REASONS TO BUY
Incredibly light for a 3-person tent
Justifiable for 2 people to carry
Water-resistant fabric (no DWR)
Well ventilated
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Lightweight fabric is relatively less durable
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 Review
Considering the featherweight and small packed size, there's no reason two people shouldn't enjoy the comfort of this 3-person tent
The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 is a spacious and storm-worthy 3-person tent, yet it's lighter and packs up smaller than many 2-person tents we tested.
Credit: Zach Lovell
By Zach Lovell ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ June 16, 2026
RELATED: The Best Backpacking Tents of 2026
Our Verdict
The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 is one of the lightest tents we tested – and that's including both 3- and smaller 2-person tents in that comparison. With a floor about the size of a king bed, there's plenty of room for two adults, and it's even relatively comfortable for three (as long as they sleep head-to-toe). Even though the Copper Spur UL3 is made of a proprietary featherweight fabric, it's both more weather-resistant and more durable than you'd expect. This tent packs down small and is an ideal option for people who measure their backpacking trips in weeks rather than a few days. The Copper Spur UL3 is the best backpacking tent on the market, but it's expensive.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Upgrade |  Best for Bad Weather | Best Lightweight Tent for Two | Your First Backpacking Tent |  Best Value for Beginners |
| Price | $650 List Check Price at REI | $720 List | $600 List Check Price at REI | $399 List Check Price at REI | $260 List Check Price at REI |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | Whether you're a group of two or three, this is the ideal backpacking tent, offering an unmatched balance of space, weather resistance, weight, and packed size | With the structure and support required to face fierce winds and rain, this is an uncommonly strong tent, especially given its lightweight | If weight is the most important aspect of your backpacking equipment, this tent should be on your shortlist | This jack-of-all-trades tent gets the basics right, making it an excellent choice for first-time backpackers | This affordable tent is one of the largest we tested, which makes it a comfortable option for anyone just getting into backpacking |
| Rating Categories | Big Agnes Copper Spu... | SlingFin Portal 3 | Big Agnes Copper Spu... | REI Co-op Half Dome 2 | The North Face Storm... |
| Livability (35%) | |||||
| Weather Resistance (25%) | |||||
| Weight (15%) | |||||
| Packed Size (15%) | |||||
| Durability (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Big Agnes Copper Spu... | SlingFin Portal 3 | Big Agnes Copper Spu... | REI Co-op Half Dome 2 | The North Face Storm... |
| Listed Size | 3 person | 3 person | 2 person | 2 person | 3 person |
| True Capacity | Very spacious for two people and gear; Fits three people with a small amount of gear |
Very spacious for two people and gear; Fits three people with a moderate amount of gear |
Comfortable for one person and gear; Fits two people with a small amount of gear |
Very spacious for one person and gear; Fits two people comfortably with moderate amount of gear |
Fits two people very comfortably with gear; Very tight for three people with very little gear |
| Measured Minimum Trail Weight | 3.28 lbs | 3.72 lbs | 2.56 lbs | 4.83 lbs | 6.20 lbs |
| Number of Doors | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Footprint Included? | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Measured Packaged Weight | 3.81 lbs | 4.19 lbs | 3.10 lbs | 4.95 lbs | 7.10 lbs |
| Measured Floor Area | 41.0 sq ft | 41.9 sq ft | 29.0 sq ft | 31.8 sq ft | 39.7 sq ft |
| Measured Packed Size | 21 x 5 in | 17 x 6 in | 19.5 x 4 in | 22 x 7.5 in | 22 x 8 in |
| Measured Peak Height | 43 in | 44 in | 40 in | 42 in | 46 in |
| Measured Vestibule Area | 9.0 sq ft on each side | 10.3 sq feet on each side | 9.0 sq ft on each side | 9.2 sq ft on each side | 10.8 sq ft on each side |
| Number of Pockets | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Gear Loft? | Sold separately | No | Sold separately | No | No |
