Has anyone on this forum had any experience with the Big Agnes Fly Creek tent? It looks pretty good to me: free standing except for the fly, double-wall and 22 sq ft of floor space. Weight is 35 oz. Heard anything either good or bad?

I did a search and nothing turned up. Of course that could be me and my computer illiteracy.

Some comments here :
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/...thread_id=19588
If the link does not work, is in the Gear Forum at Backpackinglight, first post 3/16/2009
Franco

There's a thread on this forum called "What do you think of the Big Agnes Fly Creek?" You might want to look at that - use the Search tab above; the originator was bmwrider.

I like my Fly Creek. It's identical to the Seedhouse SL1, if you cut off the little triangular shape at the foot end. I came to the Seedhouse SL1 from a Hubba and found that, although both were nearly the same floor area, the SL1 felt roomier because it is narrow at the foot end, which moves some of the space up into the head end, where I can make better use of it. The Fly Creek retains this feeling, and the loss of the triangular foot has, so far, not been annoying. It's not huge, but it's not at all confining (I'm 5'11", 213 pounds.)

The top half of the inner tent is all mesh, which I like a lot. On hot, humid nights I get to leave the fly off, and the ventilation is great.

The end entry is a little awkward until you get used to it, then it's no big deal. (If that's a big deal for you, look at the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1, which is a side entry tent. I have it, but haven't had it out yet. It's a half pound heavier than the Fly Creek, but has the same feature set. It also has a higher fiddle-factor for set up. Based on backyard testing, it's like a Jetboil: nice feature set, but not enough - for me - to justify the extra weight. I'll probably continue to use it for car camping at the trailhead.)

All in all, I really like the Fly Creek as well or better than any other tent I've owned. I've tried the Tarptent Rainbow, to which the Fly Creek is compared in the thread Franco referenced. (I never really developed a fondness for the Rainbow for a lot of personal, subjective reasons - it's a great product, I just preferred the Big Agnes tents.) The Rainbow will be significantly more roomy - I didn't check the specs, but the Rainbow has probably twice the room, and extra headroom - and requires a larger spot to pitch. However, with the Rainbow, you can't leave off a fly and get that "sleeping under the stars" feel that the Seedhouse, Fly Creek, and Copper Spur give. Ventilation is very good with the Rainbow, but I always found it a bit warmer than the Fly Creek pitched without the fly. If you haven't looked at them, you might want to visit TarpTent's website.

The Fly Creek gets the job done efficiently, effectively, and reasonably comfortably - it's everything (and nothing more) than I need in a tent. I'd highly recommend it, with the Copper Spur UL1 and Seedhouse SL1 coming in a close second. (If weight isn't an issue, the Seedhouse SL1 is functionally identical, only half a pound heavier, and sometimes on sale.)

Franco and Glenn. Thanks for the replies and the links. After having read all of the info, I went ahead and ordered one. Found a site that offered $60 off the MSRP so am quite happy. Now I will have to figure out what to do with most of my other tents.