Md Solid Software Download
Adah Orhenkowski
The X-Mid 2 Solid is a variant of the award winning X-Mid 2 that is tilted more towards use in the shoulder season, cooler conditions, and wind-swept areas like Northern Europe, while remaining an excellent all around backpacking tent. Like its sibling, it has been developed from the first principles of geometry to be the most weight efficient design for a trekking pole shelter. No comparable tent under the 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg) mark offers such a well rounded mix of stormworthiness, spaciousness, and simplicity, which is why the X-Mid 2 has become one of the most popular and highly awarded tents in recent years including top awards from BackpackingLight, The Trek, and Section Hiker.
Most ultralight tents are designed more as fair weather shelters where they achieve their low weights by compromising in durability and stormworthiness. With the X-Mid 2 Solid, performance in tough conditions is a top priority, therefore the X-Mid saves weight through efficient design. This allows us to make a tent that is both ultralight and capable for tough conditions.
The X-Mid 2 Solid has a comprehensive set of protections including a full doublewall design, full coverage fly (extends low to the ground to blocks drafts and splatter), fly first pitch (keeps the inner dry during setup in the rain), polyester fabric (doesn't sag and loosen like nylon), large adjustable vents, robust waterproof coatings, durable 20D fabrics, factory waterproofed seams, and protected doorways that keep rain out even when open. No other tent offers this full list.
When you're tired at the end of a long day or the conditions are rough, it's essential to have a tent that performs simply and intuitively. To achieve this, the X-Mid 2 Solid is designed from obsessive attention to detail and from Dan Durston's extensive backcountry experience.
The result is the X-Mid's simple pitch with only 4 required stakes. There are no mandatory guylines, odd angles, or guesswork, which is a refreshing contrast to most trekking pole tents that require numerous stakes, guylines, and struts as part of a complex pitching process.
The eye for usability continues when the tent is set up including large doorways that are not blocked by trekking poles, roomy vestibules that are located beside the doors instead of blocking them, magnetic door toggles, a collection of 4 thoughtfully placed pockets, and one handed operating zippers.
The patented X-Mid geometry is the most space efficient architecture possible for a dual trekking pole tent. It accomplishes this with an innovative design that sets the two poles further apart for greater volume and headroom, while keeping them set back from the edges to avoid a boxy shape that would be less stormworthy and require more fabric.
The result is a generously sized 2P tent that provides ample space for two adults. That includes a 52" wide floor that fits the widest pads, and a long 92" length that accommodates hikers up to 6'4". The diagonal ridgeline also allows the two occupants to move further apart for greater personal space.
The dual vestibules are also generously sized and accommodate large packs and everything else - all without blocking the doorways.
The X-Mid 2 Solid is built at the most experienced tent factory in the world, who have been building nothing but premium tents for nearly 70 years.
In partnership with them, we go beyond high standards to specify premium components and robust construction methods including full double stitching, double folded edges, waterproof seam construction, and generous bartacking. We know of no other tent that uses double stitching as extensively as we do.
Unlike most trekking pole tents, the doorways are large and not blocked by trekking poles. They also have a protected design to keep rain out even when open, and can be propped open with a stick or pole to create a 'porch'.
The fly extends low to the ground to block drafts and rain splatter, yet can be raised higher for more ventilation. Other tents cut away the bottom of the fly to save weight but it leaves you more exposed.
The X-Mid provides the ideal shape with consistent and moderate panel slopes. All the panels are an ideal 50 - 55 degrees which balance wind and snow shedding to provide excellent all around performance. Most tents are less consistent with a mix of shallower panels (worse for snow shedding) and steeper panels (worse for wind performance).
The X-Mid's offset poles provides a longer diagonal ridgeline that extends the headroom over more of the tent. There is ample clearance to transition from laying down to sitting up without hitting the tent, and room to sit up anywhere in the tent.
That includes avoiding all the common pitfalls of trekking pole shelters such as a complicated pitch, mandatory guylines, poles blocking the doorways, and a lack of interior volume.
Read the story about how the X-Mid geometry was developed:
The X-Mid 2 Solid is a spacious and simple ultralight tent that shines when the weather turns challenging. It's a well rounded tent ready for everything from hillwalks in the UK's Lake District to remote traverses of Alaska's Brooks Range.
