Zpacks Hexamid Tent

Hexamid Tent Quick Take

The Hexamid is a floorless, single-wall Dyneema pyramid built for one person who wants the absolute lightest storm shelter that still keeps bugs out. Its standout strength is weight: at 9.7 oz (275 g) for the bare tent, nothing else gives you four-sided storm protection plus a bug screen for so little. The main tradeoff is livability and wet-weather fuss. You get real headroom only in the center, and because it is floorless you have to add a groundsheet and manage rain splash on hard ground. This is a dry-climate specialist that happens to survive storms, not an all-conditions do-everything tent.

Pros

• Genuinely class-leading weight for a bug-protected shelter
• DCF is fully waterproof, stays taut all night, and dries fast
• Modular: cowboy camp with just the groundsheet, add rain and bug protection only when needed
• Packs small and forgivingly thanks to an oversized stuff sack

Cons

• Expensive, and the useful bathtub version pushes past $600
• Cramped for anyone near or over 6 feet, and you can only sit up in the center
• Floorless design means splash and netting wicking on hard-packed ground in heavy rain
• Needs the optional groundsheet or a bivy to be a complete shelter

Bottom line: at $499, 9.7 oz (275 g), and 1-person capacity, the Hexamid is the lightest floorless DCF bug shelter you can buy, and it is the right call for dry-country solo hikers who are 5 feet 11 or shorter and mostly sleep under the stars.

Specs at a Glance: Hexamid Tent

Zpacks Hexamid Tent Design and Build Quality

The Hexamid is a six-sided half-pyramid cut from Dyneema Composite Fabric, the same non-woven laminate that made Zpacks famous. The standard Blue and Olive Drab canopies use 0.55 oz/sqyd DCF, about the lightest tent-grade fabric made, while Spruce Green steps up to 0.75 oz/sqyd for more opacity and durability at a cost of roughly 1.7 extra ounces. DCF is inherently waterproof rather than coated, so there is no silicone or polyurethane layer to wear out and no water weight to absorb. Zpacks lists a hydrostatic head of about 15,000 mm for the thin fabric and closer to 20,000 mm for the thick one, well beyond what silpoly delivers.

Seams are taped and bonded rather than sewn-and-sealed, so the tent arrives fully waterproof with nothing for you to seam-seal. The perimeter uses 0.67 oz/sqyd no-see-um netting that tucks under your groundsheet. Guyouts run through LineLoc V adjusters on bright yellow reflective 1.6 mm line, and the mesh door rides on a single field-replaceable #3 YKK zipper (spare sliders and DCF repair tape are included in the box). The storm doors skip zippers entirely, overlapping and clipping to hardware instead, which removes the part most likely to fail in dusty desert use. The optional bathtub groundsheet is 0.75 oz/sqyd DCF with adjustable corner hooks. It is a lot of money, but you are paying for premium fabric, US assembly, and hardware chosen to last a full thru-hike.

Setup and Pitch of the Hexamid Tent

This is where you feel the weight savings. The optional bathtub groundsheet gives you a 84 by 36 inch (213 by 91 cm) footprint that tapers to 26 inches at the ends, for 18.1 square feet of protected floor. Peak height is a listed 52 inches (132 cm), but that height lives right at the trekking pole, so you can sit up comfortably only in the center. Everywhere else the walls slope in quickly.

In practice, testers found it fits a 5 foot 9 sleeper with real room to spare above the head and feet. Once you pass 5 foot 11, your footbox starts brushing the end wall, and Zpacks and independent reviewers alike steer taller hikers toward the Plex Solo or Altaplex. Side sleepers do fine on the pad itself, but the low wall angle means a shoulder can touch fabric if you drift toward the edge.

The single vestibule is about 18.5 inches deep, which is just enough to stash a pack and wet shoes out of the rain. There is one door, built as two overlapping storm flaps over a zippered mesh panel, so you can open the downwind side for a view and a breeze or seal both for full coverage. Note that the floorless Hexamid has no interior pockets, unlike the floored Plex Solo. It is a shelter you cook and hang out outside of, then crawl into to sleep. Waiting out a long rainy morning inside is doable but not pleasant.

Weather Performance of the Zpacks Hexamid Tent

If you have pitched any single trekking-pole mid, the Hexamid will feel immediately familiar. You set a single pole to 52 inches (132 cm), stake the four corners at roughly 45 degrees, raise the pole under the peak, tension the front line, then stake the walls. Six stakes get it standing; the full ten pull the four wall panels out for more interior room and a calmer tent in wind. Plan on a few minutes once you know the drill, and expect a short learning curve dialing in corner tension your first couple of nights.

The most important thing to understand is that DCF does not stretch. That is a genuine advantage over silnylon, which sags overnight and especially when wet, forcing a re-tension in the dark. The Hexamid stays drum-tight from dusk to dawn. The flip side is that the fabric will not stretch to rescue a sloppy pitch, so stake placement has to be right the first time. A wrinkled pitch means you move a stake, not yank harder.

On uneven or hard ground it behaves like any mid. Testers pitched it on dirt, sand, and even slickrock, where they anchored the six required points with large rocks. Pitching in strong wind is harder than in calm, though no worse than other DCF mids, and packing up is easier than most because the oversized stuff sack lets you roll the tent any way and cram it in without a fight. It is beginner-friendly for anyone comfortable with trekking-pole shelters, less so as a first-ever tent.