| Number of Poles | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Pole Diameter | 8.7 mm | 9.3/10.65 mm | 8.7 mm | 8.7 mm | 8.5 mm |
| Pole Material | DAC Featherlite NFL, NSL and pressfit poles | DAC Featherlite NFL | DAC Featherlite NFL, NSL and pressfit poles | DAC featherlite NFL aluminum | Aluminum |
| Number of Guy Points | 4 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Rain Fly Material | Proprietary HyperBead fabric; 15D nylon with 20D solution dyed ripstop and 1500 mm waterproof rating without intentionally added PFAS | 10D Nylon 66 Ripstop Sil | Proprietary HyperBead fabric; 15D nylon with 20D solution dyed ripstop and 1500 mm waterproof rating without intentionally added PFAS | 40D ripstop nylon, 20D nylon mesh | 75D polyester taffeta |
| Inner Tent Material | Breathable 15D nylon with 20D solution dyed ripstop, and 15D polyester mesh | 15D nylon no-see-um mesh | Breathable 15D nylon with 20D solution dyed ripstop, and 15D polyester mesh | 40D taffeta nylon | 75D polyester taffeta |
Our Analysis and Test Results
As capacity increases, we typically see weight increase as well. However, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 bucks that trend – with a minimum trail weight of just 3.3 pounds, it's one of the lightest backpacking tents in our review. Unique features – like the ability to pitch this tent using just the fly, or to transform the vestibule into an awning with a hiking pole – make this highly capable backpacking tent even more versatile.
Among the many great aspects of the UL3, the weight and packability stand out the most. Credit: Zach Lovell
Livability
With 41 square feet of interior space, the Copper Spur UL3 is spacious for two people, with plenty of room to sleep side by side and keep most of your gear in the tent. Built-in storage pockets keep your gear organized and off the floor, freeing up even more space. Two large doors make it easy to get in and out of the tent and ensure you won't wake your sleeping tentmate if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
However, the situation is a bit different if you add one more person. While it can accommodate three adults, they will likely need to sleep head-to-toe, with all of their gear under the vestibule. Fortunately, the two vestibules, at 9 square feet apiece, offer plenty of storage space for your wet, muddy gear or anything you simply don't want inside the tent.
While this tent easily accommodates two people, to fit three, you'll have to sleep head-to-toe to leave yourselves enough shoulder space.
The 43-inch peak height is more than enough for a 6-foot-tall person to sit up, which makes it very comfortable to sit inside and play cards while riding out a rainstorm. Unlike classic A-frame or even dome tents, which slope steeply down from a central peak, the Copper Spur UL3 adds a crossbar to the top. This unique design creates more headroom on either side, making the tent feel much more spacious than its footprint suggests.
The crossbar in the middle and the high clips on either end stretch out the top of the UL3, extending the peak height out to the edges of the tent. Credit: Clark Tate
One of our favorite features of the UL3 is that you can convert one side of the vestibule to an awning by propping it up with a pair of hiking poles. This not only improves ventilation but also greatly opens up your livable space in nice weather. Even though it's designed more as a sunshade, it's comfortable to cook under in a drizzle, while your backpack stays tucked safely away on the other side of the vestibule.
Even with one side propped up as an awning, there's still enough space to store your pack on the other side of the vestibule.
Weather Resistance
The Copper Spur UL3 is made from a proprietary fabric called HyperBead, which is inherently waterproof, eliminating the need for a durable water repellent (DWR) coating. Even though ditching DWR coatings has become standard practice across the industry – namely due to the reliance on toxic PFAS chemicals to create the coating – the upside is that you never need to rewaterproof your tent.
Relative to its weight, the Copper Spur UL3 offers great weather resistance. It's not as heavy-duty nor is it as weatherproof as a 4-season tent, but it will certainly keep you high and dry during a summer thunderstorm. If you're expecting high winds, it's important to stake this tent out with the provided guylines to support its lightweight pole structure.
