u/hurricanescout

Folks out there, I’m coveting the X-Dome as a solo backpacker who doesn’t have the patience for a trekking pole tent at the end of a long day hiking.

You don’t have to tell me all the amazing things about it. I can see them for myself: fly pitch first, exceptional indoor space, storm worthy etc, extremely light, undercuts the BA copper spur and Nemo dragonfly on price, while delivering more in features and space. I can see it has potential to even use in winter here, which is hugely appealing to not need to buy a separate tent for winter snowshoeing trips.

But here’s what I need from you all: I really need a deep dive into some of the issues and quirks it has. Not because I want to tear down an exceptional product, but because I want to know its limitations/tradeoffs so I can decide if it’s right *for me*.

I do all of my camping and backpacking in California. Northern California, Sierras. I am getting ready for my first ever thru hike (JMT!). What that means is we don’t see a lot of long rainy days during the backpacking season here. More like afternoon thunderstorms. I’ve read about sand sticking badly to the fabric, and about the floor of the tent being quite fragile (I’m new to UL gear and aware that I’m hard on my stuff). I know that with the design the inner won’t sit perfectly flat on the ground and this is solved just by weighting down the corner with your gear. It’s things like this that you only get to know by using a tent that I want to know about.

So again: can’t emphasize enough I am not looking to criticize what I know is an exceptionally thoughtfully designed product. More I want to know what are the quirks/limitations so I can make a good decision here? What weirdness surprised you at first that now you’re fine with?

Especially interested in folks who have gone to an X Dome from a more traditional backpacking tent (ie if you’re coming from trekking pole tents you probably have different concerns about weight than I do), and folks using the X Dome in California / Sierras / JMT.

ETA: clarifying on what I meant by easier to pitch. Realizing (thanks to clarifying comments below), that I didn’t mean the fastest or simplest pitch shelter the way someone experienced with trekking pole tents would think. What I realize I really meant / should’ve said is - was fewest variables, shelter that is less dependent on site selection and ground conditions, ie more forgiving, than I meant strictly faster/easier.

Planning out purchases and coupons. The catalogue indicates the Nemo Dragonfly 2P will be 25% off. Anyone got any insider info to tell me if the 1P also will be? I know in previous years they’ve often discounted across the whole line, not just a two person model, but the catalogue is oddly specific about it being the two person model. I know sometimes asking about the sale in advance can feel like asking what the weather will be three months from now; but sometimes folks in here have the inside scoop and can share. Thanks for any help, trying to plan several major upgrades to my backpacking kit!

Anyone else debated between these two for a thru hike and landed on one over the other? Why? I’m leaning towards the Nemo despite it being slightly heavier and slightly less roomy over the feet end bc of the sloped roof, mostly based on experience with Nemo, is the truth. In general I really like their stuff, find it well designed, thoughtful touches etc. On paper I know I should go with the BA. Any advice?

(I’m not looking for trekking pole tent recs. I want something freestanding that has a lot of flexibility with site selection and that I don’t have to think too hard about at the end of a long day on the trail.)

I just grabbed it. I hope the reason you cancelled it was a good one, and not that life has thrown you sideways, or that injury derailed your thru hike. I’ve been going through some tough times, and getting this permit is the first thing that’s happened in a long time that’s given me something really good to look forward to. So whoever else is going SOBO from TM on July 16, I can’t wait to see you out there. And to whoever needed to cancel: thank you. It means more than you know.

I read so many reviews, watched YouTube videos, have been lurking here in the Durston sub, and I almost know the Durston spiel and specs by heart from being on the website so much. And yet.

I got my X-Mid about a month ago. I did one pitch in my front yard. It went okay but not great, in ordinary, normal soil. I could tell I would still have a lot to learn and would need more practice. I was also getting nervous about what it would be like to pitch in less-than-ideal conditions.

So I decided to try a more challenging pitch, using rocks. No matter what, I couldn’t get it to hold. I couldn’t get big rocks that were heavy enough to hold it in place without it blowing over. Okay. I figured it was just a limitation of the rocks I had, so I decided to just pitch it normally for practice.

