X Mid - Dan Durston

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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Ms_Mudd » Wed 07 Oct, 2020 6:19 pm

Thanks for the commiserations, I have sent it off to a woman who has done some excellent work in the past on my gear (replacing zippers, fixing tents etc) so it will come back as good as new I am sure. I am still cranky at myself for ripping it, at least no-one witnessed my lack of grace as I tripped and fell :lol:
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby lseries92 » Mon 19 Oct, 2020 6:44 pm

For those that are interested, I just set up the X-mid 1p with the recently delivered Six Moon Designs 45" aluminium poles (3 piece) I was able to source locally. Height wise these are nearly spot on although the top of the pole does push through the grommet on the tent and puts pressure on the tent material which I will have to correct before taking it out for a proper spin. I assume you will probably need a little more height if you have a 2p ...

As well, the bottom of each pole has a small plastic foot (or cover) and one promptly got lost - possibly pushed into the ground where I set it up. I have replaced both of these covers with some 10mm Black Round Rubber Chair Tips from Bunnings that fit perfectly onto the ends of the poles. These are a little more beefy and will stop the pole digging into soft surfaces. They will also add a little bit of weight (8 grams each) but as I will not be using these when hiking that is not much of a problem.

As pointed out previously these are probably a bit long for most bike panniers but they fit in the top portion of my "wrap-around" Altrider Hemisphere Saddlebag on my trail bike just fine. It may be time to retire my trusty Nemo Galaxi tent ...
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby slparker » Tue 20 Oct, 2020 12:15 pm

Ms_Mudd wrote:Thanks for the commiserations, I have sent it off to a woman who has done some excellent work in the past on my gear (replacing zippers, fixing tents etc) so it will come back as good as new I am sure. I am still cranky at myself for ripping it, at least no-one witnessed my lack of grace as I tripped and fell :lol:


If it is any consolation I stuck my pole tip straight through the fly when packing up my 1p x-mid on the top of Mt Bogong. Not so pro-tip: never try and drop the tent without de-tensioning by releasing a couple of downwind pegs first..

The repair was easy: I sewed the hole by hand and then tenacious taped one side and silicon glued the other (this is what DD recommends). As good as new.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Sat 14 Nov, 2020 5:50 pm

FYI, I am working on a set of folding poles for the X-Mid that are going to be really nice. They're 5 section (so they pack short like the tent), adjustable (very helpful yet rare in folding poles), carbon (light), and 11mm (stiff) and with a custom tip to fit perfectly in the grommet. I am on track to have those available in a few months, although getting a bit late for the summer season in Australia. I think they are 3-4 months out. I am working on the prototypes now and then production takes 2-3 months.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby slparker » Sat 14 Nov, 2020 6:01 pm

Awesome, my main objection to BD carbon z poles is lack of adjustability for the x-mid.

On another matter, why aren't poles made with larger bore tubing (obviously the terminal section needs to be narrow for placement). I am not an engineer but I do know that bike tubes are made purposefully wide as they are stiffer and stronger for their weight.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby CraigVIC » Sat 14 Nov, 2020 7:09 pm

dandurston wrote:FYI, I am working on a set of folding poles for the X-Mid that are going to be really nice. They're 5 section (so they pack short like the tent), adjustable (very helpful yet rare in folding poles), carbon (light), and 11mm (stiff) and with a custom tip to fit perfectly in the grommet. I am on track to have those available in a few months, although getting a bit late for the summer season in Australia. I think they are 3-4 months out. I am working on the prototypes now and then production takes 2-3 months.

This sounds great. I have the 2p and think it's very good. But, solo I don't use two poles. A bespoke solution is just what the doctor ordered.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby north-north-west » Sat 14 Nov, 2020 7:36 pm

dandurston wrote:FYI, I am working on a set of folding poles for the X-Mid that are going to be really nice. They're 5 section (so they pack short like the tent), adjustable (very helpful yet rare in folding poles), carbon (light), and 11mm (stiff) and with a custom tip to fit perfectly in the grommet. I am on track to have those available in a few months, although getting a bit late for the summer season in Australia. I think they are 3-4 months out. I am working on the prototypes now and then production takes 2-3 months.


Neat. Do they have a nice wide base to stop them sinking in sand/soft ground?
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Warin » Sat 14 Nov, 2020 8:30 pm

north-north-west wrote:Neat. Do they have a nice wide base to stop them sinking in sand/soft ground?


? Tasmania? :? That would be mud to us mainlanders .. not 'soft ground' ...