The X-Mid has been a pioneer of lightweight polyester fabric because it doesn't absorb water and sag like nylon, so the shelter retains its structural integrity in wet conditions. Our passionate advocacy for polyester was initially met with resistance from many established companies using nylon, but has since led to polyester becoming widely recognized as a superior material and with many competitors now following our lead.
The X-Mid shape provides consistently moderate panel slopes which balance wind and snow shedding to provide excellent all around performance. All the panels are an ideal 50 - 55 degrees, while most tents contain a less consistent mix of shallower panels (worse for snow shedding) and steeper panels (worse for wind performance).
Full doublewall design with separate fly and inner components avoids potential contact with fly condensation and allows for modular use, including pitching the inner only in fair weather and using the fly as a tarp shelter for up to 4 occupants (ideal for ski touring).
The X-Mid 2 Solid provides best in class stormworthiness, simplicity, space, and quality. To highlight this, the table below compares the X-Mid 2 Solid to competing tents in this niche (2P double wall trekking pole tents).
The most notable change is the solid inner fabric that provides a warmer and less drafty space, although it can be too warm for very hot conditions. Mesh is still used for the upper half of the doors for outward views and ventilation.
Additionally, the Solid version uses tougher #5 zippers, premium low-stretch guylines, and additional reinforcement at some optional stake points around the base. It remains great for all around use but more aimed towards use in cooler climates, the shoulder season, and winter trips.
The diagonal ridgeline gives a different distribution of space on each side. One side will have very generous headroom while the other side will be more typical. As such, the more generous side works for people up to 6'4" while the the lower side works for people up to 6'0".
No. The headroom is a bit different on each side but the X-Mid 2 is highly spacious with up to 35% more interior volume than its main competitors, so two people can comfortably sleep the same way. Here is a look inside
Since the X-Mid 2 is longer than comparable tents, the person on the regular side does not need to sleep up in the lower corner. They should slide down to leave the lower corner as a space for gear. This puts both people in a normal side by side position with ample headroom as shown here and this leaves handy gear storage at two corners like this.
The X-Mid geometry is the most volumetrically efficient shape possible. Thus, it is impossible to design a lighter tent unless you use lighter materials, cut features, or make it smaller. With the X-Mid we have designed the lightest possible tent that is still reasonably spacious and functional. Thus, any lighter tent and even other tents at a similar weight will provide less space, function, and stormworthiness for the weight. Commonly those tents are smaller, use more delicate materials, and lack peak vents, a full coverage fly, door zippers, and a tensioned floor.
The X-Mid 2 Solid is a comfortably sized 2P tent and thus does have a larger footprint then that some 2P tents that are quite small. There is a trade off here since a tent that is larger on the inside will also be larger on the outside, but the footprint of the X-Mid 2 is still quite normal for a 2P tent. Additionally, we trimmed about 10% off the fly area for the second generation introduced in 2022.
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 and even then you can collapse one or both vestibules to fit into smaller sites. The X-Mid is one of the most popular tents on the Appalachian Trail where smaller campsites are common.
We used this tent for the first time in Finnish lapland in spring. Temperatures were between 5-15C or 40-60F and it rained for two days which was not a problem since the tent is made out of silpoly instead of silnylon so it doesn't "wet out" and become heavy like my old tent used to do. It is spacious enough for all of our gear to be sheltered from rain and there is also enough room for our dog to roam a little.
My partner and I recently used this tent for six weeks on a bikepacking trip across Australia, along with about a month of backpacking and car camping. Overall, it's an interesting tent with some really cool aspects and some things that need major improvement.
The good:
- Not to state the obvious, but it is very light and packs down quite small, which is great for something like bikepacking when space is at a premium.
- The poles break down nice and short as well, which is also handy for bikepacking as compared to regular length tent poles.
- the vestibule is spacious, and with how the fly is designed you can fit stuff around the sides of the tent under the vestibule which is great, probably one of my favorite features of the tent.
- the overall simplicity of the tent is in general a good thing, such as the elastic bands to tie the doors open, and the magnets to keep the vestibule open. Simple is nice, and in some ways Durston hit the nail on the head with this tent.
- it does do well in the wind, provided it is staked out well.