Zpacks Hexamid Tent Value and Comparisons

Zpacks does not publish an mph wind rating, so treat wind numbers with care. What the record shows is that the Hexamid holds up well in strong wind when pitched taut with all ten guyouts and the overlapping storm-door end oriented upwind. On an 850-mile spring test across southern Utah it took repeated high winds, hail, rain, and a night that dropped six inches of wet snow, and it kept its occupant dry throughout. Older field reports describe it shrugging off gusts in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 mph with solid stakes in good soil. It is stormworthy, but the taller Mountain Laurel Designs Solomid is the sturdier choice when wind is the deciding factor.

Rain shedding from the DCF itself is excellent, and the fabric dries almost instantly once the weather breaks. The real caveat is splash and wicking on the floorless design. On hard-packed ground in heavy rain, water can run down the door side of the canopy, wick into the perimeter netting, and spray into the living space, historically compromising part of the floor width. Zpacks addresses this directly: pitch low, use the tall bathtub groundsheet, and camp on leaves or pine needles rather than bare dirt when you can.

Condensation is the expected single-wall story. It breathes fairly well for a single-wall shelter, and testers only saw meaningful buildup on cold nights beside water, where it stayed wet-to-the-touch rather than dripping. The catch is the low clearance when lying down: on a heavy-condensation night, your bag or face can contact a damp wall. Leaving a downwind door cracked helps ventilation considerably.

Hexamid Tent Value and Comparisons

There is no getting around it: $499 for the bare tent, and roughly $629 to $638 once you add the DCF bathtub groundsheet, is a lot of money for a one-person shelter. Whether it is worth it depends heavily on where and how you sleep.

Versus the Zpacks Plex Solo ($599, 12.3 oz). The Plex Solo is the closest sibling: same DCF, same single-pole pitch, same hardware, but with a sewn-in bathtub floor and a slightly roomier 20.6 square foot interior that fits hikers up to about 6 feet. It is only a few ounces heavier all-in and far less fussy in the rain. Choose the Plex Solo if you camp in wet or buggy places often and want an integrated floor you never think about. Choose the Hexamid if you mostly cowboy camp in dry country and want the lightest possible base weight and the flexibility to leave the floor at home.

Versus the Mountain Laurel Designs Solomid XL (around $295 in silpoly, comparable to the Hexamid in DCF, roughly 15 to 16 oz). The Solomid is taller and more livable, pitches lower without losing headroom, and is noticeably better in the worst wind. The catches are that it has no built-in bug net (you add an inner), it is heavier, and it is made to order with a wait. Choose the Solomid if wind and interior comfort matter more than absolute weight, or if the silpoly version’s lower price is the deciding factor.

Versus the Six Moon Designs Deschutes (around $190 to $230, roughly 13 oz). The Deschutes is the budget half-pyramid: silpoly instead of DCF, so it packs smaller and costs far less, but it is heavier, is not made in the USA, does not come seam-sealed, and sags when wet. Choose the Deschutes if price is the priority and you are happy to seam-seal and manage sag.

The Hexamid earns its keep for a specific buyer: the weight-obsessed solo hiker or thru-hiker on dry trails like the PCT, Arizona Trail, or Hayduke, who cowboy camps most nights, is 5 foot 11 or under, and has the budget for DCF. If that is not you, the Plex Solo or a silpoly mid will likely make you happier.

Hexamid Tent by Zpacks FAQ

Is the Zpacks Hexamid waterproof in heavy rain?

Yes. The DCF canopy is fully waterproof with taped seams and sheds rain well, and it dries fast afterward. The weak point is not the fabric but the floorless design: on hard ground in heavy rain, water can wick down the door-side netting and splash inside, so pitch low, use the bathtub groundsheet, and pick soft ground when you can.

How does the Hexamid hold up in wind?

Better than its weight suggests, as long as you pitch it taut with all ten guyouts and put the overlapping storm-door end into the wind. It has weathered snow, hail, and high desert winds in testing. There is no published mph rating, and if you routinely camp in exposed, gusty terrain, the taller MLD Solomid is the sturdier pick.

Is the Hexamid difficult to set up?

Not if you have used a single trekking-pole shelter before. Six stakes get it standing and ten tension it fully. The one thing to internalize is that DCF does not stretch, so you have to place stakes correctly rather than pulling a sagging pitch tight later.

Do I need a groundsheet or footprint with the Hexamid?

Yes. It is floorless, so it is not a complete shelter on its own. You need the optional DCF bathtub groundsheet, a bivy, or a cut-to-size Tyvek or Polycro sheet. The bathtub version protects best against groundwater and splash; a flat sheet is lighter and cheaper but offers less splash protection.

How is condensation in the Hexamid?

It is a single-wall tent, so expect some, but testers rate it manageable and better than the most condensation-prone single-walls. The worst nights are cold ones near water. Because clearance is low when you lie down, a damp wall can touch your bag, so vent a downwind door whenever the weather allows.

Is the Hexamid a three-season shelter, and what do you trade for the low weight?

Zpacks does not print a season rating, but in practice it is a storm-capable three-season shelter that has handled shoulder-season snow. The weight you save comes from going floorless and single-wall, which means you take on groundsheet management, some condensation, and rain-splash awareness in exchange for that class-leading 9.7 ounces.

Is the Hexamid a good choice for tall backpackers?

It is best for hikers 5 foot 11 and under. Around that height your footbox starts touching the end wall, and you can only sit fully upright in the center by the pole. Taller hikers are better served by the Zpacks Plex Solo, Altaplex, or a roomier mid like the Solomid XL.