Big Agnes Pitchpine VST 1.5 Review

The ridgeline of the Big Agnes Pitchpine VST 1.5 reminds us of the spiny back of a long-extinct dinosaur. This unique profile shows off the core design of this semi-freestanding ultralight tent. The tent fly attaches to the tent's own pole that bows diagonally around it, creating distinctive angles that maximize interior living space while also providing excellent ventilation.

Livability

Among other sometimes cramped and otherwise compromised ultralight tents, the Pitchpine VST 1.5 bucks the norm. Rather than taking a pre-existing design and transforming it with a shrink ray, Big Agnes specially designed this as an oversized 1-person tent to maximize comfort and livability.

Taller folk rejoice! The Pitchpine is 7'4" long and wide enough to lay down a 25" pad. Even with the additional space, you still have some room left over inside to keep extra gear beside you. Or if you often take to the trails with a furry companion, there's plenty of space for you two to snuggle up comfortably.

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Ceiling height is a respectable 40", which is more than most semi-freestanding tents offer. A spreader bar stretches the ceiling even wider than it would normally be, offering plenty of space to move around and stretch out.

Headroom is a respectable 40", enough for our 5'11" tester to sit upright on his 3" thick sleeping pad.   Credit: Justin Simoni

Our tester, who has a 6-plus-foot wingspan, had no trouble stretching out their arms without hitting the far sides of this tent.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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Other gear, like your pack, can be stored outside the living area in the small vestibule between the tent fly and mesh door. A small pocket is located in the corner of the mesh door for valuables you don't want kicking around the floor.

Weight

By the nature of their design, semi-freestanding ultralight tents have a tough time competing with trekking pole tents. Since they don't include a pole, trekking pole tents will almost always be lighter. However, the Pitchpine VST 1.5 will raise some eyebrows if you compare it directly against other semi-freestanding tents (even other popular options from Big Agnes).

Considering that this tent offers 22 square feet (2 square meters) of interior living space, it is larger than some other 2-person freestanding ultralight tents, and much lighter. While other semi-freestanding tents use a double-wall construction – in which the tent fly and mesh inner are separate pieces – the Pitchpine VST 1.5 is a single-walled tent with an integrated mesh door, more similar in design to many trekking pole tents.

Here's the full breakdown:

• Tent stuff sack: 0.46 oz (13 g)
• Tent body: 20.1 oz (517 g)
• Pole stuff sack: 0.2 oz (6 g)
• Tent pole: 6.7 oz (190 g)
• Stake stuff sack: 0.1 oz (3 g)
• Stakes (8): 2.6 oz (73 g)
• Emergency splint: 0.4 oz (11 g)
• Extra guy line: 0.2 oz (6 g)

Among ultralight tents, the 571-gram tent body is fairly reasonable, and even the 190-gram tent pole is lighter than those of other semi-freestanding tents we've tested. One could theoretically pack a stripped-down kit that weighs 28.75 ounces (815 grams) by bringing only the tent body, pole, and 6 stakes – a marginal weight savings if you're gram-counting.

Entire tent kit: 30.8 oz (873 g)   Credit: Justin Simoni

Tent poles in bag: 6.9 oz (196 g)   Credit: Justin Simoni

Stakes, guy line, and splint in stake bag: 3.2 oz (91 g)   Credit: Justin Simoni

Compared to a 1-liter Nalgene bottle, the Pitchpine VST 1.5 doesn't actually take up too much space, especially if you stow the tent pole separately from the tent body.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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Weather Resistance

The lightweight 20D polyester on the Pitchpine VST 1.5 is a proprietary fabric that's designed to be hydrophobic. Since it resists moisture absorption, it won't stretch as much as other polyester fabrics when it gets wet, which means you don't have to roll out of your comfortable cocoon at midnight to adjust the rainfly's tension.

Much like a trekking pole tent, an integrated bathtub floor rises a few inches above the ground to shield you from any splashback during especially heavy rainstorms. The default 6-stake pitch is bomber as it is, but if you do need more support in high winds, there are two extra points to tie off guylines and two extra stakes. If you somehow break the tent pole, the repair kit also includes an emergency split.

A single vestibule is out of the way of the door. It's large enough to store your backpack and a pair of muddy shoes, even if the fly is open.   Credit: Justin Simoni

The tent fly provides good coverage and overlap, with the entrance area still slightly covered even when the outside door is rolled up and stowed.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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Condensation is usually an issue with single-wall tents, as there is no mesh inner to separate you from the moisture that builds up on the tent walls. Ventilation is critical, and the Pitchpine VST 1.5 features a clever tunnel-like vent on the ceiling. Outside air freely moves through this tunnel, carrying away the humid air that naturally rises to the top of a tent. Curiously, there is no way to close the vents, but the tunnel is so long that even when the wind blew rain horizontally, we didn't notice any coming inside.

Dual vents on the top of the tent fly allow for humid air from inside to rise up and escape out the top.   Credit: Justin Simoni

Dual zippers allow you to adjust the door for more ventilation options.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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The interior mesh will keep bugs at bay, and a small vestibule next to the single door allows you to stash any muddy gear you don't want to bring inside. The exterior door can be held open with a magnetic toggle, while a thin piece of shock cord tacked to the tent body is a clever design to stuff the mesh door out of the way.

Instead of a toggle, the inner mesh door has a place to stuff the mesh door in to quickly get it out of the way.   Credit: Justin Simoni

The exterior door has a magnetic toggle for one-handed unfurling.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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Adaptability

Unlike rectangular tarps that can be pitched six ways to Sunday, the Pitchpine VST 1.5 can be pitched in only one way. But like all semi-freestanding tents, it has one superpower that no tarp- or trekking-pole tent comes close to matching.

Backpack enough, and you'll have stories of the time you camped too close to a wasp's nest or realized you were safely pushing the boundaries of a floodplain. Being able to quickly pull up the stakes and move the tent saves you time and hassle.

Because the Pitchpine VST 1.5 uses its own proprietary pole that attaches to the tent body with a series of hooks, you can set it up before tying anything down to the ground. This makes setup, especially adjusting the placement of your tent, very easy. Just remember that this isn't a bona fide freestanding tent, so do make sure to always pack the necessary six stakes for setup.

The tent pole snaps onto the exterior of the tent fly via an array of hooks which can be attached in any order you prefer.   Credit: Justin Simoni

Linelocs are located across the exterior to provide options for staking out this tent.   Credit: Justin Simoni

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Ease of Set-up

One thing that sets the Pitchpine VST 1.5 apart from other tents – semi-freestanding or trekking-pole-style – is its asymmetrical design. This doesn't make it the most intuitive to set up, so we recommend practicing a few times before setting off on your adventure. In particular, we had a tough time getting it squared up with proper tension.

Of course, this flaw fades with time and practice, and the semi-freestanding design makes the Pitchpine VST 1.5 easy to reposition after pitching. That said, staking down one side of the tent is a good first step to prevent it from blowing away.

Should You Buy the Big Agnes Pitchpine VST 1.5?

Bikepackers who wouldn't otherwise carry trekking poles may find that the Pitchpine VST 1.5 fills a niche. It is also a compelling alternative for folks who like to set up a base camp and then day-hike with their trekking poles. The semi-freestanding nature of this tent makes site selection a whole lot easier because you can set it up and move it around easily. As a specialty tent, however, it does carry a premium price tag.

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