It was not good. I kept making mistakes and getting frustrated. The inner was still too high off the ground, and I couldn’t figure out how to adjust it without starting from scratch, which at that point, no way I was going to do.

Takedown was a disaster too. I tore one of the loops on the stakes pulling it out, and the stakes were nearly impossible for me to get out of the ground. I also noticed some flaws in the inner mesh that were kind of surprising for a brand-new tent and didn’t give me confidence for how fragile it would be.

I’ve been camping and backpacking for a long time even if I’m not an experienced thru hiker or anything, and have never, ever felt so frustrated putting up a tent. It was miserable.

In any event, I’m feeling stuck, discouraged, and regretting my first cottage backpacking gear purchase. Because realistically, the thing I need to do to see if this works for me is pitch it a few more times and see if I can ever get it down. But if the tent can’t be resold as new, the depreciation is on the customer, meaning I have to wear the loss. So I’m using it, dirtying it, and decreasing its value.

I want to support small companies, but these are big purchases. I trusted the reviews and community support. I couldn’t have known it really wasn’t for me until I tried it out, and the loss/cost for trying the product is on me.

I gave it a decent shot. I pitched it once on my lawn and once on my driveway. It’s not for me. Honestly, the idea of needing to worry about pitching this thing at the end of a day backpacking has me not wanting to go. I can’t imagine needing to worry about where on earth I could pitch this thing or needing to get it just right for it to work.

I guess what I’m wondering is: does this tent get better? Am I just not experienced enough to take a chance on cottage gear and need to go back to REI/Sports Basement until I’m more knowledgeable? Or frankly, until I’m wealthier and can afford to take a risk on the loss/depreciation of gear not working for me?

If this was a product where I knew the company had my back if it really didn’t work for me, I would keep trying it. I’d probably even take it out backpacking and really see if I could get to the point where I have the experience and skill that people must have to make the tent so great. But every time I use it, I’m risking more dirt, wear, or damage, and reducing the refund/resale value.

I guess I just feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Be gentle folks, I’m overwhelmed, regretting what for me is an expensive purchase and got a tent stake to the jaw pulling it out of the ground just now.

Surely I’m not the only one with this issue. If I want to plan drive times around the sierra, I haven’t found a way to tell maps that I’m going in August when Tioga pass (or whatever other mountain pass) is open. Has anyone solved this or got a workaround?

Interested in perspectives from folks who did MTR to Whitney Portal without resupply in between. I’m planning on getting a BV500, but I’m interested in whether I could get away with something smaller.

- How many days did you take to do this/ rough mileage per day? (Also curious as much of your itinerary as you remember!)
- Approx cals per day? (Or pounds of food per day, however you think of it)
- Which bear canister did you use?
- If BV500, was it too much, or everything barely fit?
- if you went smaller, how did you do it?

I’m familiar w repackaging backpacking meals, cal-dense foods etc. I may end up being limited by having disproportionately more meds with me (can’t be helped, pre-existing conditions).

Since we’re on containers, was reading one of the guides that recommends you pretty much only need to carry 2L water at any time. So for me that’s one dirty bottle 1L, filled and attached to the filter, and one clean smart water filled. Did you find that to be enough? Or should I consider bringing a second clean bottle?

I’m looking to finally transition to an UL pack, and with the number of pack add ons available these days I’m aware I could easily end up adding back the weight in stuff sacks. I’m trying to understand what the bare minimum I need is when I’m going from a bag with fourteen thousand compartments to one giant one. For reference I’m getting an ULA circuit. I’m already planning on the following:

- unscented trash bag to line the pack + provide water protection

- Trash bag for packing out trash and keeping separate from food in bear canister

- Dry sack for electronics (lots of stream crossings in the high Sierra - for additional protection from water

Other things I’ve considered - individually each have an argument to be reasonable but they all add up:

- something to corral bathroom kit (bidet/trowel/hand washing - stand up to pee, kula kloth and sanitizer will likely just hang off my pack)

- Something to hold medicine/toiletries/first aid supplies and keep organized separate from food in bear canister

- Something to hold lunch/snacks for the day outside bear canister

- Do you add any extra protection - maybe as simple as an extra garbage bag - for down insulation - sleep/jacket? Or just rely on your pack liner? Do you typically add a compression sack or just stuff it to the bottom of your pack?

