DUOMID XL ™
TGO Magazine “Best Buy Award Winner”
WEIGHT: 16 – 21 oz | 455 – 595 gm
PEAK HEIGHT: 59″ / 150cm
SQ FOOTAGE: 65 + sq ft | 6 + sq m
SLEEPS: + GEAR
The DuoMid XL is the ultimate UL shelter for two (plus extra winter gear or a dog!) As strong, fast to setup, and capable in high winds and moderate snow as the DuoMid, with some truly XL features. It’s a 30% larger, and it’s asymmetrical shape, offers 70% of the user space behind the one center pole, while the front 30% functions as a vestibule for gear storage, a dog, or a third person if needed. This offset design allows entry and exit in rainy conditions to help keep the sleep side of the shelter dry!
Single pole pyramid shelters like the DuoMid XL offer the fastest set up of any lightweight shelter design and because they don’t have any large vertical side panels (like other two-poled designs) they don’t buzz, hum, flap and roar in the wind! The DuoMid XL is a super bomber shelter with 16 tie-out points!
Read our “Options” tabs to learn more about all the great options that can be added to this ultra-tough shelter!
ACCOLADES:
•OutDoor Enthusiast Magazine “Best Buy 2016”
•The Great Outdoors Magazine “Best Buy 2015”
“Very roomy, stable, lightweight, excellent headroom… ” – CHRIS TOWNSEND | TGO MAGAZINE
“Pyramid Tents are the lightest and most protective shelters out there.” – ADVENTURE ALAN
“Alison and I recently shared a Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL on a 350 mile bike-packing trip where we were really trying save on space (a SilNylon Solomid XL takes up insanely little space).” – ADVENTURE ALAN
“These shelters shed wind, rain, and snow exceptionally well…A top vent plus clever catenary curves between the pegging points mean this is an airy shelter.” – DAVID LINTURN | OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST MAGAZINE
FEATURES
• Extra room for two in all weather!
• Asymmetrical design allows entry and exit during rain or snow without getting the sleeping area wet
• LargePeak Vent is held open by a flexible and removable wire and can be folded over and closed to stop blowing rain or snow from entering.
• Great for moderate snow loads and strong wind
• Long service life #5 YKK Water-resistant zipper w/ storm flap includes multiple stress relief snaps and buckles
• Interior Apex Hang Loop + Exterior Apex Tie-out loop
• Dual doors roll open and secure
• A total of 16 tie-outs!
• Eight ground level perimeter tie-outs all with LineLocks for easy adjustment. LineLocks make winter use with buried snow anchors MUCH easier.
• Three side middle panel tie-outs: Reinforced Rear and Side panel tie-outs for high wind. Use the supplied bungee cord on the tie-outs to reduce stress on the shelter. Only tighten slightly.
INCLUDES
• Stuff Sack
• 40′ MLD Pro Guyline
• 1.5 oz Tube McNett Silnet Seam Sealer
• Pole Connector Strap
DIMENSIONS:
LENGTH: 110 in | 280 cm
WIDTH: 90 in | 220 cm
PEAK HEIGHT: 59″ / 150cm
SQ FOOTAGE: 65 + sq ft | 6 + sq m
MATERIAL: SilPoly
WEIGHT: 21 oz | 595 gm
COLORS: Gray Green, Orange Citrus
MATERIAL: .75 DCF (Dyneema® Composite Fabric A.K.A. Cuben Fiber)
WEIGHT: 16 oz | 455 gm
COLORS: Green
MLD PRO SILPOLY SEAM SEALING
COST: $75
WEIGHT: 1.0 oz | 28 gm
The SilPoly version of this shelter requires seam sealing, which is why we include seam sealer with all our SilPoly and SilNylon shelters. You can seam seal this shelter yourself in about 30 minutes with the supplied seam sealer OR as an extra service we can do it for you! Watch a how to video HERE.
We use a diluted 100% Silicone Sealer on the exterior stitching above the lower hem. Factory seam sealing can add about 1 week to the order process. Seam sealing adds about 1 oz | 30 gm +/- depending on the shelter size.
