My First DCF Tent - A Beautiful Wild Night

My first DCF tent! (Dyneema Composite Fabric) Just 485g.. kinda crazy! I was hoping to find something a bit stealthier, maybe a camo DCF tent, but I wasn’t able to find anything in those kinda colours. So, I decided to go with the Durston X-mid, as I’ve been very impressed with the heavier non-pro version

I really liked this tent but more importantly, my floppy joints will really enjoy the weight of it. I’m hoping to do some longer trips soon now that spring is (apparently) here and providing the weather will (please) warm up enough for me to carry a lighter sleeping bag, I’ll be feeling light as a feather :D ..pure joy after hauling 18kg on my back all winter

Click on 'read more' at the bottom of this blog post to continue reading..

Gear List

This gear list contains amazon affiliate links. This means that WildBeare makes a small commission from any sales made via these links, at no extra cost to yourself - a great way to support the channel. Thank you

You can also see lots of my gear in my Amazon Gear Shop :)
 
*I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and have not accepted any free gear to try since summer of 2021. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I have chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it and experiences with it are completely impartial.
 
TENT
Ultralight Tent Durston X-Mid 1 Pro (DCF with woven/silnylon floor) + Footprint
Extra Pegs https://amzn.to/3PMvCqB
 
TREKKING POLES
Fizan Compact https://amzn.to/3ggE1Gj
 
SLEEP SYSTEM
Sleeping Bag Rab Ascent 1100 https://amzn.to/3ATy3lM
Sleep Mat Neoair Thermarest Xtherm Max https://amzn.to/3uSjiLt
Trekology Aluft Delux Pillow https://amzn.to/3xwuhM1
Light AF Mat https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk
Alpkit Hunka Bivi Bag https://amzn.to/44LEaVf
 
RUCKSACK & PACKING
Deuter Aircontact 60+10L SL Women’s Rucksack https://amzn.to/3MqRvcW
Nylofume Pack Liner - https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk
DCF Zip Pouches & Dry Bags https://WildSkyGear.co.uk
 
CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR
High Ankle Boots Haix Nature One GTX https://amzn.to/47fnxmV
Sealskinz Waterproof Knee Length Winter Socks https://amzn.to/3ZCxUgU
Fine Merino Socks https://amzn.to/3F66vvp
Hikenture Gaiters https://amzn.to/49idbo1
Leggings https://amzn.to/41Rplko
Merino Thermal Under-Trousers Decathlon
Merino Mix Vest Decathlon
Rab Women’s Nexus Hoody https://amzn.to/3oRMTG7
Step One Lady Boxers Black https://amzn.to/3Zfg9Fe
Down Puffy Decathlon
 
SIT MAT
Cheapo one https://amzn.to/3yP22u8
 
FIELD REPAIRS
Tenacious Tape https://amzn.to/2PmjxOq
 
COOKING
Stove https://amzn.to/3cM173q
Jetboil Gas 230g https://amzn.to/3z5qV5L
Stand https://amzn.to/3GLhHh4
Pot https://amzn.to/3j5Mwot
Lighter
XBands https://amzn.to/43SVFE8
Microfibre cloth https://amzn.to/47ltZIq
Opinel Pocket Knife No.5 https://amzn.to/45P33RH
Tito Titanium Spoon https://amzn.to/3xgwcqi
Bag for rubbish
 
WATER & HYDRATION
x2 1L Bottles
LifeStraw 650m Filter Squeeze Bottle https://amzn.to/3TSeDVe
 
TOILETRIES & PERSONAL CARE
Tissue
Baby wipes
Hand sanitiser
Trowel https://amzn.to/3etBVz9
Palm Hair Brush https://amzn.to/3QIUumd
Hair band
Lip balm
Talc
Toothpaste
Tiny mirror
Mini Tweezers
Tiny Pots https://amzn.to/3aJytgC
Toothbrush https://amzn.to/2LqwgxY
Sleep Mask https://amzn.to/3tD2lUs
Ear Plugs https://amzn.to/40swCVh
Cheap Sunglasses https://amzn.to/3q5wSwR
 
MED KIT
Pain relief
Antihistamine
Plasters
Blister plasters https://amzn.to/3qvrzHA
Torniquet (only use with knowledge of how to use safely)
Wound Dressing
Small Bandage https://amzn.to/401pHUI
Alcohol Wipes
Med kit pouch https://www.wildskygear.co.uk/
 
TICK, MOZZIE & MIDGE PREVENTION
Lifesystems Ex4 (tick treatment for outer clothing coming into contact with long grass etc) https://amzn.to/38XozuB
Smidge https://amzn.to/385sXHI
 
ELECTRONICS
20,100 mAh Anker Power Bank https://amzn.to/3jqTQr2
Headtorch Petzl Bindi (200 Lumen) https://amzn.to/3wl9DlM
Light Goal Zero https://amzn.to/32RI1pR
Thermometer https://amzn.to/3TMdw9n
 