Possibly a fitting to take on walking pole baskets would be best - replaceable, light and at least 2 sizes available to suit the expected surface.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby lseries92 » Sun 15 Nov, 2020 11:12 am

I used the following on the Six Moon Designs poles to prevent them from sinking in too much - they are for 10mm pole diameters though:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/tic-10mm-bl ... e_p4050068

They are 8g each from memory so not incredibly heavy (although for my usage weight is not much of a consideration). They do not have a 11mm if they are required for the poles that Dan are talking about but it would not take too long to dremel them out a little bit.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby north-north-west » Sun 15 Nov, 2020 1:04 pm

Not enough spread. What Warin said about trekking pole baskets would work better. It would also give me a use for all the ones rattling around in the drawer.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby stry » Sun 15 Nov, 2020 6:30 pm

dandurston wrote:FYI, I am working on a set of folding poles for the X-Mid that are going to be really nice. They're 5 section (so they pack short like the tent), adjustable (very helpful yet rare in folding poles), carbon (light), and 11mm (stiff) and with a custom tip to fit perfectly in the grommet. I am on track to have those available in a few months, although getting a bit late for the summer season in Australia. I think they are 3-4 months out. I am working on the prototypes now and then production takes 2-3 months.


Perfect :D Waiting, waiting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :D
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby KateRock » Mon 16 Nov, 2020 6:25 pm

GPSGuided wrote:Curious as to what minimum pole length is required to pitch. The limitation of fixed length poles...



I had a play with this tent on the weekend and found beer cans make great extension and stable bases for the poles. My exisiting poles are only 125cm so i just put my used can under each pole. Great excuse to pack a couple of beers.

I made a little vid if anyone is interested

https://youtu.be/z0mYD9ItUjE
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 5:54 am

The base is a bit of a tricky thing since any base wide enough to work well in almost any conditions is likely fairly heavy. What I'm leaning towards is a removable boot that is moderately wide. Users on firm soil can leave it at home, users on medium soils can bring it, or rig up something in the field (e.g. flat stones) and then users on quite soft/muddy soils will probably need to rig up something in the field since the boot will only be 20-30mm across.

I got the first prototype of the pole this week. Most of it is really nice, including high quality carbon, stiff, packs short, and the custom tip to the fit the grommets is a work of art. The main outstanding thing is that the adjustment mechanism doesn't have as much grip as I'd like (e.g. you have to crank it really tight to hold under a big load) so I'm working on a next gen of that with a bit more contact area to make it easier to get a secure lock.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby north-north-west » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 6:03 am

I'm assuming that the adjustment system will be something similar to the Ruta locura; is that so? I found that to be annoyingly fiddly to use. While the lock works well once set, it can be very difficult to set.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby MikeB62 » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 11:39 am

Our first time on the OLT last week. The platform at Windermere was perfect for the X Mid. 19mm cup hooks made for easy pitching at others.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 2:35 pm

"I'm assuming that the adjustment system will be something similar to the Ruta locura; is that so? I found that to be annoyingly fiddly to use. While the lock works well once set, it can be very difficult to set."

I'm looking at some different options. A flick lock would be ideal but it might be a twist lock. The twist locks are fiddly to use under tension but still a lot better than having no adjustability at all IMO. Not sure why pretty much all the big trekking pole companies only offer fixed length.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby north-north-west » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 3:17 pm

Flick lock would indeed be ideal. A twist lock similar to what is used in trekking poles would be acceptable. Thank you.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby stry » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 6:21 pm

Fixed length is possibly popular with manufacturers because it's cheaper, simpler and probably lighter; although it does require a greater number of models.

I was always a fan of flick locks, but recently upgraded an alloy flick lock tripod to a carbon fibre with twist locks. These twist locks are great, much better in every way than those on my trekking poles, and I prefer them to the flick locks. Note that the tripod twist locks do not require the leg to be twisted, only a knurled ring - very quick and easy. They are also a bigger diameter than trekking poles.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby bumper » Sat 21 Nov, 2020 8:45 pm

Just a quick question,has anyone used the X Mid on the Western Arthurs and how did it go?
I’m tossing up between the X Mid and my trusty Macpac Microlight.
Thanks in advance.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Walk_fat boy_walk » Sun 22 Nov, 2020 7:25 am

bumper wrote:Just a quick question,has anyone used the X Mid on the Western Arthurs and how did it go?
I’m tossing up between the X Mid and my trusty Macpac Microlight.
Thanks in advance.
Good question. I've used mine in some pretty awful weather (and held up brilliantly) but nothing like the warthurs could spew up