Factory sealed shelters are returnable under the regular return policy, where as DYI seam sealing is not.
We STRONGLY suggest you pitch the shelter and test before a trip. Set up before a good rain or spray with a garden hose nozzle arching up in the air and down on the shelter simulating rain for at least 15min. Touch up or resealing may be needed eventually.
NOTE: DCF shelters do not need seam sealing.
INNERNET OR FLOOR
INNERNET(S): Add a pyramid shaped InnerNet to this shelter to create an ultra-light, double walled tent that is modular and strong in wind, rain, and snow. An InnerNet comes with your choice of DCF (Dyneema® Composite Fabric A.K.A. Cuben Fiber) or SilNylon 5 in | 12.7 cm tall bathtub floor with corner struts, Nanoseeum net walls, and #3 YKK zippered right side single door. MORE INFO…
DIMENSIONS: 90″ Long x 50″ Wide x 46″ Tall | 229cm x 125cm x 115cm
SILNYLON INNERNET WEIGHT: 14 oz | 414 gm
DCF INNERNET WEIGHT: 12 oz | 302 gm
*Will fit two people, if either person is over 6’2″ it will be tight.
FLOORS: Keep you, and your gear, cleaner and dryer in camp with a waterproof pyramid shelter floor! Your choice of SilNylon or DCF (Dyneema® Composite Fabric A.K.A. Cuben Fiber) bathtub floor with 5 in | 10 cm walls and corner struts keep the floor upright and tight. MORE INFO…
DIMENSIONS: 90″ L x 50″ W x 5″ H | 229 L x 127 W x 13 H
SILNYLON FLOOR WEIGHT: 8 oz | 227 gm
DCF WEIGHT: 5.5 oz 156 gm
CF POLE
COST: $45
WEIGHT: 4 oz | 113 gm
LENGTH: 59 in | 150 cm
STYLE: 4-Section
FOLDED LENGTH: 16.5 in | 42 cm
Don’t hike with trekking poles? No worries, get an UL Carbon Fiber Pole in exactly the right length for this Mid. Our Pyramid Tent Poles are made from 0.5″ | 13 mm unidirectional cello carbon wrapped carbon fiber tube, with fabric weave carbon fiber ferrules – it’s a mouthful to say, but it means they’re super bomber and light! MORE INFO…
EASTON 9″ AL STAKES
COST: $28
Add EIGHT 9″ Easton Aluminium Stakes to your purchase.
MLD 2.7 MM PRO REFLECTO GUYLINE
COST: $6
WEIGHT: 2.9 oz | 82 gm
This product includes 40′ of our regular, non-reflective Pro Guyline in your choice of Yellow or OD Green. You can upgrade this to 40′ of 2.7 MM Reflecto Pro Guyline which has properly spaced reflective markers that are bright enough to see, without making your shelter look like that obnoxious house on your block with the out-of-control Christmas lights.
ZIP CARE: ZIPPER LUBE & CLEANER
COST: $10
We HIGHLY recommend Zip Care™ Liquid Zipper Cleaner & Lubricant be purchased with all our zippered gear.
TIPS
• Most of the time you will want to pitch the corners tight to the ground. The middle long side edge tie-outs can then be staked out to give good ventilation along the edge.
• To use the DuoMid for Solo use, angle the pole off center a few inches for more room, or for tall users over 6’1″ and up to 6’4″ to sleep at a slight diagonal.
• To use the DuoMid for Duo Use, place the pole in the center
• For “Special” Duo Use – Both hikers can connect their poles together to make two long poles and place the poles to form a wide inverted V in the Shelter. OR you can find two long poles and use them on the outside of the shelter to tie up to the Exterior Apex Loop.
• ONLY zip the zipper up OR down when the bottom buckle is fastened to relieve stress on the zipper. Clean and Lube the Zipper as needed.
• Most users will want to pitch it a few inches off the ground for ventilation and even more space.
