Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 Review

The Copper Spur HV UL3 offers a lot of versatility and is large enough to sleep three if you're okay with tight quarters. It's also lightweight enough for two hikers to split the weight for extra room at camp. This tent is the best three-person option we've tried, offering a better space-to-weight ratio than any other tent in the test.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

This tent is extremely comfortable. Its peak height of 43 inches makes it one of the tallest in the test. The thoughtfully arched main poles and longer cross pole extend that height to give you plenty of headroom. The tent has about 39 square feet of floor area, and you have around 25 square feet of space with enough headroom to sit up.

The 89-inch-long floor offers enough room for tall campers to snooze comfortably. At 68 inches across at the head, the Spur HV UL3 is just a nudge wider than other 3-person tents that we've tested in the past. The drawback is the taper. The width narrows to 59 inches at the foot. For context, a standard sleeping pad is 20" inches wide, so three of them take up every bit of wall-to-wall space at the foot.

This geometry serves to save weight and keep the tent feeling roomy without sacrificing the more crucial head-and-shoulder space. In the two-person version, it's a real asset, reducing overall weight without diminishing the function of the interior volume. However, you notice the narrower dimensions more with three people, and it makes it nearly impossible for the middle person to sleep head-to-toe.

The two vestibules offer the same amount of protected floor area as the two-person model, 18 square feet. But if you're splitting it between three people instead of two, it's going to be tough to pile everything in. The gear storage pockets are a huge plus. There are two massive pockets up top, and small side pockets also help organize items that you might want to have close at hand.

There is also a vent in the rainfly to facilitate airflow even in foul weather. The vestibule doors are also very adaptable. The fly doors can open into awnings held up by a set of trekking poles, though, depending on what time of day you roll into camp, you may or may not find it worth it to do that particular dance.

Weather Resistance

The Copper Spur HV UL3 offers solid weather protection in the rain, but it's not the best equipped for high winds.

This tent comes with guylines and tensioners already installed on the fly. Though there is nothing exceptional about them, having them pre-attached is a huge benefit because you are much more likely to use them. But there are only four, one per pole. Since the tent is fairly tall, wind can put a lot of pressure on the sides, and they could use more support.

The Spur fares better in wet weather. Additional paracord tie-outs are attached to the head and foot of the fly, and dedicated stakes let you use them to create space between the tent body and the fly to protect it from splashes and condensation. This is essential to keep the tent as dry as possible in prolonged rainstorms, but many tents in the test don't include the loops on the tent or the extra cord and stakes to allow it.

We do wish the vestibule doors had adjustable cords to attach to their stakes. The static loops make it harder to keep the fly taut. Though the fly proved waterproof during our three-day rain test, it also seems to retain more water than its ultralight counterparts, and it tends to sag when wet. If it does sag, a puddle of water can form on the roof where the three poles create a triangle. As it stands, you need to re-stake the vestibules often. It would be nice to be able to adjust their tension instead.

Those versatile fly doors allow you to balance between ventilation and protection from sun, wind, and rain. The bathtub floor minimizes the number of splashes that reach above the waterproof PU-coated ripstop nylon.

Space to Weight Ratio

This metric is where the Spur HV UL3 really shines. Its dimensions are meant for three people (or two people and a dog), but its sub-four-pound packed weight also makes it reasonable for two people to carry. If you are into the fast-fly approach and don't mind shelling out for the footprint, then you can cut the weight down even more, down to around three pounds.

This tent is versatile exactly because of how lightweight it is. If you are on the fence between a two- or a three-person shelter, the Spur can do the job either way without adding too much extra weight if it's just two of you. The tent gives you an impressive 10.3 square feet and 6.6 square feet of headroom per pound. We have a hard time imagining a lighter-weight option offering more space.

The Spur HV UL3 packs down to 21 x 6 inches, which is smaller than some of our larger 2-person competitors. Split three ways, it averages out to just over a pound and a quarter per person. If the number in your party changes or you like to bring your pup, this is a great option.

Ease of Use

The Copper Spur HV UL3 is easy to set up, even for one person. It offers a fairly typical structure — two primary poles in the shape of an X connect at a metal hub at the apex, with each end of the poles fitting into a hole at the corner of the tent that secures it from sliding out.

A cross pole runs the tent's width to increase lateral space for sitting up. It comes with a color-coded fly clip and pole design, so you always know how to orient each of the pieces before attaching them.

We love the two large doors on each side, which make entering and exiting the tent easy. Some of our testers find the dual-zipper configuration a little inconvenient because it requires two hands and a little more time to open and close, but this is a minor inconvenience. On the flip side, the (minor) benefit is that if you are lying down and realize you need something from the vestibule, the zippers are already in the right position to open just enough to reach out and grab it.

Construction Quality

This tent includes a number of innovative design features that make it impressively high quality, but the incredibly thin, lightweight materials do require care. The material is strong for its weight, but it is still susceptible to punctures. The fabric and mesh repel moderate pressure from the blunt end of a paperclip, and the seams are sturdy.

Many tents in this review use the same DAC Featherlite NFL poles as this one. Two sets of them broke during testing, including the poles on the two-person version of this tent. A dog hit one set at a run, and the wind tossed another tent into our tester, busting a pole and ripping a fly. These are extenuating circumstances, but clearly, such things happen. Luckily, the poles are pretty easy to repair, though the included pole splint was too narrow to slide over either of the breaks. We had to tape it to the outside of both poles. It did work, though.

The Spur is made of quality materials, and we had no major durability issues with it during testing. If you want to make it last, though, we recommend investing in the footprint (sold separately) or buying a relatively inexpensive piece of plastic contractor tarp, Tyvek wrap, or Polycro to protect the bottom.

Should You Buy the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3?

The value of this tent depends on whether or not you are going to take advantage of its versatility. If you are looking for a roomy two-person option that can also fit a dog at your feet, there are some great tents in our lineup that won't cost you nearly as much. However, if you could see yourself using the UL3 equally as either a two or three-person shelter, then this is a valuable tent to own.

What Other Backpacking Tents Should You Consider?

If you want space, the REI Co-op Half Dome SL 2+ will offer that at a fraction of the price of the Copper Spur. For a very comparable model from another trusted brand, the Nemo Dagger Osmo also comes in a three-person version, as does the Sea to Summit Telos, both of which balance space and weight well.