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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby north-north-west » Sun 22 Nov, 2020 8:09 am

There's plenty of shelter for the platforms at Cygnus and Oberon. Haven has less but still enough. High Moor is the most exposed of the official sites in the A-K section (which is all that's currently open) and the only one I'd be at all concerned about. The big question with the XMid is the height - it does get hammered by wind, but well-pitched it handles that hammering quite well. It's not a tent where you lie there all night listening to it rattle around you.
I'm still iffy about taking mine on the higher, really exposed, off-track walks, but that's more my paranoia than anything else.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Ms_Mudd » Mon 23 Nov, 2020 7:49 pm

Those of you who own both 1p and 2p, which one are you more regularly reaching for now?
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Zapruda » Mon 23 Nov, 2020 7:56 pm

The 1p for sure. Handles wind a bit better and I don’t find it nearly as confining as some, even at 188cm.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Ms_Mudd » Tue 24 Nov, 2020 6:38 am

I feel much the same Zapruda and find it is my 1p I use the most.
In my situation the 2p could be the more utilitarian shelter though given the kids/ kids friends trips that may happen. I did nab a Black Diamond Megamid on marketplace though, so there is that....

I don't really need a 1p and 2p sat in my shed, but it's a hard call between the two. Great designed tents, the both of them.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Wed 25 Nov, 2020 4:15 am

"Note that the tripod twist locks do not require the leg to be twisted, only a knurled ring - very quick and easy"

Yeah this actually how the first prototype is. Easier than a normal twist lock. Still slightly awkward (versus the same thing in a tripod) because the pole is under a bigger load while you're trying to lock it. Basically you have to hold the bottom shaft still while you twist the ring, and hold the upper section from collapsing. Kinda like a flick lock but the twist takes more action to close. With a normal twist lock the bottom of the pole has to twist which is a downside, but on the other hand, there are only two parts to manage (top, bottom) rather than three (top, bottom, twist ring). Actual weight of the adjustment mechanism is about 9 grams, so pretty reasonable given how nice it is to have.

Anyways, I find the action of it to be reasonable. The first prototype just took a lot of twisting effort to give a solid lock and I don't really want people with cold hands and maybe rushing having to put in any extra effort, so trying to modify that now so it gives a more solid lock with less effort (e.g. finer threads on the twist ring so you have better leverage).
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Moondog55 » Wed 25 Nov, 2020 6:29 am

Having played with CF a tiny bit I too have wondered why CF tent poles are so skinny.
If I was buying them new I'd be more than happy to pay for a pole the same weight as the aluminium alloy but much stronger and for my own needs and wants this means 16mm or larger diametre, at least in the more stressed centre sections. I don't understand the obsession with short sections either as I carry my poles vertically inside my sack or in the external pole pockets. Short sections are weaker than long sections
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Thu 03 Dec, 2020 5:05 pm

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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Se88o » Fri 22 Jan, 2021 1:57 pm

Pulling the trigger. Zapruda - your love for this thing here and on reddit tipped me over the edge; hit Dan up for commission.

The 1p sold out everywhere (except Canada) - any eta on restock Dan? Any updates on the prototype folding poles? Thanks.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby dandurston » Sat 23 Jan, 2021 6:54 am

Commission cheque sent :D

The 1P is in stock on Amazon.com and .ca but it seems that the .com site only ships to the USA for the 1P (even though the 2P ships internationally). So if you're outside the USA it says out of stock on Amazon.com even though it's not.

Drop is receiving a new batch of the 1P and 2P in the next few weeks, so I expect it to be back on Drop sometime in Feb.

I'm also gearing up to launch inner only kits and groundsheets on my own via DurstonGear.com. Inner only kits will launch late April/May for immediate shipping (although hardly inner-only season in Australia). I have an interest list here if anyone wants a notification:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1b8LOp0 ... GUGP77YMM/

Groundsheet will go on pre-sale in a few weeks for shipping in June. Notification list here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KWaoYJ ... afw6Eggn7g

The folding poles have hit a setback. Seems like the factory went out of business under covid. So back to square one on figuring that out. I'm still working on it but the timeline is back to late 2021 now instead of spring.
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Re: X Mid - Dan Durston

Postby Zapruda » Sun 24 Jan, 2021 11:59 am

Thanks Dan. Now I can afford another Xmid ;)

Are the inner only kits for a solid inner?

Quick pic from last night
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