Excellent 3-season lightweight tent - Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL1 Tent - 1 Person, 3 Season

After a lot of research, I bought the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL1 to be part of a 4lb tent/bag/pad setup. (It’s a couple ounces over with the footprint.) Being a 1-person tent I knew it would be tight inside but I bought it just for sleeping, relaxing is done outside the tent. Setup is very easy, if it’s windy you definitely have to be a little careful not to let anything blow away and being mindful of how much force you’re applying will prevent rips and tears.

Inside the fly are four 3-4” straps, 2 on each side, that are used to pull the sides of the tent outward for more room, so condensation on the inside of the fly doesn’t make it to the mesh of the tent. The fly only comes to about 4-5” from the ground, which allows for a lot of airflow to minimize condensation even with the vestibule door shut.

What I’m most impressed with is the Fly Creek HV UL1’s weather resistance. My most recent use was at the summit of Boundary Bald Mountain in western Maine. Even though the summit is only 3639’ it’s in the alpine zone, so the few areas without vegetation have thin, rocky soil and there’s really no shelter to break the wind. The forecast was for wind and rain so I took extra care to make sure all 11 stakes were securely pounded into the ground and all guy lines were tight. When it did start raining later in the evening the tent was being PUMMELED between the rain and wind, but not a drop leaked or blew through. I’d estimate the gusts were over 30mph, maybe even 40. The tent was really blowing and rocking but never once did I think it would tear or collapse. After the rain stopped I did make a few small adjustments to some guy lines and moved one stake a few inches, but other than that the storm had no effect.

By sunrise the wind had changed and was now hitting the tent almost broadside, and this is when I found that the single Velcro strap securing the fly to the tent was inadequate. The wind pushing against the fly actually caused the pole to bow on either side of the Velcro strap, taking tension off the lee side guy lines and causing one corner of the vestibule to come off its stake and flap a little. The tent was still secure, just pressing in on me, so I went back to sleep. But it definitely stood up to the wind better than I expected, especially when the wind was hitting the tent broadside. The low height is part of the reason it did so well, but mostly it’s due to excellent design and construction.

The stakes don’t look like much, on my previous uses I brought MSR Groundhogs but decided to try the included DAC stakes this time. They went in the ground easily using a rock as a hammer, held securely, and none were bent or broken when I pulled them out. I can’t say that for the Groundhogs, one broke in the rocky soil atop 3717’ Coburn Mountain (also in western Maine) and a couple others had small chips or nicks.

Rain will get in the tent when entering or exiting, I just push my sleeping bag and anything else I want to keep dry toward the foot of the tent. Pointing the foot of the tent into the wind helps. An overhang would eliminate this but also add weight.

All in all I’m very impressed with the tent and recommend it to anyone looking to lighten their pack.