Head to head
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL vs Zpacks Plex Solo
The Zpacks Plex Solo gives each person more floor — 20.6 sq ft against 14.5, which is the difference between roomy and standard. The Zpacks Plex Solo is the lighter carry at 12.3 oz, and the Zpacks Plex Solo is the cheaper of the two at ~$599.
 Big Agnes Big Agnes Copper Spur UL |  Zpacks Zpacks Plex Solo | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Ultralight | Ultralight |
| Rated capacity | 2-person | 1-person |
| Floor area per personestimated | 14.5 sq ft (standard) | 20.6 sq ft (roomy) |
| Floor area | 29 sq ft | 20.6 sq ft |
| Vestibule area | 18 sq ft | — |
| Peak height | 40 in | 52 in |
| Minimum trail weight | 42 oz | 12.3 oz |
| Packed weight | 3 lb | — |
| Weight per personestimated | 21 oz (trail weight) | 12.3 oz (trail weight) |
| Pad fitestimated | 2 × 25 in pads fit | 1 × 25 in pads fit |
| Fits sleepers up toestimated | 6ft 10in tall | 6ft 8in tall |
| Doors | 2 | 1 |
| Freestanding | freestanding | non-freestanding |
| Poles | DAC aluminum | trekking poles |
| Wall type | double wall | single wall |
| Season rating | 3-season | 3-season |
| Floor hydrostatic head | 1,500 mm | — |
| Packed size | 19.5 x 4 in | 4 x 11 in |
| Approx. price | ~$600 | ~$599 |
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL
The Copper Spur is the tent most people picture when they picture a light freestanding backpacking tent, and the reason is the shape: steeply pitched walls carried on a DAC hubbed pole set, so the 29 square feet inside the UL2 is usable floor rather than floor that tapers into the fly. Two doors, two nine-square-foot vestibules and 40 inches of head height put it squarely in the comfort half of the ultralight class, and it still comes in at 42 ounces packed for the trail. What you pay for that is money and fabric: the 15D/20D HyperBead canopy is thin enough that the footprint stops being optional on granite or desert grit, and $600 is a lot of tent. The UL1 through UL4 all share the geometry, so picking a size here is genuinely picking a size and not a different tent.
Best for
Two backpackers who want a genuinely liveable freestanding tent and will accept thin fabric and a high price to get it under three pounds.
Zpacks Plex Solo
Twelve point three ounces is the lightest full shelter in this catalog — bathtub floor, bug netting, taped seams, storm doors, all of it — and it stands on one 52-inch trekking pole. Fifty-two inches is also the peak height, which is the tallest here, so you can sit fully upright in a tent that weighs less than a litre of water. Twenty point six square feet for one person is roomy by solo standards. What you accept is single-wall condensation, a $599 price, and a shelter whose fabric you handle carefully for the rest of its life.
Best for
A solo thru-hiker whose base weight is the whole point.
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.