Isle Royale Forums

I did a search but some of the most recent conversations about these are 5+ years old.

Does anyone here use trekking pole tents on your trips? I've always use free-standing or at least partially-free-standing tents including the TarpTent Rainbow/Double Rainbow, but I decided to give a trekking pole tent a chance.

Just a few minutes ago my Durston XMid-2 got delivered. One of my issues with the Tarptents is that they were single-wall/hybrid tents and condensation was a real problem. Even though the Xmid isn't the lightest of ultralight tents, coming in at just under 2lbs, it is double wall and that SHOULD mean better ventilation and breathability. The material is silpoly as opposed to silnylon, which in my experience wets out and sags. Silpoly allegedly doesn't have the sag problem. Finally since I always have trekking poles it's nice to not have to carry additional tent poles and worry that they'll break. If my trekking poles break, I can use a stick broken down to the correct height.

Wondering if anyone has hints or tips about their trekking pole tents or feedback about Durston specifically.

Here's my tent. It's from Canada, so I'm not sure how pricing will work with the new tariffs that started yesterday. https://durstongear.com/products/x-mid- ... ackpacking

We've used a Zpacks triplex on several trips, but pretty much all single wall tents will condensate in the right conditions. I have no real complaints but I sleep better in a hammock.

I have a Big Agnes Scout 2 for years. It is single wall but i have never had a major problem with condensation. The biggest drawback is the single, front entry and needing to navigate around the pole to get in. Gets harder every year! It also has no real room for packs, unless used as a one-man tent, which is what i normally do.

RedLeg wrote: Wed Mar 05, 2025 1:34 pm We've used a Zpacks triplex on several trips, but pretty much all single wall tents will condensate in the right conditions. I have no real complaints but I sleep better in a hammock.

Zpacks Duplex is a dream tent for me but I'm not ready to drop $700 on one just yet (even if it weighs only 1lb). I doubt you can beat the comfort of a hammock, but I'm always concerned about relying on the perfect trees. There's about a 20% chance I try a Colorado Trail thru-hike this summer and with so much of it being above tree hammock is a risky choice.

JerryB wrote: Wed Mar 05, 2025 1:35 pm I have a Big Agnes Scout 2 for years. It is single wall but i have never had a major problem with condensation. The biggest drawback is the single, front entry and needing to navigate around the pole to get in. Gets harder every year! It also has no real room for packs, unless used as a one-man tent, which is what i normally do.

I think that's what I like about the Durston. The trekking pole is offset and has two large vestibules on the sides. No weird maneuvering hopefully. And as a bigger guy a 2P tent is always a 1P tent. I've taken a few 1P tents out and it feels like a coffin.

Yeah, the TriPlex isn't mine but it's got enough room for 2p

It’s cool that you can pitch the XMid without the fly! Condensation isn’t a picnic—one of my backpacking mates negates the weight she saves by sleeping in a single-wall trekking pole tent by lugging along a humongous towel to wipe it off with. But my bigger reservation is that if the fly and the inner tent aren’t modular, you can’t ditch the fly to star gaze or meteor watch on clear nights. (I also have the great good fortune to be enough of a squirt that conventional 1P tents don’t feel confining to me.)

torpified wrote: Thu Mar 06, 2025 3:31 pm It’s cool that you can pitch the XMid without the fly! Condensation isn’t a picnic—one of my backpacking mates negates the weight she saves by sleeping in a single-wall trekking pole tent by lugging along a humongous towel to wipe it off with. But my bigger reservation is that if the fly and the inner tent aren’t modular, you can’t ditch the fly to star gaze or meteor watch on clear nights. (I also have the great good fortune to be enough of a squirt that conventional 1P tents don’t feel confining to me.)

I didn't buy the "stargazer" kit, but I appreciate how I could cowboy camp with just the rain fly pitched as-is. The one time I remember truly cowboy camped without a shelter I woke up covered in dew in the middle of the night. I usually carry a small camping towel but yeah, if I'm going to bring a full-size towel to explicitly wipe condensation I'm just buying a double-wall tent

As for 1P tents, I think I exaggerate but I do prefer to keep my gear inside with me and it's impossible with a 25-30 inch wide floor.

I have a 2-person double wall trekking pole TarpTent, but they didn't make my model for long. Works great as my single tent. At 37 oz it's lighter than their current equivalent. One thing I appreciate about the trekking pole design is it's easy to adjust the height of the fly higher for ventilation or lower for warmth. One night with the wind coming off Feldtmann Lake particularly strong, I had the fly on the lake side flat on the ground to block the wind, and the other side about 6" high for ventilation. Worked great.
Enjoy your XMid, looks like a great tent.