Rog Tallbloke
Thru Hiker
Maybe A frame that end and carry a light cf folding pole for the other end?Yes, it would be, just like in many pyramid tents.
Maybe A frame that end and carry a light cf folding pole for the other end?Yes, it would be, just like in many pyramid tents.
I've considered filling one vestibule with the inner to basically create a 1.5P under the 1P fly. You can actually squeeze 2P in there, which is pretty sweet on a fast and light mission. I'm not sure about bringing it to market though because many people have strong feeling about poles in the inner space, even though 1P could sleep in the normal orientation and just use that for storage/dogs/etc, while 2P could do an inverted V system if they had 3 poles so there isn't a pole between their heads.
Its something worth considering, a lot of people find 2 porches fairly pointless on a 1 person tent. Sounds great on paper until you start using it and find the second porch is redundant space other than a place to store your empty rucksack.
Other arguments; I can switch porches when wind changes direction (how often does that happen? cook inside carefully), a storage place for wet gear (how often? usually just waterproofs, use the corner of one porch when it happens). Ive often thought the Notch would be better like that.
Opinions differ from personal experience but all i've seen is the empty rucksack lying in the second porch, strange to base a tent design around that.
I'd go for an extended inner, probably a solid inner first though.
Well I like the overall design of the X-mid, having it symmetrical is one of the big advantages IMO. Once the fly is up I can insert the inner & then decided which entrance makes sense given the prevailing wind, I had to switch entrance use on the last trip when the wind shifted 45 deg & the driving rain made using one of the entrances a poor choice.
My draft wall mod to the existing 1P inner worked well in blustery conditions on a bumpy pitch where the fly couldn’t be nailed tight to the ground but I’d really like Mr Durston to concentrate efforts on getting a predominantly solid nest available (for both 1P & 2P) rather than be distracted sideways into differing sizes of nests for the existing design.
A solid nest isn’t rocket science, here’s my take:
View attachment 27113
I guess Drop have just to be convinced of the commercial opportunity; it’s either that or perhaps the 3UF factory could to do a clone?
That might actually be the most pragmatic option going forwards. Save R&D effort for a DCF fly and also reasonably priced aftermarket solid inners will only increase demand for the DCF versions.@el manana get your man on it at aliexpress, tell him he'll sell hundreds of them. Mass drop have farted around too long.
I was try to come up with a simple design that was easy to make. I did think about some mesh in the doors but personally I can live without any as it's an extra manufacturing complication & tent inner fabric is generally opaque anyway so provides some visibility. Keeping the mesh limited to the near vertical panels reduces the possibility of any condensation drip ingress.I like that!
Looks a good design and quite similar to the 2P solid inner prototype photo posted by @dandurston earlier on this thread (#298). Like everyone it seems, I look forward to a sold inner option at some time for the X-MidsI like that!
Looks a good design and quite similar to the 2P solid inner prototype photo posted by @dandurston earlier on this thread (#298). Like everyone it seems, I look forward to a sold inner option at some time for the X-Mids
I hadn't seen that before as I haven't been interested in the 2P.Looks a good design and quite similar to the 2P solid inner prototype photo posted by @dandurston earlier on this thread (#298). Like everyone it seems, I look forward to a sold inner option at some time for the X-Mids
So long as the mesh on the door down from the apex stops at ~ 50cm (20") above the ground I'd be a happy camper.That's likely what we'd do. The mesh area was too small on this prototype so we'd probably bring it down about twice as far. I'd prefer to keep it on the door wall and not wrap it around to the end wall (per your sketch) because mesh on the door wall gives you a view out the tent, whereas the end wall is just fly fabric.............
Its something worth considering, a lot of people find 2 porches fairly pointless on a 1 person tent. Sounds great on paper until you start using it and find the second porch is redundant space other than a place to store your empty rucksack.
Other arguments; I can switch porches when wind changes direction (how often does that happen? cook inside carefully), a storage place for wet gear (how often? usually just waterproofs, use the corner of one porch when it happens). Ive often thought the Notch would be better like that.
Opinions differ from personal experience but all i've seen is the empty rucksack lying in the second porch, strange to base a tent design around that.
I'd go for an extended inner, probably a solid inner first though.
That's the 1-P, yes?
Regarding 2 doors/2 vestibules on a 1P tent, I agree there is a lot of vestibule area and often that isn't needed. Myself I usually just use one vestibule, but do like having the second on some trips. I use it on packrafting trips when I have more gear (and more wet gear) and in trips that are really wet or snowy. For example, this past weekend it was snowing quite a bit and cold, where I had one door/vestibule used for entering and storing my pack that was pretty tracked full of snow, and then the back vestibules was for cooking and storing all my other frozen/wet clothing.
The other advantage is just that it makes it a bit simpler to set up not having to worry about the orientation. With a non-symmetrical tent, you might wish to sleep in a certain spot, but then the door is on the wrong side of tent tent so it's awkward to get in and out. If there was simply 1 door then you could rotate the tent 180, but if the sleeping area was asymmetrical too where you wanted your head at one end, then you couldn't. Not that an awkward doorway once in a while is a big deal, but it does leave a bit more to think about.
If we could simply expand the inner then we might but this creates other challenges or downsides, like having the pole inside the inner next and then poking out the top, which is more fiddly to pitch, some people don't like poles in the inner, it can leave small gaps around the pole exit for gnats etc. And added weight from the expanded inner.
Great news on likely progress with the 1P solid inner, whether via Drop or accessory in due courseThat's likely what we'd do. The mesh area was too small on this prototype so we'd probably bring it down about twice as far. I'd prefer to keep it on the door wall and not wrap it around to the end wall (per your sketch) because mesh on the door wall gives you a view out the tent, whereas the end wall is just fly fabric.
The zipper is offset a bit from the peak on the 1P so your hand doesn't hit the pole when operating the zipper from the outer side. However, this ended up not being a real problem so the current 2P inner already aligns the zipper directly below the peak, which does make it operate slightly smoother. If we develop another 1P inner, we'd also align the zipper directly under the peak.
Regarding a 1P solid inner actually happening, Drop will be deciding in the next few weeks if they are going to do it. If the answer is yes then we'd have a prototype in ~2 months, and likely have those available in early summer next year. If the answer is no, then it looks like they'll allow me to develop it myself as an accessory. For a few more years the design is licensed to the them so I can't sell complete tents, but they have agreed I can sell accessories for it, so I am working with the factory now on groundsheets and folding poles. If they aren't doing the solid inner, I expect they would agree I can also offer that as accessory. I know it's not ideal to buy a complete tent with a mesh inner, and then an extra solid inner, but at least a solid inner would be available.
Definitely. The main benefit is I don’t have to think about which side I’m putting the entry when pitching.Its something worth considering, a lot of people find 2 porches fairly pointless on a 1 person tent. Sounds great on paper until you start using it and find the second porch is redundant space other than a place to store your empty rucksack.