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Joomy
212
Sep 23, 2018
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dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Sep 23, 2018
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JoomyHi Joomy,
Most tents have historically been nylon, which expands by about 4% when it's wet, so a fabric panel that is 50" (or 125cm) tall will expand by about 2" (or 5cm) and thus be quite limp. So with nylon being able to adjust the pole(s) easily is quite important as you'll often be doing that in the night.
The X-Mid is polyester though, which is far better for not sagging. The sag here is virtually zero. Lightweight polyesters have really only hit the market in the last few years but they are great - especially for a trekking pole shelter which doesn't have "spring" in bent traditional tent poles to take up the sag. Once you've used polyester, you won't go back to nylon.
So all that is to say that "keeping a tight pitch" really isn't a concern with the X-Mid. Due to the poly, the tent will look just as good in the morning as it did in the evening when you pitched it, without further adjustment. Because of this, adjustable poles are a lot less important with the X-Mid. The X-Mid will always pitch with the poles in the range of 46 -47" (or 117 - 119cm) unless the ground dips or rises a lot under where the pole is. Whereas the same tent in nylon could sag by a couple inches so the necessary pole height would range more widely from about 46 to 49" (117 - 123cm), and thus having a fixed length pole is more problematic. If you wanted the pole to be capable of 50", it would often be quite a bit too long, but not so with the X-Mid as it will remain in a narrower range.
So if you want to use non-adjustable poles, 120cm poles work great. Normally they'd be slightly long since the tent pitches at 117 - 119cm, but yes you can angle them a bit to take up a few extra cms. Then you've got a bit of extra length in case the ground dips below where the pole is, or the ground is soft and the pole digs in.
You can also buy straight poles that are adjustable instead of trekking poles. For example, Ruta Locura sells a folding poles that have an optional 8" adjuster in them: http://www.rutalocura.com/tent_pole_450.html
So both non-adjustable 120cm poles, or adjustable poles will work nicely.
Most tents have historically been nylon, which expands by about 4% when it's wet, so a fabric panel that is 50" (or 125cm) tall will expand by about 2" (or 5cm) and thus be quite limp. So with nylon being able to adjust the pole(s) easily is quite important as you'll often be doing that in the night.
The X-Mid is polyester though, which is far better for not sagging. The sag here is virtually zero. Lightweight polyesters have really only hit the market in the last few years but they are great - especially for a trekking pole shelter which doesn't have "spring" in bent traditional tent poles to take up the sag. Once you've used polyester, you won't go back to nylon.
So all that is to say that "keeping a tight pitch" really isn't a concern with the X-Mid. Due to the poly, the tent will look just as good in the morning as it did in the evening when you pitched it, without further adjustment. Because of this, adjustable poles are a lot less important with the X-Mid. The X-Mid will always pitch with the poles in the range of 46 -47" (or 117 - 119cm) unless the ground dips or rises a lot under where the pole is. Whereas the same tent in nylon could sag by a couple inches so the necessary pole height would range more widely from about 46 to 49" (117 - 123cm), and thus having a fixed length pole is more problematic. If you wanted the pole to be capable of 50", it would often be quite a bit too long, but not so with the X-Mid as it will remain in a narrower range.
So if you want to use non-adjustable poles, 120cm poles work great. Normally they'd be slightly long since the tent pitches at 117 - 119cm, but yes you can angle them a bit to take up a few extra cms. Then you've got a bit of extra length in case the ground dips below where the pole is, or the ground is soft and the pole digs in.
You can also buy straight poles that are adjustable instead of trekking poles. For example, Ruta Locura sells a folding poles that have an optional 8" adjuster in them: http://www.rutalocura.com/tent_pole_450.html
So both non-adjustable 120cm poles, or adjustable poles will work nicely.
theAdventurous.One
2
Dec 4, 2018
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dandurstonSOLD! That's what I needed to hear. I have a pair of non-adjustable Black Diamond 120cm Z-Poles. I have been looking at a lot of different tent options but didn't want the expense of new poles as well when I already have a perfectly good set.
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Dec 4, 2018
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theAdventurous.OneYou’ve either mastered the search function or read an awful lot of comments to find this one. Either way, kudos and thanks for the support!
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Jan 13, 2019
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theAdventurous.OneWow! Well done. Too bad the comments counter just says "1K" now, so we don't know how many that is.
Melbournewoman
37
Mar 29, 2019
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dandurstonI have black diamond 110cm non-adjustable poles. Will these be too short? I am kinda prevaricating because I want to take the tent bikepacking too and generally don’t cycle with poles...
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Mar 29, 2019
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Melbournewoman Yeah 110 cm is a bit short. You could pitch the tent but it wouldn’t be as tight as ideal. You could make it work by putting a rock under the pole to add 2 to 3 inches but that’s a bit of a clumsy solution.
There are two other options. You could get a short bit of tubing that slides onto the tips of your pools to extend it by 5 to 10 cm.This would work well but you would have to pitch the tent with your poles handles up, which works fine.
Another option is to purchase folding polls to use with the tent. Massdrop is going to offer some eventually and in the meantime other companies do. You can get five section poles that fold up short for bikepacking.
Melbournewoman
37
Mar 29, 2019
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dandurstonMaybe you need to do a bikepacking tent... like Big Agnes ;)
Melbournewoman
37
Mar 29, 2019
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dandurstonAlso be good to update the tent description and specify what poles actually suit
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Mar 29, 2019
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MelbournewomanWhat makes a good bikepacking tent aside from a small pack size?
We are working on optional folding poles for bikepackers and non-hiking pole users but it’ll be a few more months until those are ready.
Yeah it would be good to have more information on alternative pull options. The specs list the pole height (46.5” or 118cm) but we could have more info.
(Edited)
Melbournewoman
37
Mar 29, 2019
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dandurstonVestibule space to put all your stuff, shorter poles and they have attachments so you can strap it to your handlebars.
(Edited)
dandurston
5116
Dan Durston
Mar 29, 2019
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MelbournewomanI see. Thanks. Seems like the X-Mid has the vestibule thing covered since they are very generous unless you mean ones that are large enough for a bike (like MSRs new tents).
If we offer a five section pole that pack down to 10 inches and a stuff sack that can strap to bars easily, then it seems like we have it covered.
Melbournewoman
37
Mar 29, 2019
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dandurstonCould do. The rest is just bells and whistles. I also like a footprint that also includes the vestibules to put my stuff.
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The more I look at this the more tempted I am. Have you tested it with non-adjustable poles? How important is adjustability to keeping a tight pitch and varying the height? Does angling the poles work? I ask because down here in Oz a lot of our walks are not that trekking pole friendly.