X-Mid

I've done plenty of cowboy camping, I've slept rolled up *in* a tarp, I've hammock camped, and I mostly sleep in a x-mid nowadays.

my friend's Lunar Solo generally handles it worse than my standard xmid.

Xmid also had peak guy lines. Pct I lost a pole down a gully and tied the peak guy line to a tree. Worked well enough for two days

Ive taken my xmid in violent lighting storms with carbon fiber poles. You’re packing your fears

In marmot country, unless it’s very windy, pitch X-mid with pole handles up, lest they get nibbled for salt.

The fly of an xmid is also a tarp

under what circumstances do you leave the tarp behind and take a different shelter (e.g. an x-mid) instead?

I’m more comfortable risking it on cheap poles since I have a one-pole shelter. If I were still using the X-Mid, maybe less so.

In that case my advice remains to take the Xmid fly and just learn to get used to not having an enclosed inner.