Durston X-Dome 1+ Review: A Light, Roomy, Freestanding Tent for Backpacking

Durston X-Dome 1+ Quick Stats
Material: 15D Silypoly
Weight: 36.5 oz
Price: $379

It’s 2025 and the tent world has been flipped on its head. Freestanding tents—shelters that include poles and stand up without stakes—are no longer the exclusive domain of mainstream manufacturers. Many small independent brands focused on ultralight hiking like Six Moon Designs, Z Packs, and Tarptent are slinging their own versions, often at a cheaper price point than you’ll find at REI. But none of these tents have generated as much buzz among enthusiasts as the Durston X-Dome 1+.

Announced in fall 2024 and now available, the X-Dome 1+ draws on the award-winning design of British Columbia gear maker Durston's non-freestanding X-Mid series and reimagines the very foundation of freestanding tents. It features user-favorite elements from the X-Mid like a diagonal floor plan, roomy vestibule, and generous headspace, while providing more versatility and weather-resistance than a non-freestanding tent—and no longer requires the use of trekking poles to pitch.

After thru-hiking over 7,000 miles and camping on everything from soggy alpine ground to slickrock benches, I’ve grown a little tired of the shortcomings of non-freestanding tents. I had been considering upgrading to a three-season, freestanding tent when Durston announced the X-Dome. So I quickly called in a review sample and brought it along for a sandy backpacking trip in southern Utah … to see if it would be a good fit for you, of course.

The following is my Durston X-Dome 1+ tent review.

X-Dome 1+ Tent Size, Setup & Design Insight

The X-Dome 1+ is a three-season, freestanding tent with a spider-like, hubbed carbon pole design that attaches to the exterior like an exoskeleton. This lets you pitch the fly first to keep the inner tent dry during setup—a huge advantage in rainy climates. (The inside tent connects to the fly quickly via small buckles—so you can dive under cover quickly after setup.) People can choose to buy their tent with a pole that either folds up longer and thinner or shorter and squatter, depending which will fit better inside their backpack.

Setting up the tent is easy. You attach one end of the main pole to a long guyline attached to one corner of the tent, while the other corners have standard grommets. When pitched, you can fully appreciate the unique trapezoidal floor plan of the inner tent within the fly, which leaves a large gear vestibule space that can be used to store a significant amount. The inside tent measures 85" long (or 90" diagonally), 42" tall, and 50" across at its widest point. Overall, you get 23 square feet of space—roughly big enough for a single person plus a medium-size dog. The 9.2 square foot vestibule is both roomy enough to plenty of gear and also to cook in during stormy weather.

The X-Dome 1+ is fully freestanding so you don’t need to stake it. But if you wanted to, it features eight potential guy-out points to enhance stability in heavy wind.

X-Dome 1+ Tent Comparison

The complete tent with stakes, pole, and stuff sack weighs 36.5 oz (that’s 1,040 grams, or just under 2.3 lbs). The only truly comparable tent that clocks in lighter (the Z Packs Free Zip 2P is kind of its own thing) is the Nemo Hornet Elite 1, which I've found to lack the comfort and features provided by the X-Dome given its tiny space and complex maneuvering required to set up.

For reference, here’s how the X-Dome 1+’s weight compares to that of other popular UL tents:

• Z Packs Free Zip 2P: 31.6 oz
• Nemo Hornet 1P: 36 oz
• Durston X-Dome 1+: 36.5 oz
• MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1: 38 oz
• Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 1P: 42 oz
• Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter: 44 oz
• Tarptent Arc Ultra 2P: 57.8 oz

X-Dome 1+ Tent Features

Thankfully, the X-Dome 1+ didn’t skimp on features just so the company could say it’s one of the lightest freestanding tents on the market. In addition to its roomy ceiling and vestibule, the tent also includes two pockets and four hanging loops for internal organization.

The inner tent also uses a unique, angular, three-zipper entry design instead of one long, curved zip, which Durston says are often a failure point on other tents. This also creates a large doorway that’s super easy to enter and exit.

On the outside, the X-Dome uses a small, integrated crossbar to further increase headroom and make the doorway taller. This crossbar can also be used with trekking poles to create a secondary frame arch in severe weather. But if it’s nice outside, you’ll appreciate that the tent also features dual peak vents you can open to prevent condensation.