By using the guy lines and effectively tensioning the rainfly at each corner, you will greatly enhance this lightweight tent's weather resistance.
One of our favorite aspects of the Copper Spur UL3 is its ventilation, which is crucial for comfort if you're stuck inside for an extended period (and that includes sleeping comfortably). The high ceiling of the mostly mesh tent body works well with the waterproof-breathable rainfly to disperse and dissipate condensation. A top vent is easily adjusted with a prop bar, and on hot summer nights, we simply rolled up the dual vestibules to create a cross-breeze.
The top vent is a phenomenal addition, which is easy to hold open with its prop bar.
Weight
The Copper Spur UL3 is an impressively lightweight tent for the amount of space it offers. While there are a handful of lighter 2-person tents, the UL3 is lighter than any other 3-person tent we tested by more than a few pounds. To strip it down to a minimum trail weight, you'll have to leave the storage sack and tent stakes behind.
Most of the time, we're bringing the whole package along, which still only weighs 3.8 pounds – that's practically as lightweight as other top-scoring 2-person tents we tested. If you divvy up the tent body, rainfly, poles, and stakes with your backpacking partners, the weight-per-person is incredibly light, which makes carrying a 3-person tent for just two people justifiable.
The storage sack includes a sleeve for the tent stakes. The convenience of this well-designed stuff sack makes it well worth saving a few ounces. Credit: Zach Lovell
Packed Size
There may be other 2-person tents that are a bit more packable than the Copper Spur UL3, but none of those offer the floor space or headroom as this spacious yet packable tent.
Measuring 21 inches long by 5 inches in diameter, this tent packs up to about the size of your typical 10-pound fire extinguisher. If you choose to forgo the storage sack, the Copper Spur UL3 fits into irregularly shaped spaces quite easily, thanks to its thinner fabric. (Just make sure nothing is going to poke through that featherweight fabric!)
If you roll up the tent body and rainfly around the poles, it fits perfectly inside the stuff sack. Lightweight bungees and buckles fasten securely and help keep the package tight. Credit: Zach Lovell
Durability
The build quality of the Copper Spur UL3 is top-notch. However, it is crucial that you treat this tent like the investment it is – even though it's designed for backpacking, it's still more delicate than the tents sewn from heavier-duty fabric.
The Copper Spur UL3 trades burlier fabrics for a lighter pack weight, opting for a 15-20 denier nylon tent body and a ripstop floor, compared to the much heavier 75-denier nylon on more durable tents. By choosing our campsites carefully, we never ran into any issues. However, the thinner fabric won't withstand the same abuse as tents made from materials two to three times thicker. It's not a bad idea to protect your investment with a footprint, either.
While Big Agnes designed this tent well, they had to utilize lighter materials to keep weight down, so you'll need to be more mindful of where you set up the UL3.
Should You Buy the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3?
The Copper Spur UL3 is the best 3-person backpacking tent on the market, full stop. It's as spacious as tents that weigh twice as much, and given its lightweight design, there's really no reason not to pack a 3-person tent for a party of two. It's understandable that such a high-performance tent comes with a high price tag. We heartily recommend this tent for anyone going on extended backpacking trips – more than two or three nights – because the weight and space savings allow you to carry more food. But if you're sticking to weekend trips, you don't need a tent to pack as light or compact, and it's probably worth saving some money for other gear.
What Other Backpacking Tents Should You Consider?
For couples or close friends who don't mind sharing tight quarters, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 is an even lighter, smaller version of the UL3. If the Copper Spur models are prohibitively expensive, we recommend the REI Co-op Half Dome 3. The Half Dome 3 is even larger than the Copper Spur UL3, comfortably sleeping three adults with some room to spare. Although it's bulkier and heavier, it's also much more affordable. The Half Dome 3 should also be compared directly against the The North Face Stormbreak 3, which is the best value for a 3-person tent.
—Zach Lovell
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