UOG TOP PICK - Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Tent - We've singled out Big Agnes' Copper Spur HV UL2 as one of our top recommendations because our best ultralight tent for internal height and volume just got even better. Stronger fabrics and innovative awning style vestibule doors perfect for rain or sun make it more practical and more useable.

Big Agnes have updated their hugely popular Copper Spur HV UL series with new materials that are lighter and stronger while adding a great new awning-style vestibule opening. They are still truly freestanding with excellent headroom, near vertical walls and two decent sized porches.

Big Agnes says:

Already one of our best-selling, full-featured, ultralight backpacking tents, the Copper Spur HV UL series just got better. Redesigned with new features inside and out, using proprietary materials that are lighter, stronger, and equipped with hardware that makes set-up even easier. The high volume design provides ample living space in this freestanding structure. Traditional, media, and 3D bin pockets help to organize your gear without cramping your sleep space or capacity to sit up inside. Awning-style vestibules can be customized to expand living space, great for both drizzle and sun protection. Your ultimate UL home away from home.

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Big Agnes have done a great job of updating the 2020 Copper Spur series of tents because they are lighter in weight, use stronger fabrics and are still freestanding giving you get a good head height which is maintained over a wide area due to the cross pole arrangement. All the benefits of the older model have been retained in terms of the structure but improved fabrics have allowed a lighter and stronger flysheet to be added. The updates have also included a buckle system for attaching the fly and inner, making it much quicker and easier to pitch and pack down.

The walls are nearly vertical and there is a good mix of fabric and mesh on the inner tent - this give a good compromise between privacy, warmth and wind resistance - making it suitable for a wide range of conditions. The updates include greater storage options with a large overhead pocket this is great for stashing gear.

The Copper Spur HV UL 2 has two doors and two decent sized porches for a tent in this category with the new awning-style doors on the vestibule providing easier access and allowing you to have a greater useable space when it's raining. They were designed to allow you to open up the tent and enjoy more of the views and this is something you only really appreciate when you pitch up and get the opportunity to relax with them open. It's such a simple but fantastic change.

- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

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UOG TOP PICK - Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Tent - We've singled out Big Agnes' Copper Spur HV UL2 as one of our top recommendations because our best ultralight tent for internal height and volume just got even better. Stronger fabrics and innovative awning style vestibule doors perfect for rain or sun make it more practical and more useable.

Help and advice:

NEW awning-style vestibules with double-zippers provide multiple access options.
Features two doors and two vestibules
NEW 3-D bin ‘mezzanine’ at the foot provides elevated storage, oversized ceiling pocket at the head provides additional storage; media pockets provide cord-routing for electronics.
Reduced condensation with dual low-vent vestibule doors and high fly vent to maximize active and passive airflow.
Smooth-closing, dual-zipper doors with easy-grip pulls allow for ease of entry, exit and quick, reach-through access.
Quick Stash door-keeper makes stowing unzipped doors quick and easy.
Velcro tabs connect fly to pole structure providing perfect pitch and extra stability; pre-cut guylines and tensioners attached to fly; reflective guylines and webbing on tent corners make it easy to see at night
Vestibule zippers protected with storm flap.
The Copper Hotel HV UL2 Accessory Fly is interchangeable with the standard fly, convenient for those trips when you need the extra vestibule space - sold separately
Multiple interior loops for attaching gear lofts, accessories and mtnGLO® Tent & Camp Lights.
To extend the life of your tent floor we recommend using a Big Agnes footprint - sold separately.
Compatible with 2020 model year HV UL2 footprint featuring TipLok Tent Buckles
Fast-fly setup available with footprint.

