
Total £ 45.09

Also this has some updates compared to the previous version, like reinforced ceiling areas for the pole tip.
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
I finally finished my long-awaited pitching video for the X-Mid. My internet is terribly slow to upload but I should have it live in the next couple days:
pitching-thumbnail-x-mid-durston.jpg

You could call the 2p version 2X-Mid, 3p version 3X-Mid and if you ever make a long version of any of them, could name them XL-Mid, 2XL-Mid.. :D

... I'll get me coat....
 
Last edited:
I finally finished my long-awaited pitching video for the X-Mid. My internet is terribly slow to upload but I should have it live in the next couple days:
pitching-thumbnail-x-mid-durston.jpg
G'day ( @dandurston ) Dan will there be some rolling up directions for gormless souls like myself on there? Put the wee struts out the vents then what's next.... I always seem to get a tangle. Ta.
 

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Put mine up today.

Screenshot 2019-11-13 at 13.39.06.jpg

It's probably going to be bit of a tight squeeze, since I'm 6'3 1/2" and some 23st.

Screenshot 2019-11-13 at 13.38.38.jpg
However, I'm 80% stomach sleeper 20% side, so the length probably won't be an issue. But because of the small footprint of the tub, I defo need something in the vestibule for keeping my knees & feet dry & clean, since my mat will take all of the space inside.

Screenshot 2019-11-13 at 13.38.44.jpg
One thing I might mod is put a bungee cord or probably a velcro cable tie here, to keep the bathtub down when opening the zipper with a single hand. A few strong stitches on the seam.

IMG_3875.JPG

Already noticed that the pegs that came with the tent wouldn't really hold on our lawn, when adjusting the tent. Ordered some new ones from Valley & Peak.

I did took video of me setting the tent up, but it's mostly featuring my fat arse bending over, so I thought I won't post that... :p:D
 
Last edited:

dandurston

Section Hiker
Yeah the included pegs don't have a lot of holding power and really just suitable for quite firm ground. I was originally not going to include pegs because people often have their own preferences or already own them, but I didn't want buyers to not be able to set it up when they first get it either, so we included the current pegs that many folks will want to replace but they should at least be useful for some secondary guy out points (e.g. at the doors).

Regarding connecting the sides of the floor to the poles, yes you could mod it like that and it would have some advantages. The 2P version has loops on the sides of the floor which connect to the trekking pole handles and it does make it so that the zipper operates one handed in both directions, rather than just on the way down. It also does hold the floor a bit wider and more in position, but that's needed more on the 2P which has a much wider floor.
 
Top