Fly Creek HV2 Platinum

Heads up you will want a 3P tent (or four, even) - all the more so in the context of a thru. Big Agnes is good and has lighter versions of some of their models, called the Platinum (ultralight) or Carbon (stupidly light) lines. I did my thru five years ago with a Fly Creek 2 platinum, and still use it to this day. You don’t have to treat them like spun glass, but you do need some basic thoughtfulness and common sense.

Yes, I love my Big Agnes Fly Creek2 HV as well. I’ve had it almost 10 years and it’s still going strong.

Funny you should mention the Fly Creek to trekking pole tent progression as I did exactly that. Still have my beat Fly Creek 2 around to lend out to friends- it served me well but now a days I’m either driving up to the site or walking in with trekking poles I may as well use for my shelter. I do think the Fly Creek is good - especially used. The title was a bit sensational.

I carried a 2person fly creek, it was awesome. Still very light, had a smaller footprint than most single wall trekking pole tents. Being able to sleep with all your gear in the tent was a bonus. Not waking up to water running down the inside of my tent every morning is also nice when you don’t want to stop to dry it out. Finally I got lucky and ended up hiking the last 3/4 of the PCT with a girl I met on trail…. The extra room as nice when we started hiking together.

I used it for one person mostly. It was a luxury item but for the weight it was worth it. We both had our own tents.

If you are brand new, get something cheap and on sale. Fair chance that you either will give up backpacking after a few trips or realize that you want to invest more in high-end gear.  You eventually need a quiver if tents, sleeping bags, and packs as no single one is great for all conditions.  For summer, I mainly use: flycreek 2p tent, Western Mountaineering 20 or 40F sleeping bags, and a daypack with side straps that cost about $60 and weighs roughly half a pound. 

Need more details. Do you want a freestanding or are you open to trekking poles? Do you want to truly sleep 2 people or just want a roomy one person? Are you okay with a single walled tent? Big Agnes Fly Creek 2, freestanding front entry tent. Just a good all around tent only complaints is from older people with bad knees with the front entry. You aren't crawling over another person to get out. Z-Packs Duplex, I used this one for over 3000 miles, you best of both worlds since you can buy a freestanding kit. This one is out of your budget though at 799$ and the freestanding poles are another 100$. They have a bargain section of their website however that occasionally lists returned tents or tents with minor factory defects that dont effect usability. People will recommend the X-Mid Pro 2, but I'm not a fan of it as a two person because one person will have a sloping wall in their face unless you are both willing to sleep facing opposite directions. I will most likely go back to the duplex when this wears out. I also find it finicky to setup, but it could be that I have way more familiarity with the duplex.

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.