Durston X-Mid 2 Review & Pitching Guide: Is It Worth the Hype?

The Durston X-Mid 2 is probably the most talked-about trekking-pole tent on the market right now. Everyone’s got one, everyone’s got an opinion — so is it actually worth the hype, or is it all just internet noise?

I’ve now lived in mine in dead calm and in a proper hooley, so this is the honest breakdown: a step-by-step pitching guide, the genuinely good points, the not-so-good points, and a full tour of the inside. No fluff — just what it’s really like to own.

⛺ You might have already seen this exact tent get battered by 60mph storm-force winds on Slieve Doan — it held. This is the calm, full review to go with it.

How to Pitch the Durston X-Mid 2 (Step by Step)

This is the bit everyone searches for, because the X-Mid uses a clever offset trekking-pole geometry that looks confusing the first time. It isn’t. Here’s the method.

1. Lay it out and find your line. The X-Mid pitches as one piece — fly and inner go up together — which is a massive win in the rain. Work out your long axis first; you want the two doors facing across the wind, not into it.
2. Peg the four corners. Get it roughly square and just nip the corners in — don’t go mad tensioning yet. Pegging it down too tight, too early, is the classic beginner mistake.
3. In go the trekking poles. Both poles to the same height — I run mine around 115–120cm. Tips up into the grommets, stand them up. Looks awkward the first time, takes ten seconds by your tenth pitch.
4. Now tension it. Work around the guy-outs and pull the panels flat.

That offset shape above is the whole trick — when it’s pitched right, the tent goes drum-tight with almost no flapping. If it’s sagging, your poles are too short or your corners are pegged in too tight.

The corner buckles and adjusters are chunky and easy to work even with cold hands. First pitch might take you five or six minutes and a bit of swearing. By your third, you’re under two — it’s genuinely one of the easier trekking-pole tents to get right.

The Good Points

• Space. For a two-person tent it’s enormous — one person plus a full kit explosion and still room to spare.
• Two doors, two big vestibules. One side for your boots and a wet jacket, the other for panniers or a pack. No climbing over each other, no clutter in the sleeping area.
• It’s double-wall. A separate fly and inner means condensation collects on the fly, not on your sleeping bag — a big deal on a damp Irish night.
• One-piece pitch. Fly and inner go up together, so you can pitch it in the rain and keep the inside dry.
• Weather resistance. That offset pitch is exactly why it sat rock-solid when the wind got silly on Slieve Doan.

The Not-So-Good Points

Every tent has trade-offs — here are the honest ones:

• It needs trekking poles. Obvious to hikers, but if you’re a biker who doesn’t hike, that’s two poles you now have to pack and carry.
• The floating fly moves in strong wind. It’s not single-wall, but a trekking-pole fly still rattles when it’s really honking — that’s physics, not a fault. Bring good pegs.
• Big footprint. It’s a large floor plan, so on a tight or rocky pitch you’ll spend a minute finding a spot that fits it.
• Pack size is fine on a bike, but it’s not the smallest. Factor it into your luggage.

A Tour of the Inside

Step inside and the space really shows itself. The offset-pole geometry gives you near-vertical headroom down the middle, so you’re not hunched over — you can actually sit up and sort your kit out in comfort.

There are handy mesh pockets for your phone, headtorch and odds and ends, so nothing gets lost in the dark.

The inner clips into the fly and the whole thing feels well thought-out — quality materials, tidy stitching, and enough length that taller campers won’t be brushing the ends.

So — Is the Durston X-Mid 2 Worth It?

For me? Yeah. It’s spacious, it’s clever, it pitches easy once you’ve done it a couple of times, and it took a battering that would have flattened a lesser tent. If you’re getting into moto-camping or wild camping and you can live with carrying trekking poles, it’s a brilliant shout — and one of the best-value trekking-pole tents you can buy.

If you want to see how it holds up when the weather really turns, watch it survive storm-force winds on Slieve Doan next — and check out my full 2026 moto-camping kit list for everything else I carry.

If this helped, subscribe on the Ride Roam Review YouTube channel — it genuinely helps the channel grow. Ride safe, camp smart. Peace.