Watched your latest and last video so I was pleased to see you picked up a Durston, you obviously wanted one. Good unbiased opinions. I’ve subscribed to see where your journey takes you.
I think it was the logical thing to do. I like the ASTA GEAR but it's a copy and it leaked. Was lucky to get the X-Mid. Had my first night in it last night, no complaints, rained through the night so will see how I get on tonight welcome to the channel 👍
@@greyhikes5236 Looking forward to your thoughts (rant) on You Tubers, and more generally on your trip in Scotland. My go to tent at the moment is a Lanshan 2, but I am a big fan of the features on the XMid 2 sill poly version. I agree that DCF is not best suited to the UK all be it incredibly light weight.
Fantastic comparison... I was very lucky i think to pick up my Yun Chuan 2p 3s fully sealed in Jan for £125. Thanks to your vid i think ill seal the area around the top of the pole a bit more before i get to use it in anger. I think ill need to do a few mods before im fully happy with it but fir me using it as a summer tent im hoping once ive tweaked it it should be ok.
A realky good and honest side by side comparison. After watching this i would definitely go for the Durston. I am fortunate that my budget would allow this though. Its a breath of fresh air watching a genuine account of a product and not someone pumping the latest new release product. Great video. Have fun in Scotland. John.
Cheers John, I just mentioned to another comment that I have the next video with a 20 min rant about RU-vidrs just trying to be the next biggest thing for clicks rather than quality content and facts. Trying to get to the start point now for my walk 2 buses later 🤦cheers Al 👍
Great video, nice to see a thorough look at the asta gear and here your experience of it. Wish more people took this approach as it’s just good solid information for people to take as they wish. I’m personally glad I bought the durston, getting a footprint is defo recommended and if you do you can get it without having to pay inport tax as doesn’t exceed limit.
Thanks Stewart, yes I have noticed a pattern on RU-vid where creator's a just eager to be first to show off new gear but you very rarely see long term in depth look at the stuff. I have another video due out that I have a 20 minute rant about it 😉 my have to edit it a bit lol
Great video and thanks for showing the differences between the two tents. When I first saw videos of the Chinese copy of the copy (err X-Mid 'original design lol' I mean🙂), what I noticed was how the ridge line sags on the Chinese tent, into a noticeable twin peaks affair when compared to the X-Mid. Thanks once again for the video, it was informative.👍
Thanks for the comparison vid, very good. For info I run my xmid 2 at 115 to 120 cm in wet and windy weather to get a hunkered down look and feel to it. Added extra tie outs like you have and added some longer better pegs to the ones supplied for extra peace of mind. It’s withstood the Welsh hills and Dartmoor winds of about the 40 to 50mph range without an issue. In fact with double pegged windward side it feels more solid than many poles tents. I’m wary of the cheap chinese tents since I got caught out by the cheap materials on a lanshan 2 in proper weather. I’m not saying the fake is a bad tent but I wouldn’t trust it personally
I'm on the Affric Kintail Way at the moment so baptism of fire with my second pitch 🤣 it's getting better lol I think Wednesday its to be windy so will take your advice on keeping it low. 👍 I will try my best to fix it but a couple of subscribers have mentioned issues with seam sealing it, I'm wondering if the fact it's sealed on both sides of the fly me be an issue?
Thanks for the video. I have the Yun Chuan 2. The Durston is too expensive for me. I buy a new tent every 2-3 years, if it were all Durston I wouldn't be able to afford it. I wish you lots of fun and success on your hike! 😊👍
Yes my friend it is a bit of a cost, I liked the Yun Chuan and was gutted when I found the leak. I just couldn't risk it on the Scottish National Trail so hopefully the X Mid will do the job or its the MSR that will be going 👍
I’d have the X-Mid. In fact I have an X-Mid 1 v2 which I will be taking on the CWT this April. I’ve swapped the pegs out for long easton ones, I’ll also be taking a tyvek footprint which covers the whole of the tent footprint.
I'm hoping to take the xmid on the Scottish national trail in April but heading up to Scotland this evening to spend the week with it to see how it goes. Will have to look at the footprint as I'm using a Lanshan 2 which is a bit short for it. Good luck on the CWT 👍
I have the X-Mid Pro 2, and did some part of the CWT last year in April. It was really great. I'm looking forward to do it again, but this time it will be the full trek. Enjoy your trip.
Thanks for this video! Just had a Yunchuan 2 arrive and had a quick go at pitching it. I noticed very little sag in the middle when having the poles at 135cm. The gap underneath is around 10-15cm. I'm wondering if there's a new revision of this tent as I also didn't suffer from any saggy inner. Other videos like yours and Novice Wild Camper's both show a real dip in the middle. Curious! Now... what I did struggle with is getting the bathtub square. I'm going do a video on my observations too - hope you don't mind if I shout out to your video too as a plug as I think it's worth providing a range of opinions. I think it could also do with a "bungee cord mod" on the bathtub to help getting it square.