• Extra Ventilation Trick: Pitch the front and/or back a bit loose, then use the middle tie-out on a 3’line to pull the front or back sides out a bit forming a large eyebrow shaped edge to let more air underneath.
TREKKING POLE USE:
• One full-length trek pole set at 54 – 56 in | 140 -145 cm will fit if DuoMid is pitched tight to the ground.
• Higher pitches require a rock. Or, use the included Pole Connector Strap, or a piece of guyline to connect two trekking poles together.
• It is okay to angle the pole toward the front for more solo space behind the pole.
• CAUTION: Some of the lightest carbon fiber trek poles use the compact Leki-style flex tips which are a smaller diameter than most trekking pole standard tips. The small tips do not fit the pole extender tightly and can cause enough torque to break the pole tips!
Each of our SilPoly and SilNylon shelters comes with one tube of McNett Sil-Net Seam Sealer. It is STRONGLY recommended you use this supplied seam sealer to seal and strengthen the seams of your shelter.**DCF (Dyneema® Composite Fabric A.K.A. Cuben Fiber) Shelters do not need seam sealed.**
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Pitch and inspect your shelter for any issues. Once it is seam sealed, it is non-returnable except for significant defects.
2. Use the supplied SilNet Sealer and ONLY the SilNet Sealer. (If you want to dilute it or use some other silicone sealant it should work OK and is common (research this yourself online) but, you are on your own- results may vary and are not covered by warranty! If you go this route, it is assumed you know 100% what you are doing and have done it before!!!)
3. Pitch the shelter tightly. Temperatures should be above 60 F and humidity below 80%. You may do this indoors. You may also do one seam at a time indoors if the seam is stretched slightly. Pinning one seam from each end on the floor between two heavy objects works OK.
4. We use the SilNet straight from the tube. Do not make a big hole in the sealer tube – start small so that you can control flow. Multiple small application is a lot better than one big smear.
5. Main Seams: Place a small bead on the seam along the stitching. Work on a 3’- 4’ section at a time. Use a finger to press the sealer into the stitching and the small valley at the edge of the seam where it is rolled under.
ALLOW AT LEAST 24 HOURS TO FULLY DRY.
NOTE: You only need to seal the OUTSIDE of the shelter. You do not need to seal the bottom perimeter roller edge stitching. It is OK to add a small bead on the leading edge of the triangle tie-outs reinforcement stitching, but it is not required.
SPECIAL AREAS: Add a little sealer to any tie-out stitching on the middle of a panel (Mids, Cricket, and SuperTarps). Seal the zipper storm flap stitching and tie-outs on the Mids. Seal the stitching and apex tie-outs areas on the Mids, Crickets, and TrailStars.
IMPORTANT: Do no go back and forth over the wet seam too much – after a minute or three it will get gummy and look bad; it is better to wait for 8 hrs and then add some over any area you missed.
Watch a how to video HERE.
A four-sided pyramid tent is one of the easiest shelters to set up! After a few test pitches, most users can set it in in under 2 min on a normal day, and under 1 min when properly motivated!
PREPARATION:
Cut four 18 in | 46 cm guylines. Tie a 2 in | 5 cm stake loop on one end. Thread the free end of the guyline into the corner LineLocks on the shelter, then up through the rear LineLock slot/hole, over the bar and down through the front LineLock slot/hole. Tie an overhand knot with a 1 in | 2.5 cm tail to prevent the line from pulling out of the LineLock.
FIRST SET UP:
1. Adjust the corner guylines to be short – no more than 2 in | 5 cm of slack from the LineLock.
2: Stake out the rear corners to the ground. The rear wall baseline between the corners should be medium tight, with no slack.
3: Stake out the front corners. The side baseline of the shelter should be tight. Watch the angle formed by the rear and side walls of the shelter at the rear corners and position the front corners so that the rear corners form 90-degree angles. The goal is to have a perfectly square/rectangle floor base. As viewed from overhead the corners and corner guylines form a perfect X shape right out to the stakes.
4: Unzip the front door leaving the bottom buckle snapped.
5: Reach or step in and insert the center pole – adjust it’s height to make the shelter tight.
