X-Dome 2

Great tent

I have now slept six nights in this tent in the wilderness of north Norway. I really like the tent: it is spacious, height is good, especially for me, because I am long. For one it is luxury, but it is comfortable also for two persons. We had one really windy night and I was excited how the tent manages in storm. I used eight guy lines and the tent changed shape with the wind, but nothing broke and I was happy for that. I have got few suggestions. Firstly, the tent could come with eight guy lines. Secondly, the guy lines could be more visible - for example red. orange or reflective. Thirdly, the package could include 14 stakes. Finally, thank you for a great tent.

Durston @ Philmont Scout Ranch

I was lucky back in October to find myself included in the local Scout Troops plans to attend Philmont Scout Ranch in July of this year, I spent way too much time on the web researching gear for our 10 person 9 day trek, in the end I choose two items from Durston. My pack choice was the Kawka55, although slightly small for all the gear Philmont requires, I planned ahead and used a Tribe One LP series PackNet bungee cargo net and generic 15 liter dry bag for my share of the multiday food pickups we had. Heading out of base camp with my share of food and 4 liters of water my pack weight was 36lbs. I felt the pack carried well, I had no issues with adjustments or any failures. The 2 lb empty weight gave me a few lb advantage over everyone else in the crew when it came to total weight carried My second gear choice was the X-Dome 2. Philmont provides tents but I felt I could save some weight between myself and tent mate by bringing my own tent. The tent performed great, set up is easy, especially once you have the groundsheet (Durston also), internal tent and rain fly all attached together. Internal space was enough for two 6 ft, 200ish lb people. The external vestibules are great spots for shoes, a water bottle and misc gear overnight. (Philmont requires packs to be stored overnight in the Bearmuda Triangle at least 50 ft from tents). We had rain once while the tents where up, as far as I know we had no water in the tent. The best feature for us was the dual entry points, all the Philmont issued tents have one entrance. The dual entry allowed either person to sneak out at any time during the night to handle our moments when nature called without disturbing the other. Overall I am highly satisfied with my Durston equipment.

Great tent: ultralightweight, spacious & stormworthy

We tested the X-Dome2 back home in the Austrian Alps. Right after unboxing, we took the X-Dome 2 to the Styrian Alps in eastern Austria. We spent our first night at 2,400 m in strong winds and temperatures of around 4°C. The carbon poles proved to be both exceptionally stable and flexible enough to withstand the strong gusts without breaking. The eight stakes were sufficient to anchor the tent securely and keep it perfectly tensioned in the wind. Combined with Dan Durston's ultralight trekking poles (which, by the way, are manufactured in Austria... 🙂) for additional support, we almost forgot how hard the wind was blowing outside. Besides the spacious vestibules, the clever geometry of the tent also provides plenty of room inside for all our gear. Pitching the tent took only a few minutes because the inner tent can be clipped into the fly beforehand—a huge advantage in rain or high winds. The magnetic door closures are brilliant. They make it incredibly quick and easy to secure both the inner and outer doors, while keeping them firmly in place. And with the doors open, you're rewarded with amazing views—whether it's Styria, Switzerland, Ontario, the Yukon Territory... or wherever our next adventures take us. Thanks, Dan, and thanks to your team for my new home away from home! 😀