The Durston X-Dome Pro 1+ Sold Out in Seconds. Here’s Why.

The season’s hottest new backpacking tent just landed, but you can’t get one. When Durston’s X-Dome Pro 1+ launched earlier this week on July 29, it sold out in seconds. In the hours after the release, hikers flocked to online forums, a select few to brag about their new tents, and many to lament, empty-handed.

“Sold out in less than a minute … I had it in my cart and it took it out of my cart while I was checking my address and payment details,” wrote one Reddit user.

“Had it in my cart and shop.com decided I needed a confirmation code texted to me. By the time I got the code, it was sold out and removed from my cart,” wrote another.

In a post on its site, Durston said it was aware of how fast the tent had sold out, and assured readers it hadn’t intended to shortchange them.

“We apologize to those who missed out because we know that is frustrating,” they wrote. “Please know it is not our intention to make these hard to get but due to material shortages we couldn’t build as many as we hoped.”

It’s not uncommon for products to sell out fast from small brands like Durston. The company has gained a reputation for covetable and difficult-to-attain products, particularly following supply chain challenges during the pandemic. The X-Dome Pro 1+, though, sold out exceptionally quickly, for a couple of reasons.

Why did the X-Dome Pro 1+ sell out so fast?

The tent claims the title of lightest freestanding double wall tent on the market. It builds on the design of the original X-Dome, which was a pioneering construction in the freestanding tent category when it first came out in 2024. The external pole structure and fly-first pitch—which guarantees a dry interior even when setting up camp in the rain—trapezoidal floorplan, and stakeless vestibule set it apart from many other tents and kicked off a wave of popularity. Durston prides itself on combining light elements and thoughtful engineering with user-friendly design and livability and spaciousness that can be hard to come by in ultralight shelters.

What makes this newest X-Dome, the Pro 1+, different? Durston took the award-winning X-Dome blueprint and upgraded the materials to use lighter and stronger Dyneema (the regular version uses silpoly), full carbon poles, and high-end lightweight zippers. The X-Dome Pro 1+ features thoughtful details that aren’t new to Durston’s lineup of freestanding tents, like optional trekking pole inserts for extra stability in stormy weather, a fly-first pitch, magnetic tent door holders, and the brand’s signature asymmetrical pitch. The result is the lightest freestanding double wall tent money can buy at just 780 grams.

The X-Dome Pro 1+ retails for $849 (that’s more than double the cost of the regular X-Dome 1+, which weighs 985 grams and costs $359). Is that weight savings—roughly the weight of a banana—worth a few hundred dollars? For the many hikers who set alarms in order to snag one from the first release, the answer appears to be yes.

Since its founding in 2018, Durston has gained a cult-like following among backpackers worldwide, thanks in part to their innovative products and in part to the singular accessibility of its founder, Dan Durston. Durston (the man) is wildly active on online backpacking forums and social media groups, personally replying to questions about his products in comments. Ask a question about your Durston tent or pack on Reddit or Facebook, and there’s a good chance Dan himself will supply you a personalized answer. (The Durston Gearheads Facebook group has more than 22,000 members, and the Durston subreddit gets nearly a thousand weekly contributions.)

Hikers go to extreme lengths.

On the release day, many hopeful buyers reported failing to purchase a tent before it sold out, even as they attempted to grab one within seconds of the release. Those who did successfully make a purchase came prepared for battle.

One Redditor who is based in Australia told me that they stayed up until 2 a.m. for the release.

“Before the release happened, I paid close attention to where the position of the purchase buttons would appear. I knew that I could use the ‘Buy with Shop’ functionality to check out quickly by testing it on other products first,” they wrote in a direct message. “This means my address details and payment info were already input/saved. I waited until the timer counted down, had my finger on F5 for refresh, had my cursor where the button was going to appear, and proceeded with payment instantly when it took me to a new page to confirm address/checkout. I think the whole process took under 5 seconds, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was the first order.”

Others set calendar reminders and alarms for the release.

“As soon as the hour arrived I hit refresh on my screen once, clicked add to cart, and checked out in less than 10 seconds. By the time I navigated back to the product page 30 seconds later the item was sold out. I knew it would be fast but I was in shock that it was that fast,” wrote another Reddit user.

Those still wanting to get their hands on Durston’s latest innovation will have to wait a bit longer. A release of the regular X-Dome 1+, which is also currently sold out, will drop on August 18. The Pro version, on the other hand, won’t be available until the fall.