Big Agnes Copper Spur: Amazing Ultra Lightweight Backpacking Tent for You

Big Agnes Copper Spur

The Big Agnes brand is popular among backpackers and getting even more popular by the day. Their gear is enjoyed by many campers all year round. They provide backpacking essentials that include tents, sleeping bags, apparel and camping accessories. Among their most popular camping gear is the Big Agnes Copper Spur Backpacking Tent series.

Their Copper Spur series is especially popular among backpackers who are conscious about the weight of their gear. The ultra-lightweight three season, free standing backpacking tent is designed to offer comfort and protection in the wildness without breaking your back on the trail. The series offers four tent sizes designed to accommodate 1 to 4 people. The Big Agnes Copper Spur line of camping tents offers the lovers of outdoor life choices to pick from depending on the size of the camping party.

Every backpacker knows that weight is a very big factor when choosing camping gear and the designers at Big Agnes had this factor in mind when they designed the Copper Spur tents. They come with many features tailored to ease the load of the backpacker on the trail and provide protection and comfort at the campsite.

When buying a backpacking tent, there are several important features you should look out for including weight, size, and ventilation among others. These three-season tents give you a comfortable home away from home for spring through fall.

You will, however, need a separate tent for your winter backpacking. Irrespective of what product you want to buy, the best reviews you will ever find will be those written by ordinary consumers like yourself. Read on to check out some main features of the Copper Spur Tent.

Packaging

The Copper Spur Tent is 4 inches longer and has twofold the vestibule space. This tent has floor dimensions of 86 x 42 and the foot width is 30 inches. In case you are camping alone, then it’s a veritable royal residence!

But, for two individuals, there is a lot of space to sit up, change your clothes, move about and do many other important things without obstructing any other person. The steep-sided walls of this tent add to this in a big way, particularly when you share the room with somebody more than 6 feet tall!

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 set up in the forest

The tent packs in a great measure of living space. Bounty enough space for you and another person to extend totally. With the floor area, you will be living huge, for an ultralight tent. The backpacking tent sits a nice spacious 42 inches tall, with close vertical walls because of the overhead crossbar. This enables you to move around in the tent without chancing upon each other.

Design and Durability

Tents come in a range of designs to suit user preferences and camping conditions. The simple design of A-frame tents makes them light, simple, and often less expensive than the other designs. However, their simple design also comes with limitations on usage. The shape limits elbow space and headroom and give the tents very little resistance against strong winds.

They are best used in gentle camping conditions. The modified A-frame with a center hoop pole and curved walls has more stability and space. Pyramid shaped tents are built with vertical poles to form a teepee shape and are often set up with a rainfly. They have the best space to weight relationship, but their floorless design makes them less ideal for wet areas or if you are likely to encounter bugs. If you are to use such a tent, be sure to include a footprint in your camping gear.

Big Agnes Copper Spur tent

Dome designed tents are more stable and hence preferable if you are camping in strong wings. They are also often more spacious that other designs. On the other hand, tube tents offer a good balance between weather resistance and weight. They are however not free standing so they require enough staking. Wedge tents are stable against the wind and lightweight but do not give enough headroom. Pick a tent whose design best combines the features required for your camping conditions.

Weight

Your style of camping will be the main determining factor of the weight of your gear. If you are setting up camp next to your car or riding to the campsite, the weight of your gear will not be a big factor. You can afford to treat yourself to a little more comfort and space if you are just lifting your tent from the car onto the camping ground. In this case, feel free to carry a heavy tent with all its extra accessories.

Big Agnes Copper Spur tent and mountains landscape in the background

However, if you are going on a long hike, the weight of your gear takes priority over most features. If you have to carry the tent for a long distance, then you must choose a tent that adds the least weight possible to your gear. The recommended maximum weight for a backpacking tent is 5 pounds if it is going to be carried by one person or heavier if the weight is to be divided among several campers. Additionally, be careful when it comes to tent’s weight as specified by the manufacturer.

Size

Backpacking tents are designed in different sizes to accommodate a range of sleeping capacities. Be sure to choose the right size for your camping party. For example, you do not want to squeeze four people in a tent meant for only three and it will be pointless to carry a 3person tent for a solo camping trip. When considering the size of your tent, do not look at just the square footage.

Look at the dimensions too, especially if you are tall or of heavy build. Make sure that the tent you chose will comfortably accommodate your body.

Big Agnes Copper Spur tent

Additionally, the size of the tent as specified by the manufacturer often speaks to the number of people, but, never specifies the amount of camping gear it can accommodate. Make sure that the tent you pick is spacious enough to accommodate all your gear. It is okay, and at times even more practical, to carry a tent that is a size bigger than what you need. This will give you enough space to lounge around inside the tent, more space for your gear and even extra space for a dog if you like camping with one.

