Big Agnes Ultralight Tents: Trusty Backcountry Workhorses

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Sometimes you just come across a product that you love so much that you can't help but gush about it whenever anyone even remotely brings up the topic.

For our co-owners, one of those things is Big Agnes Ultralight tents.

Here is the owner with a gear review and an unfiltered opinion:

"In 2011, somehow, I got offered a job as a Backcountry Ranger in Yosemite National Park. This was my dream job! They have a huge gear cache of multiple different tents that you can use throughout the season. With over 20 rangers on staff, all of the tents they carry are put through the ringer every year for multiple years.  This was when I was introduced to the Big Agnes Fly Creek series of Ultralight tents.

At 2 lbs 4 oz., the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 is an ultralight tent by weight, but it does not sacrifice on performance to get there. I used the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 to hike around Yosemite National Park all summer. It is a lightweight and durable tent that everybody should be carrying for backpacking. I would hike 90 to 120 miles around the park in 7-8 days. I was hired from June to September and got to see a lot of the park.  It was so good, I kept that job for another 3 summers and used the same exact tent!

The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 fits 2 sleeping pads and that is about it.  If you want vestibule space, get the Tiger Wall.  For 1 person, it is very roomy. The fabric is durable and it is semi-free standing. You can use it anywhere, but if it is going to be windy, you are going to want to stake it down.

The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 was so nice, I bought one for myself, when my girlfriend (now wife) and I went to hike the PCT in 2015.  For a 2-person tent, it is a little tight, but we each carried about 1 lb for our tent, as she would carry the tent, and I would carry the poles and we would swap throughout the trip.  With a trail weight of 2lb 4 oz shared between 2 people, you are pretty darn light. Throw in an Osprey Exos backpack for a guy and an Osprey Eja backpack for a gal and now you have a backpack and tent combo of 4 lbs each.  A 20 degree sleeping bag like the Big Agnes Greystone that is 2.25 lbs and a sleeping pad that is 1 lb and you are under 8 lbs for you "Base 4" weight!  That should be the goal in any backpacking trip!

From June 4th to November 2nd, 2015, we lived out of the Fly Creek UL2 as we hiked Southbound on the PCT.  That tent was amazing and we still love it.  When you are hiking the PCT Southbound, hikers are traveling as fast as their pack weight allows.  In Oregon, we met people who were superlight (15-20lb packs) and slowly over a 1 month period we would see the Northbounders packs getting bigger and each hiker going slower. It didn’t matter if it was a guy or girl, old or young. Weight was the most important issue over distance that long. We used our Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 for several more hikes and the only thing that needed to be replaced was the zipper. The only reason we don’t have the tent anymore, is because it got run over in an ATV accident (...no joke) and ripped to shreds.  It was a tragic day that we still mourn from time to time.

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The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent was so good we bought another Big Agnes tent. But, we wanted a little more space after becoming tired of crawling over each other and  chose to avoid those marital fights by buying the slightly roomier Tiger Wall UL2 instead. We’ve taken the Tiger Wall tent out backpacking numerous times doing the White Mountain Traverse, the Cottonwood/Marble Loop in Death Valley, and sections of the Sierra High Route. 

If you want to go even lighter, the Fly Creek UL1 can work for one person. With a trail weight of 1lb 14 oz, you are on your way there to put in some serious miles.

All in all, the Big Agnes UL series tents are some of the best tents around.  At Eastside Sports, we have tested these tents to the highest degree and our only complaint is they do not withstand ATV accidents!"

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