My tent setup went from a 45-minute struggle to under 10 minutes after I switched to a freestanding model.

For years I used a trekking pole tent on my Colorado trips, but a windy night in Rocky Mountain National Park last fall where I couldn't get the stakes to hold made me change. I bought a Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 and now I'm pitching in minutes, rain or shine, without worrying about the soil. Do you think the speed and reliability of a freestanding tent is worth the slight weight penalty over an ultralight shelter?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_reed6220d ago

Can't relate, my tent still looks like modern art.

faith_thomas19d agoMost Upvoted

Define modern art for me here, because I'm picturing a collapsed tarp with poles sticking out at weird angles. Is that the look you're going for, or do you actually have a system? My last tent setup was so bad I had to sleep with my head downhill.

tara79320d ago

I mean, @drew_reed62, my tent always ends up looking like a sad pile of laundry.