Ventilation and Weather

Tents are designed to accommodate different seasons and their ventilation requirements. For example, the ideal warm season tent will come with lots of mesh for maximum ventilation and winter will require a tent that traps the air in to provide good warmth. If you want a tent that can give you ideal ventilation and is good in winter, then you can buy one with big mesh windows that can be zipped up when it gets cold.

Big Agnes Copper Spur tent near a lake

When you are choosing the tent for your camping trip, always keep in mind the weather. If you are going camping in winter, for example, you will need a very different tent from the one you use in the other seasons. There are three-season tents designed to cover you in spring through fall and there are some tents designed to take you through all seasons of the year, including winter.  You can purchase the four-season tent rather than get a separate one for winter. However, always check that the tent has all the features ideal for you.

Accessories

Always check that the manufacturer included all the accessories in the tent. As much as the tents are always sold with the main set up items and accessories, some items like a footprint, rainfly, gear lofts and others may be sold separately. Read the product information carefully to see exactly what you need to set the tent up and if it is all included in your purchase.

If some items that are essential to your camping are sold separately, then you will have to purchase them too. You do not want to realize after receiving your tent that you need a footprint and it did not come with the tent.

Close-up of Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2

If you are buying a tent to be used by more than one person, it’s better for it to come with two doors. A one-door design is lighter and ideal for 1person tent, but for many people, the two-door tent is more ideal. Additionally, two doors mean two vestibules, which provides more space to keep your gear.

Value for Money and Guarantee

The Copper Spur Tent at present retails locally for approximately $400. It’s a great deal to pay for a backpacking tent so you have to consider the level at which you will be hiking. While it has an ambient gray color scheme and a USB-controlled LED inner lighting system, this backpacking tent is valued at a premium.

Most reviewers concurred this tent is one of the best 3 season and 3-person ultralight backpacking tent available. It carries somewhat of a value premium, however, as is frequently the case, you acquire what you pay for and this backpacking tent is no exception.

Grand Canyon landscape and Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 tent

This is a real investment for your hiking gear. It is really a good value on the off chance that you are anticipating doing much backpacking outings, however not just only for car outdoor trips. The Copper Spur Tent is a costly piece of gear, and on the grounds that it is produced using lightweight, delicate textiles, it should be treated with care and kept properly.

As for the guarantee, the manufacturers of Copper Spur Tent provide a warranty which covers all forms of defect except the damages caused by too much exposure to the sun. Wear and tear are normal for all backpacking gears especially the ones that are often exposed to sunrays. Therefore, in case you have any issue with your backpacking tent, contact the manufacturers directly and they will deal with the issue, but only and only if it is covered under the warranty.       

                  

The Big Agnes brand blended many of the above features into their three-season Copper Spur Backpacking Tent series to give you the ideal ultralight tent. The needs of an ultralight backpacker are at the core of the design to ensure you can easily carry it long distance without straining your back.

The Copper Spur series comes in four sizes to accommodate the requirements of different camping parties. Whether you want to go camping alone or in a group, Big Agnes has a suitable option for you in this series. The tents share many camping-friendly features that make them ideal choices as explained in detail below.

These tents are made from ultralight materials to keep them light enough for long treks. The 1person tent has a mere 2lb 3oz of trail weight, which makes it light enough for one person to comfortably carry on the trail. Even the 4-person tent, at a mere 5lb and 5oz of trail weight, can be comfortably carried by one person without the need to divide it among the different campers.

Big Agnes Copper Spur in a national park in the summer

The tent’s mesh and fabric offer excellent ventilation through the breathable lightweight nylon and polyester. The mesh body keeps the interior of the tent aerated and fresh at all times. The mesh is especially nice on nights when the stars are up or if you want to enjoy some sun without leaving the comfort of the tent.

In the case of rain, or any other need to cover the mesh, the rainfly can be easily and quickly put up. The rainfly can be set up first for quick protection and then the main tent assembled under it. This offers fast protection in times of abrupt rain showers.

Pros:

  • Ultra lightweight
  • Easy to set up
  • Excellent ventilation
  • Spacious vestibules
  • Three-season tent
  • Lots of pockets
  • Two entrances

Cons:

  • Expensive yet the footprint is sold separately
  • Not enough space in the UL4

Like with all camping gear, remember to test out your new tent before you set off for your camping trip. This way, you will know if it has everything you need and if you can actually set it up. You do not want to get to your camping site and start struggling with setting it up or realize that the footprint, which you assumed had come with the tent, did not.

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