Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop
The large footprint of both is a negative. I wonder if the extra largeness of the trailstar (which I see people pitch over rocks and bushes) + it Being a lot more flexible in pitching is better than the x-mids more “normal” but still large footprint for places where site selection is less available.
x-mid would appear to be nicer to wait out a storm in, unless it’s Truly horrific. And the trailstar might be easier to cook in?
Decisions decisions.
The reasons I say the X-Mid is the best in the rainy wet are: (1) It sets up really fast, so when weather rolls in you can be inside very quick (2) Fly first pitch keeps the inner dry (3) Fly overhangs the doors so falling rain doesn't get in (4) Tons of vestibule space for wet gear (5) Double wall design protects you from condensation (6) No sag polyester fabric won't sag like nylon (7) Dual vents that are large and functional (8) Steep walls let condensation run down the panel instead of dripping onto the sleeping area.
Many tents have some of these attributes, but no other tent has all of them as far as I am aware.
So compared to the Trailstar specifically, the X-Mid is much simpler to pitch, and would handle humidity/condensation much better since it has two large vents (vs. none) and steep walls so condensation doesn't drip on you. Whereas the Trailstar has very low wall angles so it's super in high winds.
A few other comments: - the X-Mid can easily sleep two without the inner - the X-Mid is very easy to cook in since you have dual vestibules and these are both large and tall (see video). - if the terrain was bouldery where tent sites were hard to find, indeed the Trailstar could be pitched over the boulders and then you could nestle in between them to sleep, whereas the X-Mid requires less area, but wouldn't so easily pitch over top of boulders, except you could have one in the vestibule in a pinch.
The condensation management of the x-mid is a big plus. Simplicity is really nice (And less stakes). In the end is comes down to which one will be less terrible to sit a storm in. The trailstar is a known quantity here. Great in big Uk winds. Lots of space to keep everything dry and to cook. But if you need to pitch low it’s not fun to hang out in. more likely to sleep well at least and in worst case scenarios it’ll be one of the most likely shelters to stay up, unless the wind does a 180. The Xmid is going to be more livable with enough space, but is perhaps more terrifying in big Winds...
I don’t need one right now, but if you do make a semi solid inner down the line will there be a way for people who already own the shelter to pick one up afterMarket?
To sleep two in the X-Mid you can just simply remove the inner and sleep two (below left), but because of the pole locations you end up a bit close to the edge:
Here is the X-Mid tarp compared to the Beta Light:
Anyways the Beta Light has more floor area, so as you might expect, it's heaver - but not actually that much (19oz vs 18oz). That's because the X-Mid is not only 2" longer but also 2" taller and quite a bit more fully featured in the sense that it has dual doors (versus one) and dual large vents (versus none).
Another consideration is that the Beta Light has big time catenary cut, so headroom actually dips a lot in the center. I think most manufacturers are over-doing catenary cut. Sure you want some, but only enough to have a nice pitch. When you over do it, you're just giving away headroom. It's actually more fabric for less space. So if you sit up in the center of the Beta Light, the roof is far lower than the 44" peak, whereas the X-Mid only dips about 4" off of it's 46" peaks so height in the center of the tent is maybe 34" vs 40":
And the advantages of the Beta Light are: - Substantially wider (80" vs 67") - Higher tear strength nylon
Ultimately, if I was buying a tarp for primarily 2P use it wouldn't be either of these. The X-Mid 1P is a one person shelter that can fit two under the tarp if you're packing light and minimal. The Beta Light is proper 2P tarp but still has some major downsides including a door that lets rain fall in the sleeping area, and not that much vestibule space. The X-Mid 2P tarp will be a couple ounces heavier than the Beta Light but will have much more liveable with more vestibule area, no poles in the living area, more volume and doors that don't let rain fall into the sleeping area.