Durston Gear

Durston Gear is a high-performance outdoor equipment brand founded by Dan Durston, an experienced thru-hiker and gear designer based in the Canadian Rockies. The brand gained immense popularity in the ultralight backpacking community primarily through its flagship 'X-Mid' tent series, which utilizes a patented double-diagonal geometry to maximize interior space while maintaining a low weight and small pack size.

Initially launched in 2018 through a partnership with the community-driven e-commerce platform Drop (formerly Massdrop), Dan Durston later transitioned to an independent business model. Today, Durston Gear designs its products—including tents, ultralight backpacks (the Kakwa series), and trekking poles—using a 'first principles' approach. While the brand is headquartered in Canada, manufacturing is distributed globally to match specialized technical requirements. Tents made of woven fabrics (like Silpoly) and backpacks are primarily manufactured in high-end factories in Vietnam. Pro versions of tents utilizing Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) are typically produced in specialized facilities in China, and some hardware, such as trekking poles, have been produced in partnership with specialty manufacturers in Austria (Komperdell). The brand remains family-owned and operated by Dan and his wife, T.