Gear review: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2

About the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Tent

Copper Spur is the Big Agnes’ lightweight, freestanding, three-season tent series. It offers more room inside the tent and has a  more comfortable sleeping arrangement. The ultralight backpacking tent is redesigned with proprietary materials that are lighter and stronger without adding weight, and equipped with hardware that makes set-up even easier.

The rainfly and floor are ultralight nylon double rip-stop, mixed denier, with a 1200mm waterproof polyurethane coating.

The tent body is ultralight double rip-stop mixed denier nylon with breathable and polyester mesh. Big Agnes has updated internal storage including an elevated ‘mezzanine’ bin at the foot of the tent, an oversized ceiling pocket, media pockets, and cord routing for electronics. With two side doors for a two-person tent perfect, users will have the option to have two vestibule awnings pitched for even more living space.

Tiplok Tent Buckles

The tent also has the TipLok Tent Buckles, a corner buckle system from Big Agnes. The corner system features a swiveling two-piece plastic assembly that combines three functions: pole-tip capture, rainfly attachment and tensioner, and stake-out loop.

I’m always skeptical of plastic bits, but I’ve never had an issue with any clips on Big Agnes tents, and these seem fairly simple and work quite well. I suppose if I had one wish it would be that the clips had a split buckle loop to make them easily replaceable, but they also seem simple and tough enough that I don’t expect to have any issues with them. Big Agnes claims the new design equalizes forces between the tent body, rain fly, and ground stake, which makes sense, although that’s not something I noticed outright when pitching the tent. However, I appreciate the fact that the new swivel clips simplify the overall corner assembly and make it easier to use.

Vestibule awnings-style doors

The awnings are my favorite parts of the tent. The specialty is to create a little shelter with two hiking poles. Every thru-hiker has hiking poles and the vestibule doors are designed to be pitched out to provide a pretty substantial awning. I used this option pretty often for shade or when it rains. I found it very handy for cooking outside without getting wet.

Either way, it’s nice to have the ability to open the door completely while camping and sleeping. The dual zips allow you to roll up the doors completely and create a full opening into the tent for easy access, which also provides even more ventilation to help eliminate condensation inside the tent.

Big Agnes Shortstik Poleset

The biggest improvement that a lot of folks will like is that Big Agnes was able to maintain the same overall tent weight. The included Shortstik pole increases overall strength and stability. Big Agnes has cross-bar pole-tip receptacles and plastic clips that attach the tent body to the pole set. (The cross-bar pole-tip is not attached to the pole set)

After a lot of use with both, I feel pretty confident in their reliability and durability.

Dirt Dagger Ul Tent Stakes

Big Agnes has officially introduced a new stake design with these tents. The new Dirt Dagger UL Tent Stakes feature a patent-pending aluminum I-beam construction that weighs in at 8 grams each (including the paracord loop), making them 2 grams per stake less than the previous design. The Copper Spur UL 2 includes just seven stakes, which is odd considering there are eight stake points. My advice: use cheap or reliable aluminum stakes.