Big Agnes  Tiger Wall UL2 Tent

This review is only to convey the actual weight for those of you trying to make a purchase decision. This is a 40 oz kit. Everything you buy minus plastic wrap, tags, and rubber bands. The 40oz (2#8oz) includes Tent, Fly, poles, 8 stakes, and 3 BA bags(outer bag, pole sleeve, and stake bag). This is what they seem to call PACKAGED WEIGHT. The MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT is everything listed above MINUS 8 stakes and 3 bags. Total: 36 oz (2#4oz). Stakes were 3.1 oz Bags were .9 oz None of this includes a ground cover. FYI: the 8 stakes included are DAC brand V stakes that are 6.25” long and weigh about .36 oz each Lastly: I bought this on their 20% off sale and weighed it myself on an accurate digital scale. I do not get paid for this.

I bought this tent almost as soon as it was available because I was excited about it's weight and semi-freestanding setup. Unfortunately, I returned it after a week. This is why. First off, I understand that this is a UL tent and with that, there are compromises. The first thing I noticed that the two person version was small...really small but, that's one of the aforementioned compromises. The larger issue I had was with it's ability to keep anything dry. After setting it up in my backyard, I decided to leave it up for the evening because there were light rains predicted and I needed to know how this tent would handle them. After 6 hours of on and off light rain, I called the test a miserable failure as there was a lot of water on the floor of the tent, most from condensation that fell from the fly. The floor on this tent is super thin. Thin enough that moisture could certainly soak up from the ground and into your tent. We saw this with my son's CSUL2 HV. Again, another compromise and something that might be resolved with an expensive ground sheet. The larger issue was with the single pole structure at the foot end of the tent. Understanding that the two points keeping the fly away from the tent body are the single pole and the vestible stake out points, as soon as the rain fly gets wet and sags, like silnylon does, there is nothing to physically keep the fly away from the tent on the foot end. As soon as the fly sags, it will touch the tent and whatever condensation has built up on it, will be all over your gear unless the wind or rain has already dislodged it onto your gear. During the test, I checked on the tent after 2 hours and saw the issue with the sagging fly. I considered tightening or restaking the fly but, because it shares a fixed tieout point with the tent body, my ability to correct the sagging fly was extremely limited. The only adjustment was with at the center fly where it attached near the single pole. There wasn't enough room for adjustment there to accomplish much. It is also fair to note that during this test, I had a Happy Hooligan UL2 set up for the same purposes. Even though not in the same category as the Tigerwall, that tent faired much better and even though it is a spare for friends, I ended up buying a second one for the times when I didn't want to break out my Duplex. I believe BA pushes some of their UL gear. Personally, we have a CSUL2HV and two Happy Hooligans. Other that the noted issue with the thin floor on the CS, Big Agnes makes some great products. This tent however, is a miss in my opinion. I don't believe the average backpacker will be pleased with this tent in the rain and would only recommend it for use in dry conditions.