Tents

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 XL Tent | Review

A spacious, lightweight tent for backpackers seeking comfort and durability.

The Copper Spur series from Big Agnes has been hugely popular amongst backpackers for a numbers of years, with plenty of praise for its roomy, high-ceilinged interior, excellent feature-set and its lightweight design and packability. As of 2025, the entire line has been updated, with Big Agnes adding their newly developed HyperBead fabric technology. This, they say is 6% lighter, 25% more waterproof, and 50% stronger than traditional materials and ultimately reduces the weight of their tents while enhancing their durability and weather resistance.

The Top Line

This XL version of the two-person Copper Spur UL2 XL offers a heck of a lot of space, but without much of a weight penalty, weighing just 1.45kg altogether. That’s all thanks to the extremely high-spec materials deployed here. To me, it’s about as luxurious as a two-person backpacking tent can get.

Buy The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 UL XL Tent: £600 at Ellis-brigham.com

The Context of Our Review
After a lot of deliberation, I decided that the Big Agnes Copper Spurl UL2 XL would fit the bill for a month-long European backpacking trip with my partner. I wanted something lightweight, roomy, reliable, easy to pitch on hard ground and usable with just the inner. I can confirm that it ended up being absolutely ideal and an excellent home away from home – one that I could carry on my back for weeks on end.

Key Features

Design

This pitches inner first, meaning it can be used without the flysheet on warm and dry nights. Big Agnes do also sell a footprint that lets you pitch the tent without the inner – tarp style. It’s a freestanding tent, so it’s great for using on very hard or sandy ground.

High-Spec Materials

The materials this uses are all top notch, with a waterproof silicone and polyurethane coated flysheet and ground mat, 15D polyester mesh, DAC Featherlite NFL poles and ultralight aluminium stakes. There’s also that HyerBead fabric technology too.

Dual Porches

There’s a large porch on either side of the Copper Spur. UL2 XL Each can be propped up with tent stakes to create large awnings for sheltered space to relax and cook.

Storage

Mesh pockets are in abundance on the inside, giving loads of places to stash away gear and keep things organised.

Venting

There’s one large vent at the top of the tent which can be propped open or closed. The doors on the fly also have two-way zippers and the option to prop them up too, of course.

Our team using the tent in the Rhinogydd mountains. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

Pitching

I found this easy and intuitive to pitch the first time I tried it. The colour coding for the poles and pole sockets helps there – they make the process almost foolproof. I’ve also found that it’s very easy to ensure the flysheet is perfectly taut. For me, it takes about 5 minutes to have the Copper Spur up and ready to sleep in.

Buy The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 UL XL Tent: £600 at Ellis-brigham.com

Durability

The Copper Spur UL uses impressively lightweight materials, and while the fabric feels thin to the touch, it still has a reassuringly tough and high-quality finish. The new HyperBead fabric brings noticeable improvements in waterproofing and tear resistance, which should give it the edge over previous versions. Paired with DAC poles and reinforced stress points, it’s a tent that should handle regular backpacking trips with ease. To me, it’s well-suited to three-season long-distance treks, weekend wild camps, and summer adventures where pack weight and reliable performance both matter.

As the materials are all high-spec, I’d just recommend treating the tent with a little care. If you’re camping with kids, maybe just make sure to brief them not to hang off things! I’ve allowed my dog inside the tent and haven’t had any punctures, but there’s still a risk it could happen if my dog got a bit too overexcited.

Liveability

This is where the Copper Spur UL2 XL really shines. The extra interior space, combined with steep walls and a high ceiling, makes it feel far less claustrophobic than most two-person backpacking tents. There’s enough room to sit up comfortably – not just in the middle of the tent but throughout it – and to spread out your gear without feeling cramped.

There’s easily room for two standard rectangular sleeping mats to fit inside it. You could even fit two of Big Agnes’s luxurious Campmeister Deluxe mats alongside each other. I’m 5 foot 10 and even on a very thickly padded sleeping mat, I get plenty of clearance over my head.

My partner and I spent a lot of nights in the Big Agnes Copper Spur while travelling through mainland Greece and we both found it to be very comfortable. We had a lot of stuff with us for the trip and both loved that this not only had the space for it all, but also pockets to keep it all organised.

You can fully open up the porch or, in windy conditions, open up a side that isn’t exposed.

Packed Size

The burrito-style stuff sack is also made from lightweight materials. I found it very easy to pack the tent away into this, even when the tent was wet. You can roll it up and stash it, but I found just stuffing it all in worked just fine. All packed up, the Copper Spur 2 UL XL is about the size of a small yoga mat or a 2-litre bottle, so it will easily fit into or onto a backpacking pack.

Verdict

I have absolutely no regrets choosing this for our travels. It was quick and easy to put and take down, it was very spacious and comfortable but also no burden to carry in my backpack, and it kept us fully protected from the elements – including on some very wet and windy nights. On one occasion it even kept me protected from a huge stray dog that wanted to follow me back into the tent after I stepped out in the middle of the night for a comfort break. I impressed the porch zip was able to hold back his efforts (he was a big dog!)

Generally I found it was sturdy enough to hold reliably in the strong winds we encountered. The only issue I had in that regard was on a night when we were pitched on a rocky shoreline and didn’t peg out the porches. It turned out to be a mistake as there was nothing to stop the tent wall from bending inwards and pressing against me with each gust. You’d have the same problem if you were to pitch the tent without the flysheet in any moderate wind.

In use during Will’s backpacking trip through Bulgaria and Greece with his partner Hannah.

One of the moments of the trip was when we were pitched up on the coast and we had the whole porch rolled up – essentially the whole side of the tent – giving us a wide and incredible view to enjoy from the comfort of our sleeping bags.

OK, it’s at the top end in terms of pricing, but it’s definitely a premium product with high performance levels. In essence, it’s a hugely spacious, reliable tent that’s easily big enough for 2-person camping but that’s also light enough for solo camping.