The X-Dome 1+ also uses fully seam-sealed, 15D Silpoly fabric (that’s silicone-coated polyester) in a hybrid double-wall design for the outside fly, as well as for the floor. The inside is a mesh net. Durtson says the fabric is much better at staying taut while wet than the Silnylon you’ll find on tents from Big Agnes and MSR, for example.

What Impressed Me Most About the Durston X-Dome 1+

If you’ve ever purchased a two person tent, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of crawling into what actually feels like a one person tent. The X-Dome 1+ is the opposite—a supremely light one-person tent that feels like it could actually fit another person.

I was lucky to have beautiful weather when I bought the X-Dome 1+ out to Fish and Owl Canyons in southern Utah, but the tent’s design is clearly informed by Durston’s home in British Columbia and capable of weathering serious weather. The generous interior is made to accommodate long days spent stuck inside during storms. And the fact you can pitch the tent rain fly first to minimize rain-soaked slumbers is huge.This innovative design is, in my opinion, the major selling point of the X-Dome.

But it is a number of other tiny but well-considered details that I think really elevates the X-Dome above other similar options, including:

• Magnets to hold the doors open instead of toggles that are difficult use with gloves
• Two internal pockets for organization and four hang loops for drying wet socks and other bits
• The option to buy the tent with a pole that either folds up longer or shorter, depending on whether you’re using it with a pack you’d carry on your back or smaller bikepacking bags you'd attach to a frame
• A single-pole design that means less pieces to go missing

It’s worth noting something else that I haven’t seen other reviewers, mostly men, mention: the X-dome offers as much safety as a tent possibly can. The stealthy dark green color blends into most natural surroundings well. And the tent has a large enough footprint with the fly on that it looks like it’s holding two people inside, which is often enough to deter strangers from bothering you. I don’t usually think it’s worth carrying a larger tent solely for safety when I’m camping alone, but if I was hiking internationally or camping near towns, I might consider it.

Disadvantages of the X-Dome 1+

There aren’t a lot of downsides to the X-Dome, but there were a couple of small things I didn’t like. The grommets felt a little tight to me and I definitely grumbled a bit while taking the tent down, but maybe that’s because my non-freestanding tents don’t have grommets.

The main complaint I had is less about the tent and more a failing of Silpoly. Freestanding tents are generally excellent for camping on slickrock or on sandy beaches. But every time I’ve used one made with Silpoly in southern Utah, sand sticks to the tent walls and is very difficult to remove. Because sand can scratch camera lenses and destroy jacket zippers, I’m meticulous about keeping it off my gear.

But there seems to be no way around it with Silpoly. The fact that the material is so good at maintaining tension while wet is much more important, but for desert dwellers and those that hike in AZ, UT, and other sandy zones, the negatives of Silpoly might be too annoying to ignore. I have heard that there might eventually be a Dyneema version of the tent, which wouldn’t have the same problems. Until then, there’s really no solution.

Finally, the X-Dome is definitely a three-season tent, not four. I read a handful of reviews on Durston’s site from people who felt the tent didn’t insulate them enough when they were camping in windy conditions with freezing temps. But honesty, since Durston doesn’t make the claim this is a four season tent, it doesn’t feel like a fair criticism to me. Those who recreate in harsh winters would fare better with something more like the Tarptent ArcDome 2 Ultra, or even a Hilleberg.

Would I Recommend the Durston X-Dome 1+?

Compared to similar tents from Big Agnes, Nemo, and other brands, the differences in measurements offered by the Durston X-Dome 1+ really isn’t that large—two inches here, four inches there. Yet, taken all together, they equate to a much more spacious tent. And when you factor in that the X-Dome is cheaper than every comparable tent and one of the lightest, the specs heavily skew in Durston’s favor.

Durston tents are known for punching well above their price point and it’s hard to argue with $379. Every single competitor tent will run you more: it’s $399 for a Nemo Hornet 1P, $499 for a Big Agnes Copper Spur 1P, and $469 for a MSR Hubba Hubba. From the cottage brands, the new Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter is $425. Though you can’t make a direct comparison to Z Packs and Tarptent (yet), the Z Packs Free Zip 2P runs $899 and the Tarptent Arc Dome 2 Ultra is $659.

Given the blend of weight, comfort, functionality, and price, the X-Dome has a lot going for it and will make a ton of hikers happy. Newer hikers, those who primarily camp at established campgrounds and on tent platforms, bikepackers, and backpackers who want campsite versatility will all benefit from a freestanding tent and the X-Dome is easily my top pick in the lineup.