6: Now you can cut and add any other mid-panel or mid-baseline guylines as needed. The lengths needed will be obvious.
NOTE: Use a small bungee loop on any center panel tie-outs to limit wind force on that tie-outs. DO NOT stake out a center side panel tie-outs too much – it should only move the wall a couple of inches out at most! DO NOT pull it so far it changes the shape of the mid-wall.
That’s It!!! The shelter should be tight and square. You can slightly tighten each corner LineLock if needed.
Almost all setup problems occur when the shelter floor is not square, with all corner angles as close to 90-degrees as possible, or slack is left in the corner guylines.
NOTE: See the setup info for attaching the InnerNets on the InnerNet product page.
Your first setup is a good time to seam seal your shelter IF you have purchased a SilNylon version and did not have it factory seam sealed. Use the SilNet supplied to seal the main seams, center panels tie-outs, door zipper stitching, and the apex stitching. Use only a SMALL amount and do not go back over an area after 5 min. You can use your finger to push the sealer into the seams. If you miss a spot, wait until it is dry and then re-coat as necessary. See ‘Seam Sealing’ tab for instructions.
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Rob –
Got cuben version as upgrade to my original cuben Duomid. At 6’2″ I found the original a touch cramped so for an insignificant weight penalty I opted for the XL. Absolutely love it and glad I took the leap. Enough space behind the pole for 2 or one slightly grumpy person (me) to spread out. The extra space really comes into its own when the sides are blowing in a bit but never get close to touching you. Awesome build quality as expected and a great design. Slowly transferring every MLD product from them to my gear cupboard but this is a definite keeper. I’ll use one of the Trailstars for bad weather wild camping and this for everything else. If I had to recommend one tent for (virtually) all occasions it would be the Duomid XL.
JAMES WHIGGAM –
MLD DUOMID XL SILNYLON
Having the standard Duomid I made the decision that i wanted a little more space and height for myself and McTavish (my english Springer Spaniel).
The Duomid XL has so much internal space its brilliant. A very quick and easy shelter to pitch in most weather conditions and through a fair few trips out with it a very stable shelter too. Its sheds rain and the wind very well due to its 4 sided design and can be easily vented either through the inbuilt vent or by just raising it a couple of inches, hence i have had no condensation issues at all. I have purchased a fair amount of MLD products now and can say they are all very very good quality and at a great price.
I have enjoyed this tent so much that i now have a Cuben Fibre version on order as we speak, my Silnylon version is still in excellent condition but i have read so many great reviews on MLDs Cuban tents that i just had to have one!
I fullly recommend the Duomid range but especially the XL….
Jason Gray (verified owner) –
I used my new DuoMid XL for two weeks in Southern Chile in February and it was everything and more I had hoped for. It was easy to pitch and shed wind very well- and there was always wind. I kept it pretty nailed down to the ground, maybe more so than I needed, but still plenty roomy for my needs. In more benign conditions it will have plenty of room for me and my six foot tall son.
Given my druthers, I would have placed the mitten hooks a bit higher but that’s a personal nit. I got the citrus orange thinking it would be a bit more cheery in prolonged dreary weather. I have to say it really grew on me, a rich deep color I’ve not seen in other tents. The DuoMid XL got a LOT of comments and questions when I was in campgrounds. I was happy to give MLD the word of mouth marketing it deserves.
Finally, I was slightly apprehensive about the pole lashing system – and brought back up straps and even a piece of bike tire inner tube as a back up lash, but the strap system supplied worked really well – quite a clever arrangement. I slept hard as the wind howled.
Jim (verified owner) –
Bomber, roomy, light AF. Comfortable for two. When you use the inner pitch the tarp with the tent pole inside the inner. I have the dyneema tent and silnylon inner. On my own I’m a die hard tarp person, but when I have my dog or a lady friend this is my go-to tent. Construction quality is absolutely excellent.
Considering a silpoly tarp as well for traveling, since the dyneema is so much bulkier and I’m a carry-on only sort of person.