Hi thanks! Possibly they may have a newer model or fixed the sagging issue will be good to see your observations 👍 I can't get the inner square as I think it's supposed to be at an angle but I found only one end of my inner is angled 🤷 I tried putting the inner inside the xmid and it's way off. Working on a fix for it as I wouldn't mind using that inner in the xmid. 👍
I was just talking to a friend. He has the X mid 2 and recently also the Yun Chuan 2. He has sealed Yun Chuan 2 tent twice before it is tight. He took the Yun Chuan camping for the first time this weekend in the rain and very strong winds. He felt that the Yun Chuan tent's low gable design meant it would also perform better in strong winds than the Durston x-mid. I'm looking forward to taking you on my first hike in the low mountain range at the end of this month.
A good review, thank you. The only thing I like about the Asta is the colour, and the extra solid panel sections compared to the Durston. I like the Durston but your version is very much for the American trails with all that netting, or as a 2 season here, although they do a more solid version, I wonder if they would sell the inner separately?.....regardless it has to be the Durston then, look forward to seeing it in a hooley.
I use a small stuff sack for my inner, the ground sheet and outer go in the original Durston bag, regarding the pegs, I don’t know any x-mid owners who use the pegs they were sourced when COVID hit so suppliers were extremely limited. Wasn’t a big surprise that you chose the X-mid, you’ll be happy with it, it’s an awesome tent. The clips are YKK clips for the inner which can be found online and changed out.
Thanks! Will have a look for the clips and see if I can utilise the 4 season inner good to know thank you. 👍 In Scotland for a week now with 4 days heavy rain forecast, I have know doubt it will cope! I might not though 😅
Not gonna lie, I genuinely thought the dark one was the durnston. If it wasn't for you pointing it out I'd think otherwise. Cracking review, and good to see how they both compare and why sometimes it's good to invest in the more expensive option. The asta gear would do and has done a turn but it'll be interesting to see how you get on with the durnstun. Cheers 👍🏻
It depends on how often you use it. You get 4 Yun Chuan for one Durston. If you want to afford it, I hope you have fun with it. I buy a new tent every 2-3 years because they don't really last that long. With a Durston it wouldn't be possible for me to buy a new tent every 2 years because the price is really high. to each his own! I wish everyone a lot of fun with their respective tents! 😊✌️
@@roastntoast7550 I get your point, I also own budget tents but I also have expensive tents. There's a time and place for both. I also find it's how you treat your gear that determines how long it lasts. I've got a budget naturehike tent that I've owned for nearly 10 years and it's still as good as the day I bought it. But it's all down to personal preference and what conditions you use it in like you say. Atb 👍🏻
@@greyhikes5236 interesting - how comes you're using that inner? And - what was the important point to get into and outer pitched with enough distance? Thanks!
@GermanBadGuy I have the mesh inner for the xmid but the Asta is 50% solid and keeps the wind out. We stitched the Asta inner to make it the same shape as the xmid inner because it was out of shape
@GermanBadGuy the inner was out of shape for the outer on the Asta, on the xmid it was OK but had to gather in some material at the sides. I'm not sure that my Asta was first of production as it just isn't right but I see a few vlogs out there where their step up seems to be fine. I think I will do a follow up video 👍
Good content this is what I like to see in gear reviews actual real comparisons! Does anyone know if the inners out of the Yun Chuan 2 fit into the Dunston X Mid 2 fly? I have the mesh inner X mid and was considering tying the four seasons inner in it, the half mesh top and solid bottom half is the ideal inner for a tent IMO. So Ali express do have the separate inners for sale, surely someone tried this? any thoughts I have had the X mid in some hard rain and super strong gales and with all the extra guy lines used and pegging points it was very good and I feel very confident in using the tent for just about anything in the UK for three seasons, the Big Agnes copper spur 2 I had would have been destroyed without a doubt in comparison, the space in the Durston I like so much it is a proper two person tent and their gear and a dog in my case Labrador size sleeps in the porch.
As soon as I get back from testing the x mid 2 out I will 100% do a video. I'm just sourcing the clips that you need to swap out and I will let everyone know my friend 👍
In my honest opinion on the version I have would be yes if it hadn't have leaked. It may have only been my tent but I haven't seen any other reviews mention it. I love the xmid but not the price. If it hadn't have leaked It would be my go to tent.
@alanrobinson2229 so looking at £180ish. Which is lanchan 2 price range. For me better for space is the ASTA, porch space is massive. It's a difficult one.
All the videos on the X mid 2 that I have seen talk about the Dunstan family being a cottage company and making the tents in Canada with a small staff. If as you say it is made in the Far East, Dunston might lose some North American customers.
I think it came out a while ago that once the demand was so great production was moved overseas. It's still a difficult tent to get in the UK, some retailers now stock it but sell out really quickly. I belive that most tents are produced in Asia now. 👍
Yes, 100% the leaking has killed it for me. I do use the inner in the xmid. Just spent 10 days in Scotland with it. It's solid side helped a lot with the wind.
@@greyhikes5236 The X Mid 2+ is a true 2P about the only thing lacking is an overhead hook/hanging solution. Kind of mind boggling they haven't addressed this after so much feedback for so long.
@bradl2636 yes I'd agree that it is just missing those little bits of detail but if it was complete then they wouldn't be able to sell new versions? I've fitted the ASTA GEAR inner to my xmid and used it in the Scottish Highlands for over 10 days. It's a bit of a compromise between the solid inner and the lightweight inner. Doesn't have the roof pockets but does have the hooks 😉