GPS / NAV / PLB
Garmin Inreach Mini https://amzn.to/3sVBi9f
Tether https://amzn.to/3sTRibM
Compass
Phone https://amzn.to/3An5PQ7
Whistle https://amzn.to/3uRvwbM
 
FILMING
Camera Sony ZV1 https://amzn.to/3t4VamJ
Ulanzi Wide Angle & Macro Lens https://amzn.to/3CC6Jaq
ZV1 Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3tYOnPA
Rode Lav Mic https://amzn.to/44Qte8M
Lav Mic Wind Muffs & Clips https://amzn.to/3TkNQUJ
128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/3tckuY8
Tripod https://amzn.to/3nxGg7p
Ball Head https://amzn.to/3G3obrL
 
x2 GoPro 10’s https://amzn.to/3T9CDUB
Wind Shields https://amzn.to/3TesuWA
Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3ww70Lf
Selfie Stick https://amzn.to/3zRjDTh
Rucksack Mount https://amzn.to/32Ojy4M
128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v
Gorrillapod Tripod https://amzn.to/3u9Tb3j
Suptig Sml LED Waterproof Light https://amzn.to/3GUwzLL
 
SAM the drone:
DJI Mavic Mini Drone https://amzn.to/3rvF0SZ
+ an old iphone to control it – my phone not compatible
128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v
 
COMPUTER & EDITING
Editing Program – Davinci (Free)
Headphones Audio-Technica https://amzn.to/3Hbtk1J
Headphone Stand https://amzn.to/3TSgKfn
Mouse https://amzn.to/3yjY24t
Personalised Mouse Mat https://amzn.to/414UsZ5
Gaming PC Vibox VIII https://amzn.to/3WaIUTG
Monitor LG Ultrafine 32” https://amzn.to/3H6lXsg
Seagate 12TB External Hard Drive https://amzn.to/42cSW7U

Music in this Video

Thank you to these amazing artists for producing such great music..
 
Horizon – Amir Marcus
Smile – Aves
Unmistakable – Beò
Just One Thing – Bob Hart
Victor Lundberg – Skyward Bound
 
All from Artlist & Epidemic Sound with license
​

I Buy my Own Gear

I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and don't accept free gear to try or gifts. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I've chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it & experiences with it are completely impartial

​This single skin tent is so easy to pitch – just peg out the 4 corners, insert the trekking poles and you’re good to go. Optional guy lines can be attached if it’s windy, but are not necessary to erect the tent. You can buy this tent with either a silnylon floor, or a DCF floor. I opted for silnylon, as I’ve previously put a load of holes in my DCF tarp by using it as a ground sheet. DCF may be strong, but it has no ‘give’ in it and in my experience, it punctures easily. The silnylon floor adds 45g to the tent (440g with the DCF floor or 485g with the silnylon floor)

I really enjoyed how the tent is kinda transparent – I could see and feel the sun shining through, see the rain drops sliding down the fabric of the tent and the outlines of the surrounding hills and mountains. It appears to be well made, with heat-sealed seams (no seam sealing required, hurray!) and I’m confident in the construction of it, having previously given the non-pro version a bad weather testing, which is the same shape and uses the same ‘principles of geometry’. There are two large pockets inside. The 2 vestibules are huge, the head room I awesome and it just feels like a nice place to hang out.

Drawbacks so far that I’ve noticed – the magnetic door closures don’t hold the doors open in wind. I had this same issue on the non-pro version, the magnets just aren’t strong enough to compete with gusty wind. Also, it’s bright in there.. while I enjoyed the see-through aspect, this could be problematic for sleeping – you’ll need a good eye mask. The floor is real thin, but this is to be expected with a super lightweight tent. I’m using it with its dedicated ground sheet for an extra layer of protection. I couldn’t see anywhere to hang a light from, but it was no issue to place my light into one of the interior pockets, or hang it from the wrist strap of one of my trekking poles. As with all DCF tents, it has a screwed-up-carrier-bag appearance, but I didn’t find it to be particularly noisy (except when the open doors come undone from the magnetic tabs and start flapping around haha)

As usual, there are not enough pegs included with the tent to cover all eventualities. It comes with x4 16g 8” DAC stakes for the tent corners, and x4 7g 6” DAC stakes for guy lines. However, you might also want additional pegs, for pitching out the door flap when sitting with the door open, or for pegging down the side panels of the tent.

The tent retained barely half a degree of heat compared to outside, but this is not an issue as I bought this tent specifically for summer trips. It can feel breezy inside, but this can be improved by pitching the tent lower to the ground (this will in turn of course massively increase condensation). Unless breezy and well ventilated, condensation will be an issue as it is with all single-skin shelters, so always bring something to clean it up with, and use a bivi bag over your sleeping bag.

I’ll be trying this tent on a rainy night soon and I’m looking forward to taking it out on a longer hike!

Find out more about Dyneema Composite Fabric here