UOG Specs

Inner tent weighs: 412g
Flysheet weighs: 480g
Poleset weighs: 376g
Total weight for comparison: 1268g (excludes pegs and bags)
8 pegs supplied weigh: 88g
Footprint sold separately

Big Agnes Specs

Trail weight (excludes pegs): 2lb 11oz / 1.22kg
Packed weight: 3lb 2oz / 1.42kg
Fast fly weight: 2lb 2oz / 964g
Packed size: 19.5" x 6" / 50 x 15cm
Floor area: 29 ft² / 2.7 m²
Floor length: 88" / 224cm
Floor width: 52-42" / 132-107cm
Head height: 40" / 102cm
Foot height: 16" / 41cm
Vestibule area: 9ft² / 9ft² / 0.8 m² / 0.8 m²

Construction & Materials

Fly and floor are silicone treated proprietary ultralight double rip-stop mixed denier nylon with 1200mm waterproof polyurethane coating
Tent body is proprietary ultralight double rip-stop mixed denier nylon breathable and polyester mesh
NEW proprietary tent corner construction with unique TipLok Tent Buckle™ to streamline tent set-up by combining three functions: secure pole-tip capture, rainfly attachment and tensioner, and stake-out loop. Keyed hole buckle locks pole tip securely during setup, hinged design stabilizes structure by equalizing force between tent body, rainfly, and ground stake.
NEW proprietary ultralight nylon double rip-stop, mixed denier fabric offers extra tear strength and puncture resistance without adding weight.
NEW pre-bent span pole with 4-way high-volume hub design increases strength, stability, and shedding.
All seams taped with waterproof, solvent-free polyurethane tape (No PVC or VOC's)
DAC Featherlite NFL and NSL pole system
Ultralight plastic clips attach tent body to pole frame
2 interior mesh pockets, 1 3-D bin pocket, 1 oversized mesh pocket with two cord-routing portals, 8 DAC superlight aluminum J stakes & 4 awning guylines
Gear loft loops included
UL2 compatible with all Big Agnes gear lofts - sold separately

Showing 2 of our total 4 reviews, with an average rating of 4 stars. Read all 4 reviews for Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 Tent.
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Review Summary - 4 out of 5 based on 4 ratings.

September 20, 2020 | Joel Davies

Unimpressed

I did my research and found the Copper Spur extremely highly reviewed and purchased one with great expectations. However, my first use of it was camping in the Brecon Beacons in moderate-to-strong winds and I was very disappointed with how it badly coped with the conditions. The central hub design is inherently weak and the poles have no real attachment to the fly. This allows the poles to fold inwards in strong gusts, causing the tent to completely collapse. It will then pop back up again but there's no way you can sleep with that going on, and it will surely damage the fly eventually. This could be prevented if Big Agnes had added a second set of velcro attachment points for the poles higher up on the fly, or some other system for fixing the poles to the fly such as sleeves or clips, but they didn't. In addition, BA's desperate search for ever-lower quotable weight to please the ultralight nerds has led to some significant corner cutting. It is inexcusable that a tent this expensive should come with fewer pegs than pegging points, especially when the guy lines are so important for improving wind resistance. The lack of adjustable pegging points also makes it harder than it should be to get the fly completely taught. The footprint is an important addition as it protects the delicate groundsheet, as well as providing the only way of pitching the tent fly-first. However, it doesn't extend into the vestibule; another corner- and weight-cutting measure which I always think reduces the usefulness of the footprint far more than is worth it. It's not a bad tent; it is spacious and comfortable, has some nice design features and weighs very little in the pack. However, for this kind of money a tent should be aiming for perfection and shouldn't have these sorts of weaknesses. I feel BA have developed a tent which is better on paper than competitors because they know that's what makes sales, without caring how well it functions in the real world. For UK conditions you'd be better off with an OEX tent from Go Outdoors for a quarter of the price.

Ultralight Outdoor Gear Limited

April 24, 2020 | Kari

Huge disappointment

Yes, this is light and spacious. But also full with disappointing details: poles with a center hub is a pain in the ass in the forest (mine was also broken during the delivery), door keeper is a disaster (do not stay open), guylines far too short, only 6 pegs etc. And to say that this is stormproof is a joke, tested with gusts around 15 m/s and it was already starting to fold down. And do not anywhere without the footprint. NOT WORTH THE MONEY (review for 2019 model)!

Ultralight Outdoor Gear Limited