The X-Mid Solid does well in all four seasons, but is not a “4 season tent” in the sense that 4 season tents are generally expected to be capable of being exposed to severe winter storms which are beyond what the X-Mid is designed for. We are using lighter fabrics that do very well for how light this tent is, but are not as strong as the heavier fabrics you find in 4-season rated tents. We recommend the X-Mid Solid for high but not severe winds, and for substantial snowfalls (e.g. up to 6″) but not the worst winter storms.

No. The sleeping area is asymmetric so it is a bit different on each side, but the tent is spacious enough so that two people can comfortably sleep the same way.

In more detail, the tent does have two corners where the roof is lower (the corners further from the poles). When sleeping the same way, one person will have a low corner at their head and the other person at their feet. However, the floor length is very generous (92″) so these lower corners are not something you occupy but rather are extra space for gear storage. The person with the low corner at their head should slide down, while the other person slides up, so both people are positioned side by side and with ample space. It really is very comfortable for two people sleeping the same way, and certainly more comfortable than most 2P tents on the market since the X-Mid 2P is quite spacious.

The X-Mid 2 has a very typical footprint for a reasonably spacious trekking pole tent. The footprint is smaller compared to pyramid tents and is only sometimes considered large when it is compared to relatively cramped freestanding tents.

Trekking pole tents do have a bit larger footprint than freestanding tents because freestanding tents can steepen the sidewalls to trim the edges plus many mainstream freestanding tents are quite tiny, so certainly there are tents with smaller footprints but X-Mid 2 is very similar to any other reasonably spacious 2P tent. There is a tradeoff here between the amount of space and footprint size, where we think providing a comfortable amount of space is the right approach because it benefits you every night, whereas only on rare occasions is the bit larger footprint a small inconvenience. The X-Mid is one of the most popular tents on the Appalachian Trail where smaller campsites are common, which shows that this is not a substantial issue even in areas with limited sites. We also trimmed about 10% off the footprint for the second-generation version, so it is even less of a worry.

Both tents are very capable and versatile. The regular version has the advantages of being 1 oz lighter, a bit less expensive, and the mesh inner enables stargazing at night. The solid inner version has the advantages of greater protection against rough weather and it is slightly warmer. Most people will be well suited with either style, but we recommend the mesh for people who like stargazing or camping in very hot areas (who might be too warm in the solid version) while the solid inner version is recommended for people who plan for regular use in poor weather, shoulder season and winter conditions.

There are tents with traditional poles that are as light as the X-Mid. Since pole sets are heavy (often about 8oz) to get a freestanding tents this light something else has to give. Commonly that’s space, performance, and durability. A freestanding tent as light as the X-Mid is almost certainly far smaller and using more delicate fabrics and much thinner waterproof coatings. You’ll also find they cut features (e.g., lacking vents). That can be a good approach if you only need a small tent for mild conditions, but the X-Mid offers a lot more space and capability for the weight.

Yes. The inner easily disconnects via buckles at the peaks and clips at the four corners to leave just the fly. If you want to pitch just the inner, you can remove the fly peaks’ guylines and tie them to the inner peaks while adding knots for the pole tips, buy the Stargazer Kit on Durston Gear makes inner-only pitching much easier as it has separate guylines that clip right on plus grommets for your pole tips and tensioners for quick adjustment.

Durston Gear offers folding, adjustable length poles called Z-Flick poles that can be used instead of trekking poles. These are the lightest adjustable poles on the market and can be purchased in X-Mid tent bundles as well.

The main reason is that nylon absorbs water in wet conditions. That results in 3 big problems: First, it expands (or “sags”) about 4% which makes for a saggy tent in wet conditions. This is a common problem in nearly all lightweight tents, but low weight polyester fabrics are finally available which solve this. Second, nylon’s water absorption makes the tent slow to dry and heavy with up to a pound of water in the fabric, and third, nylon weakens by about 10% when wet. Polyester doesn’t absorb water, so it doesn’t have any of these issues plus it’s far more UV resistant so it lasts longer.

For the most weather resistant pitch, you should pitch it low to the ground (shorten the cord at the corners as much as possible), use the optional stake out points around the base to spread the load, and deploy the peak guylines. Orient the guylines towards the long sides of the tent to support those larger walls. For extreme conditions, you can add a second peak guyline by tying cord inside the peaks and running it out the vents. This way, you can guyout each peak from two directions, which makes it extremely strong.

The 20D floor is designed to be durable enough to use without a groundsheet, whereas many other UL tents use more fragile 10-15D floors. However, it still requires care not to pitch on sharp sticks and rocks, and the floor could be damaged on harsh surfaces like gravel. For harsh surfaces or a cleaner floor, Durston Gear offers a groundsheet.

Check out Dan’s repair guide over at Durston Gear.