Copper Spur HV3 Expedition

My copper spur broke on me in a wind storm (granted it was very high wind on an exposed mountain). 2 of the 4 plastic buckles that the tent pole goes into at the end broke. Also my friend on the Colorado Trail broke 2 big Agnes tents this summer while setting up (once the tent pole bent/broke, other time I can't remember because I hadn't met them yet). I still think it's a good tent, but as a backpacker and mountaineer who cares a lot about weight, I probably wouldn't buy it again, I just don't quite trust it. Cleverhiker has very good points, but honestly thru hiking generally doesn't put you in a crazy exposed campsite like the top of a Scottish highland summit

My personal tent is a Big Agnes Copper spur 3 person that I got on sales at the end of the season. I use that for Scout events and backpacking. Our family tent is a Coleman 6 person we got at Costco. Sometimes I bring my old 2 person REI dome tent and stick one of the kids in that when we do family camping. The Cots fit in the Coleman. It's hard to set up the larger tent by myself, with a little help it is pretty easy especially not that my son is taller than me.

Big Agnes 3-person tents are hard to beat for weight, quality, and space.

Big Agnes 3P. They make several models. Do get the bigger tent, the 3P. You’ll be sorry if you don’t, particularly if the weather gets bad.

Looking at the poles will tell you quite a bit about sturdiness. The Freelite 1 uses DAC NFL 8.7mm poles with a forked design. So one end of the tent has essentially 2 archs of 8.7mm while the other end has a single arch of 8.7mm. That would be comparable in sturdiness to other tents that also use a forked arch of 8.7mm, such as Big Agnes Fly Creek and Tiger Wall, and Nemo Hornet. Tents that use essentially dual arches of 8.7mm at both ends are going to be sturdier, like X-Dome 1+ but also BA Copper Spur, MSR Hubba, and many others. Easton Carbon 3.9 is very similar to DAC 8.7 mm in sturdiness. Then both brands of tent pole makers make numerous stiffer options but with higher weights that would likely put the tent over your 1 kg goal.

In terms of critiques, it's already been mentioned that light/ultralight shelters in general have less durable materials than traditional tents, so the X-Dome is comparable to it's peers in material durability, but less so than a heavier traditional tent. For X-Dome specific critiques, I think the 3 main ones are: **1)** Some people prefer a natural inner first pitch. I am a passionate advocate for a fly first pitch because it keeps the interior dry during setup in the rain, and then it is possible to pitch inner first/inner only but it is not quite as easy. There are some people who prefer the opposite because they mostly hike in good weather and usually do an inner only pitch, so this inner only pitch is a higher priority than a fly first pitch. The X-Dome works for that, but it's not as easy because we prioritize function in rough weather. **2)** The footprint is larger than small 1P tents. The X-Dome 1+ footprint is not large for the amount of space it provides, but since it is essentially a 1.5P tent it does take up more real estate that a relatively small 1P tent like a Nemo Hornet. I think the footprint is still a reasonable size and the occasionally minor inconvenience of a larger footprint is worth it for more living space, but others will disagree. **3)** It's not that light. The X-Dome is as light as it gets for a doublewall, nicely sized, freestanding tent (no other freestanding doublewall tent of comparable size is lighter), but there are tents that are lighter because they are smaller and/or semi-freestanding tent (e.g. Tigerwall). If you don't value the space and freestanding then a lighter tent may look appealing.

I am not certain exactly what materials they use, but I believe they are also 15D nylon so that durability would be very similar. I personally prefer to be careful and not use the ground sheet, but about half of people do you prefer to use one. That does add some protection and keeps the floor cleaner, but I find them to be a hassle so I just prefer to be a bit more careful. If I was pitching on a harsh surface like gravel, then I would use one.

100%. In the past I used BA copper spur and Nemo Hornet, both good tents. But I absolutely love my Tarptent Double Rainbow Li. Super light, super stable, lots of room. I typically do 5-7 day trips, and my buddy has a Zpacks duplex, which is pretty nice too. But he and I agree that the Tarptent is a little nicer overall.