Mt Whitney Zone Forums Gear Heads Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 UL tent

Does anyone have any information, pro or con, on this tent? Thank you in advance.

very similar to my Big Agnes Emerald Mountain SL1 and my Copper Spur UL3. It looks like they took the lighter materials of the Copper Spur series and used the pole layout of the Emerald Mountain.

Basically, I hate the pole layout of the emerald mountain and will sell that tent. It may be "free standing" but you can't camp in it unless you put about 8 or more stakes in the ground. The ventilation in the 1-person Emerald is also nothing to write home about, since you have to open the top of the front door to get any air flow going, but that lets water drip right into your face. The Copper Spur is a fantastic tent compared to the Emeralds, so at least you're getting the lighter materials with the Fly Creek, but not the design. You're paying for the saved weightwith a tent that will not perform as well.

If I were to get me a new 1-person tent I'd go and pay the price for the Copper Spur UL-1, since it offers proper cross ventilation without having to open the door, a decent vestibule, super light materials, and sets up with maybe two pegs in the ground if you need to get by in a tight place or where the ground is too hard for any pegs.

If you don't mind messing around with tent lines and pegs all day, the weight savings may be worth it, but for me, knowing how sweet the Copper Spur design is from my 3-person tent, I know I'd skip any tent like the Fly Creek or Emerald Mountain in the future, even if it means more $$$ and more weight.

I have the Fly Creek UL1. I bought it last summer when I first got into backpacking (read: no previous experience with other tents so I can't compare it to others, ) because of its light weight. So far I've taken it for an overnight at Kearsarge Lakes, two nights on Whitney (Lone Pine Lake and Trail Camp) and 4 nights in SEKI (OV to Rae Lakes and back). I have no complaints. It's light, easy to set up (even for a newbie), but yes, I have always had to use about 8 stakes (or rocks). Since I'm small (5'3-1/2" on a good hair day), it's quite roomy for me and all of my gear,

So far no ventilation issues, but also haven't used it in the rain yet.

I bought the Fly Creek UL2 but have yet to use it. I have no doubt that there were better tents out there for me to buy as far as ventilation, or stability, but not lighter 2 man tents. If you are going to do a backpacking trip that ends with, say, a summit on Whitney, and you're carrying your gear with you for several days, then weight matters.

Here's a pretty in depth review of the tent on Backpacking Light: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/big_agnes_fly_creek_ul2_tent_review.html