Head to head
Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel vs Big Agnes Salt Creek
The Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel gives each person more floor — 16.5 sq ft against 14.0, which is the difference between standard and standard. The Big Agnes Salt Creek is the lighter carry at 4 lb 7 oz, and the Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel is the cheaper of the two at ~$350.
 Big Agnes Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel |  Big Agnes Big Agnes Salt Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Backpacking | Backpacking |
| Rated capacity | 2-person | 2-person |
| Floor area per personestimated | 16.5 sq ft (standard) | 14.0 sq ft (standard) |
| Floor area | 33 sq ft | 28 sq ft |
| Vestibule area | 37 sq ft | 18 sq ft |
| Peak height | 42 in | 44 in |
| Minimum trail weight | 5 lb 9 oz | 4 lb 7 oz |
| Packed weight | 6 lb 10 oz | 4 lb 13 oz |
| Weight per personestimated | 44.5 oz (trail weight) | 35.5 oz (trail weight) |
| Pad fitestimated | 2 × 25 in pads fit | — |
| Fits sleepers up toestimated | 7ft tall | — |
| Doors | 2 | 2 |
| Freestanding | freestanding | freestanding |
| Poles | aluminum | aluminum |
| Wall type | double wall | double wall |
| Season rating | 3-season | 3-season |
| Floor hydrostatic head | 1,500 mm | 1,500 mm |
| Packed size | 21 x 7 in | 20.5 x 5.5 in |
| Approx. price | ~$350 | ~$400 |
Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel
Same tent as the Blacktail, with one side's vestibule blown out to 28 square feet on an extra pole — a covered porch you can put two camp chairs under and sit out a rain shower in. That is 37 square feet of vestibule against the plain Blacktail's 18, for nine ounces and $50. If you camp anywhere that rains for a full day, it is the single most useful $50 in this catalog; if you are counting grams it is the wrong tent entirely.
Best for
Rainy-region camping where you need somewhere dry to sit that is not inside the tent.
Big Agnes Salt Creek
Salt Creek is the tall one. Forty-four inches of head height in a 28-square-foot two-person tent is four inches more than the Copper Spur UL2 manages. Weight lands at 71 ounces — between the C Bar and the Blacktail — and the polyester fly holds its shape overnight instead of sagging onto your face the way wet silnylon does. The footprint is a $60 extra, and Big Agnes does not publish interior floor dimensions for it, so the pad-fit reading on this page is the one gap in its spec sheet.
Best for
Campers who sit up in the tent and want a polyester fly that will not sag onto them in the night.
Rows where the two differ are tinted. Specs are the makers’ own; floor area per person, weight per person and pad fit are our arithmetic on them.