Fly Creek UL3
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Reddit Reviews
I second this one. Love mine
Do you want it to actually fit 2 people? I love my big agnes fly creek UL but when two people are in it, you better be down to cuddle. Me and my bag have sooo much room though
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL is a great light little tent, sub 2lbs, free standing, a little snug for 2P but a spacious 1P
The zoom ul is a good lightweight summer pad but notorious for sleeping cold for its r value. Their sleeping bags/quilts are nothing special either comparing them to cottage companies. Where they shine is their tents. The tigerwall and fly creek ul series semi freestanding tents were the gold standard for backpacking before high end trekking pole tents swooped in. They are still great products though and depending on your use could be worth owning. Their skyline ul stool is overpriced and doesn’t belong in a ul thru hiking bag but is nice to have for shorter trips and other uses outside backpacking. It’s very light and compact so it can come in handy if you need a portable chair for anything.
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.
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.
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