Big Agnes - Copper Spur 3 Platinum

I actually have both and have used them with my two kids (slightly older Copper Spur 3). Two kids, 13 and 16, and me on 20 inch wide pads. They both worked fine (used the Copper Spur when they were younger). The newer Tiger Wall felt a bit more spacious.

The copper spur 3 is also excellent more weatherproof than tiger wall slightly heavier

Heads up (if you weren’t already aware), the copper spur models are currently 25% off on Backcountry.com - I was also between UL2 XL / UL3 and ended up going with the 3!

Big Agnes is 100% worth it to me. They’ve replaced 2 tents for me and restrung poles for free. I currently have a Seedhouse 2 (replaced a 1 after delamination), a four season something which replaced a seedhouse 2 and a copper spur 3. Recommend them all the time.  Also the $1000 is an extreme weather tent. If your out in winter or serious elements, you don’t screw around with your shelter. 

No I don’t think so. I have the copper spur 3 and have at least 25 nights on it with 2 people in it and no holes. No groundsheet. I also have 2 other 1p UL tents, both with 40+ nights. One got a little hole in the fly area from a spark. Easily patched.

I love my copper spur 3 for backpacking and kayaking trips. My wife and I like a little bit of elbow room , so we got the cupper spur 3. We have a ton of room for 2 people but at the same weight as many other lightweight two person backpacking tents.

I just bought the copper spur 3 and absolutely love it. I have used the copper up 2 (not xl) and use it as a 1 person tent and love it. I would go to the 3 over the 2 xl. The xl is longer, long comes in less handy then wider. I have had no problems with any weather conditions in either of these tents. I think the awning is a little silly it’s really small. That said, I absolutely love that the vestibule opens at the end. It makes it super convenient to get things in or out of the tent. Grab your head lamp out inside pocket without crouching down. They have awesome pockets inside. Love both of these tents.

Almost everything I've heard is that the non-free standing tents require significant guying out for just a basic setup, and to me, that'd be a lot harder with 1.5 hands. I have a Copper Spur 3P tent and it's pretty easy. One thing that might be a bit annoying is that the zippers often require two hands; one to hold the fabric taut while pulling the zipper.

I have a 3 person Big Agnes ultralight tent. I believe it's called ~~Tiger Wall~~ Copper Spur. With it properly staked using all guy lines it stood up to some very heavy gusts that toppled a few nearby tents and destroyed our canopy. I don't recall the tent even being deformed, it was like the wind just passed right over it. And it weighs next to nothing. Our older car camping tent is a large 6 person Big Agnes that we have used countless times and kept us dry during numerous heavy rain storms and moderate winds. We put it away for a while when we upgraded to a camper. It got brought out recently after sitting for probably 3 years and was as good as ever. I've had a North face tent disintegrate in the stuff sack in a shorter time span. Edit: It is the Copper Spur. Tiger Wall I bought initially but exchanged because I didn't like how it pitched.

I think the 3 person big Agnes copper spur is your best bet but would admittedly be a tight squeeze depending on how big your boys are