- anything essential I’ve forgotten?

Happy to take recommendations of specific items/brands including UL clips to lash stuff to pack. But mostly interested in overall approach - what do you find the minimum organization is you need for stuff you might reach for regularly, and protect your electronics / down from water, without basically rebuilding the traditional pack in stuff sack weight. Thanks for any advice.

What is the process for backpacking permits accessible from Tioga Pass, if the road opens earlier than June 18? (Looks like that’s the earliest permits were issued via lottery) do they go 7 days in advance once the road opens?

Given they don’t reserve any permits for in person walk ups, if I have a wilderness permit and last minute can’t make it (eg if there’s a winter storm coming shortly!), is there any reason/need to cancel the permit if it’s within 3 days? Obvi I would normally cancel a permit if it opens it up to others, but last minute in Yosemite it doesn’t seem to?

Wondering if some folks here could help me understand trekking pole weight. I’ve never used them before, but since I’ve upgraded from a freestanding tent to my first UL shelter (6lbs down to 26oz!!) I need to get some.

Randomly thanks to an Amazon policy where I don’t need to return them, I ended up with a free pair of Trekology trekking poles that based on the specs, weigh 19.1oz. Problem with them is when I held them for the first time, I honestly wanted to cry 😆. I was like - no way can I hike with something like this. It’s too heavy. I’ll be exhausted, miserable, no way.

I started to look into carbon poles, using outdoor gear lab and switchback travel reviews as a resource. But there I was kind of surprised to see that the weight saving switching to their recommended carbon poles wasn’t that significant - MSR dynalock ascent is 15.7oz or the Leki Cressida fx is 16.4oz. I know there are designs that get down to 10oz or below like Gossamer Gear and Durston Iceline, or certain Black Diamond models.

All that made me wonder - leaving aside differences in features on the grips, and whether the poles are fixed length/adjustable, is the main difference going from aluminum to carbon, the swing weight? Ie the poles will feel disproportionately lighter because the part of the pole that is furthest from your hand is proportionately much lighter? Even if the total weight difference on the poles isn’t as much as I would have thought, they’re likely to feel much lighter when they’re in use?

Trying to figure out if something like the MSR or the Leki is likely to have the benefit of *feeling* proportionately lighter than the 3-4oz difference would suggest because most of the weight is actually in the grip, or if I need to drop down to something around 10oz like the Gossamer Gear or Durston (with compromises on durability for GG or grip comfort for Durston) in order to have a trekking pole that feels much lighter in use than the 19oz Trekology that made me want to cry!

I’m trying to compare the NEMO Tensor Ultralight All-Season and the newer NEMO Eclipse All-Season, both in Regular Wide. Yes, I hear you r/ultralight I said wide. But come on: I’m also willing to carry a sleeping pad! Clearly this is an area where I’m willing to make compromises. Moving on.

The Eclipse looks great on paper, but the combination of higher R-value, lower price, comfort-focused marketing, and only about a 1 oz weight penalty makes me wonder whether the published R-value is telling the whole story.

In another comment, a NEMO rep claims the difference is that the Tensor is more comfortable and lighter. That doesn’t really check out. The Eclipse is heavily marketed as the comfort-focused backpacking pad. While I will never judge anyone for saving weight even at a high cost, $50 for a 1 oz weight savings is more expensive than upgrading down insulation on an ounce-per-dollar basis. It isn’t credible. There is a small packed-size difference, but again, not enough on its own to justify the upgrade to Tensor.

