Big Agnes - Copper Spur Limited (2025)

I bought the 2025 copper spur up 3 and absolutely love it! The awning seems a little bit silly, it’s super small. That being said I love the duel zipper door. You can get something out of the tent without climbing in the vestibule. The 3 person is good for 2 people with plenty of extra space.

That’s an easy one. Get the Big Agnus Copper Spur two person tent. It’s not cheap. Going to run you $500. It is as light as they come for a two person backpack tent. I recently used mine while summiting Mt Adams. https://preview.redd.it/69w2unzvg6uf1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e882044157945db76c6ae2eb5d72bc63a27d6e13

I have a copper spur 2 person for my self. It’s a retail store “ultralight” tent. If you’re backpacking and weight is a concern it’s a good tent but you will want to be careful as the material is thin. I also have the groundsheet for it to protect it. If you’re car camping just get a cheap tent from Walmart. I’d say get a 3 person tent for two people. Tent ratings for people a lot of the times still go by the old 20” wide mummy shaped pad standard but most people are using 25” rectangle pads these days. No need to save weight or spend a bunch of money for a car camping tent. Esp when ultralight tents are a thinner material to save weight.

Copper Spur for the win!

LOVE my BA Copper Spur 2p

Go with the lighter of the two. I have a 1p Tiger Wall UL and it’s been my go to for the last 5 years for 90% of my trips thought the season where I am sleeping solo m. Love this tent. I’m 5,10 and I often wish it were longer. My pad hits the bottom of the tent when I’m all set up and my legs touch the bottom when I straighten them out. I can see why you’d be looking at the 2P. Added the Copper Spur 2p to my tents last year. It has a few other features. Great for trips where I need to share a tent and can split carrying it between two people. I’d go with the lightest version of the Tiger Wall you can afford.

My wife and I have had the 2p versions of the BA Copper Spur, BA Tiger Wall, and Nemo Dragonfly. I didn;t like the Tiger Wall, and the Dragonfly had less head room than the Copper Spur and was heavier (this was an older generation). We still have the CS2P but two years ago we switched to the Hornet 3P w/ Osmo. Love that tent, and I don't see where we'll be switching to anything else. Really spacious, yet quite light for a DW. I've used various 1P Hornet's going back 10 years, and currently have the "Elite" 1P in Osmo. It handles weather really well. Osmo fabric is great. In your shoes, I'd definitely go with the Hornet 3P.

We've been using the Copper Spurs going back to when they were introduced in 2008. We currently have the 1P and 2P at our house. We've used them in all sorts of weather here in the central Rockies. No problems.

Since you want a double wall, I can suggest the Nemo Hornet 3P. Lighter and roomier than the Big Agnes Copper Spur 2P (which my wife and I also have). Available from Amazon so you can use your $200 card. Another great tent is the TarpTent Rainbow 2P Double Wall. None however are UL.

I own a Copper Spur 2p. For two it is just too small at 28 square feet. Not bad for a weekend but it got to feeling cramped after a while. An XMid is 32 square feet and you can feel the difference in a larger tent. The silpoly doesn’t absorb as much water as silnylon and it handles rough weather well. Be careful of the Pro 2p (the Durston I own). It is smaller than the standard XMid and gets to feeling cramped with two after a few months on trail. I kept mine (instead of selling it) because it is an excellent tent and I have relatives it is perfect for. Satisfaction surveys on long trails are interesting. It is how I got into a Copper Spur. Btw, there is a larger 3p Copper Spur and couples like it better than the 2p. I haven’t tried it. I wish you well with your choices. One thing that might make a difference is how far you hike when you take your trips (distance and time). Livability for a week is different than the same for months. I found 28 square foot tents were ok in time periods under a week.

I have hiked with: REI Half Dome. Too heavy but free standing and plenty of room for two. Probably 90 miles with it. A couple discontinued tents. About forty-fifty miles with them. A Big Agnes Copper Spur. The 2p gets feeling cramped for two after a while. About 1,200’miles on the AT with it. A triplex. Great tent, especially with the pole caps. Finished the AT and did a good part of the PCT with it. XMid Pro 2. It is smaller than the XMid 2 and gets to feeling crowded after a while—which is why they brought out the 2+. Great for one person though. Did more of the PCT and part of the Oregon Coast Trail with it. Off-set Trio. My wife and I will be back on the trail in a couple weeks with it. 43 square feet. It is a palace. Almost 2,000 miles with it, mostly on the CDT.

I have the 2 person and have used it 5 times so far. I am hoping this is a wear in thing, but it sounds like a present being unwrapped when you move in it.

It is that loud even with no footprint

It really depends on how much gear you want to store in the tent vs how much you want to carry.  My husband and I are both big guys (~6ft) and we use a 2-person Copper Spur because we don’t want the extra weight. The tent fits just us and our sleeping gear. We store packs/boots in trash bags in the vestibule.

It sounds like you might have answered your own question – I think a typical rule of thumb is that whatever number of people you expect to have, get a tent that accommodates that number plus at least 1. Obviously that is completely dependent on things like your height/size, whether you are carrying the tent long distances, and whether you plan to store extra gear inside. In your case though I'd suggest a 3P would be ideal, as it should afford you some space to store some bags. Anecdotally, I use the Big Agnes Copper Spur 2P tent just for myself, and while I can fit plenty inside it, there's also plenty of extra space inside the vestibule when I stake the tent out fully. So that might be something to consider as well.