Fly Creek HV UL3

Big Agnes Tiger Wall. Get the 3 person if either of you are over 5’7”. My husband and I are both 5’7”-ish and barely fit inside the Tiger Wall 2. I love it though, it has 2 doors, is easy enough to set up and pretty comfortable for an ultralight backpacking tent. I do NOT recommend the Fly Creek, at all. I had one for a good section of my thru hike and it was so uncomfortable to climb in and out of. I hate that overall design.

Big Agnes, MSR, and Nemo are 3 of the best tent brands available. I ran the warranty desk for an outdoor gear company, and saw the least amount of warranty issues with those brands. They’re not inexpensive, but, you get what you pay for. I have a Big Agnes tent that’s at least 10 years old, we use it regularly and only have to hose the dirt off. It’s amazing. Nemo is awesome too, I know a lot of people with Nemo tents and they love them. I just got an MSR 3 person tent and absolutely love it. Definitely get a 2 person tent. The general rule is to take however many people will be sleeping in the tent, and add 1. So 1 person = 2 person tent, 2 ppl = 3 person tent and so on. A 2 person tent is more comfortable for having your gear inside the tent, changing your clothes, etc. If you don’t plan to go backpacking with it, I’d get a 3-4 person tent just for the space.

My fly creek lasted a whole 15 backpacking trips before the pole hub at the pinnacle of the tent broke while setting it up and Big Agnes warranty just stopped responding hahah. Oh and the pole clip broke, needed to be replaced, and it got random little micro-tears in the tent body. Never buying their garbage again. I went back to Tarptent and Six Moon Designs.

Yeah, I did enjoy the tent when I was using it. Their UL fabrics are way too delicate for my style of backpacking though.

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.

Their Fly Creek tents are pretty light and pretty good (my brother has owned one for years and I've had one for about a year). Not absolute game changing, but certainly quality products at UL weights (if you want a semi-freestanding tent). You won't get one for $200, though.

My favorite car camp tent is the REI half dome. It’s actually comfortable. If you want a cheaper option, the Ozark Trail tent from Walmart is pretty decent, but doesn’t have aluminum poles. The half dome can do backpacking, but it is on the heavy side. When I care about weight, I bring my Fly Creek from Big Agnes. Copper Spur and Nemo Hornet are also great options. The fly creek is crazy light, but you really have to like the second person if you’re going to fit two.

I used the big agnes fly creek for 5 years and took it on both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. It held up to very strong winds (one time gusts pushed the tent flat against me, and it popped right back up) and it weighs just 33 oz. The 2 person is a tight fit, I used it solo. Often neighbors on trail compain about their tent collapsing from heavy snow, getting wet from condensation, having to restake, or getting pinholes in DCF after 1,000 miles. I never had any of those issues. Now that I am hiking with a partner I am trying the 3 person Big Agnes Tiger Wall (about 3 lbs), but seems to be similarly tough. I lived on trail for over a year and I promise Big Agnes is the best balance of durable, lightweight, and function on trail.

A tent that was 2 lb or less and a sleeping bag that is fairly light as well. I went with Big Agnes fly Creek and the magma 15 by REI. It's shaved off 2 to 3 lb at least and I have more space my backpack.

Its pretty shocking how heavy TNF and other brand 2 person tents are, 4, 5 and 6 lbs usually. Once you hit that 2 LB or so mark...holy crap...its a whole new world. Same for dumping my heavy 0 degree down bags for 15 and 30s. POOF...there goes another 1.5 lbs at least. The backpack empty weight is a hard one. I have a couple TNF Prophets I like. they're sturdy enough for 65 Liter capacity and only about 3 lbs. Most 65L packs however are in the 4-6 lbs range empty. I tried a Crown 60 and didn't have a great time with it. I should try it again since I think some other factors added to the misery (rain, shoes weren't great, too much fishing gear). I'll also shill for Facebook Marketplace: You'd be shocked at how many people are moving in and out of your area, giving up the hobbies they have and you can get a pretty good deal on nice equipment if you're polite and actually show up to buy it. Both my Big Agnes tents were acquired that way and I'm so glad I snagged them at about 50% off barely used.