Other comments I have seen mention shining a light through the Eclipse and seeing that the insulation does not appear to extend across the full width of the pad. I’ve also seen comments where people took it out in 40-50 degree weather with a 25 degree zenbivy and were cold, losing heat through the pad. There has to be a genuine reason for the substantial price difference between the two pads, and I suspect the real world insulating ability of the pad is the key. Ie the Eclipse may test at R6.2 under the standardized test, but may not actually provide that level of insulation across the full width of the pad in real-world use.

I’m hoping that when OutdoorGearLab, Switchback Travel, or another independent reviewer gets one, they can give a clearer view. I do wish NEMO would more clearly explain the actual differences between the Tensor and the Eclipse. It’s one thing to cut corners on packed size, baffle design, or fabric thickness. It’s more concerning if the insulation layout allows the pad to publish a high R-value while still leaving users far colder than expected in the wilderness, especially for a 6.2 - chances are if someone is looking at that R value it’s because they are planning on heading out in conditions where they are counting on having an R6.2 pad. Not a 6.2 pad in the center with 2.8 on the sides.

For anyone interested I dug into the specs on the two pads and copied below so you can see for yourself.

Tensor Ultralight All-Season, Regular Wide

- Price: $239

- Minimum weight: 1 lb 3 oz / 530 g

- Packed weight: 1 lb 6 oz / 620 g

- Packed size: 10.5 x 4.0 in

- R-value: 5.4

- Thickness: 3.5 in

- Shape: rectangular

- Insulation: aluminized film

- Fabric: NEMO explicitly says 20D top / 40D bottom nylon

- Marketing language emphasizes: stable support, avoiding “wobbly waterbed” feeling, Spaceframe baffles, low-stretch trusses, quiet insulation, technical warmth-to-weight

Eclipse All-Season, Regular Wide

- Price: $189

- Minimum weight: 1 lb 4 oz / 560 g, only 1 oz more than Tensor

- Packed weight: 1 lb 7 oz / 650 g

- Packed size: 10.5 x 4.5 in

- R-value: 6.2

- Thickness: 4.0 in

- Shape: rectangular

- Insulation: aluminized film

- Fabric: not clearly listed in the product specs I found

- Marketing language emphasizes: comfort-first, 4 inches of plush cushioning, subtle contouring, “cradling” feel, keeps the body centered, longitudinal Spaceframe baffles. This totally contradicts the NEMO rep claim that the Tensor is supposed to be the more comfortable pad.

Anyone got any more real-world experience to report? If there’s a NEMO rep reading this, is the pad rated to R6.2 across the full width and length of the pad, or only in the center? Does the insulation extend across the full width of the pad? What would the user who shone a light on the pad and noticed the difference between the center and sides have seen? If anyone from Switchback or OutdoorGearLab is reading this, can you please check into this temp issue when you’re testing?

What are folks favorite one or two night shakedown trips in the spring time, accessible from the Bay Area? (Yosemite/Tahoe would be furthest). Preferably ones that get higher than 6k feet, so looking for your favorite south facing trails. Itching to get out and acclimate / test gear for summer.

I’m pretty sensitive to altitude so I’m trying to sleep as low as possible on the JMT (SOBO) for the first week. But I think I’ve read in some places about there being certain geographic features at the lower elevations that cause them to be colder? I’m not sure what phenomenon I’m referring to, if it’s true or if it exists. Does someone know what I’m talking about, and could you explain it to me / help me think about it when I’m figuring out the pros/cons of elevation vs temperature while I’m acclimatizing?

ETA planning on second half of July departure

I thought this question had been asked in different variations, but couldn’t find the answer. I’m wanting to know what backpackers do with their packs when summiting Clouds Rest. Do you leave your pack unattended before you get on to the spine and pray it doesn’t get ripped open by a determined mammal while you summit? Or do you summit with your pack and put your faith in your balance and lack of vertigo?

REI’s ultralight down products - the magma down jackets and sleeping bags - have been dwindling in stock for a while now. Anyone know if/when REI might refresh the stock or introduce updated models? Noticed there are some new REI branded tents out and hoping magma/down products won’t be far behind….? Otoh if anyone heard if they’re being discontinued that would be helpful as well.