Big Agnes Scout UL2

I can't say its perfect but it is not bad. I put it up and used two Exped long wide mats and it has room to spare.
Pro
Nice and long plenty of room length wise. I am over six foot and no problems.
You can sit up in it just fine.
It has two cool corner pockets that are functional and well placed.
It packs down small.
It is nice and light.
It seems roomier than I was expecting.
Sleep head to foot or visa versa.
Heavy duty tough seats for trekking poles.
I am claustrophobic and the Flycreek's give me a coffin'ish feeling this tent does not.
Feels like full sized adults could cohabitate.

Con
No vestibule
Trek poles inside the body at rear of tent leave not a lot of options for single use.
Tent walls are not exactly vertical and they could be.
Tent rear tapers.

For what it is I think this lil tent gets a bum rap. It looks like the tents I grew up with. It has a nostalgic look and modern UL weight. I think if Big Agnes makes a similar tent with pole all the way to the rear and a vestibule they have a incredible unique offering.
No tent is perfect the good outweigh the bad. I can't wait to spend some time in it to sort out storm worthiness and condensation issues. I will keep you posted.height="733">

Thanks for the first impressions. I have one on the way. From my observations some of the criticisms seemed unfair, for what the tent is and claims to be. I got mine with my dividend and 20 percent coupon, so the price was really good for a roomy 2-person 2-pound tent. I think this and an Imogene 2 will make a nice 4.5 lb option for my 4-person family. We currently use a 7.5 pound 4-person tent.

I like it!

So at least there are two of us.

Question: some pictures show that the front pole can be set up outside the shelter. Is that the case?

In many of the photos I've seen of the Scout, there are often a lot of wrinkles in the panels. This leads me to believe that the fabric was either not cut carefully enough or the design is a little sloppy in its dimensions.

Can this tent get a nice taut pitch all around?

I was intrigued with this shelter when it was released but the negative review was concerning. I'm interested to see what your opinion is of it after some long term usage.

I was shopping for a new tent recently, and I love weight and packed size of the Scout. (Not to mention the retro look… shades of camping out as a 12-year-old in the early 1960s.) And Backpacker Mag gave it an "editor's-choice" review. But my wife likes to zip our sleeping bags together, which would be problematic with the interior rear pole. I bought the more conventional (but still nicely small-packed and light-weight) BA Slater UL2+ instead.

The quality is fantastic. My daughter helped In the front. I have no doubt you can get a taught pitch. One thing I would suggest is
to use rubber tips for poles because one slip with metal tips it may put a hole in the tent. I live in a very windy local so first good
windstorm I am sleeping in it. I purchased a Exped double quilt I am thinking of putting A hole in to accommodate the trek pole.
I did not know the front pole can be outside. I will have to look at that again. I am going to experiment with how to hang rear without using pole.

There was at least one hiker using this tent on the AT last month. I was very impressed with the interior size, and the stability in a pretty significant wind. I use a Fly Creek 2, and this tent might have been even more stable than mine. Note that it is true that you cannot lay down right in the middle of the tent as one reviewer noted, but there is so much room on each side that I don't see that as any issue. I was also quite impressed with how quickly the tent could be set up, but I saw it put up on a very flat site; I'll be interested in comments on how easy it is to put up on sloped, uneven sites, but I don't think they will pose any unusual problems. It appeared that one could potentially support the rear top of the tent with a line going up to a tree. Has anyone tried this technique, or do you not think it would work? I'm looking forward to field experience reports.

I took this out on the AT in early July. It was basically what I was expecting. A bit clumsy to get in and out the way the door is set up. Wish there was a 2nd door at the back. Nice internal pouches shown in other pictures. Collects some moisture on the inside, but not bad. You can sit up inside, but there is not enough space for 2 peolple to sit up comfortably to play cards in the rain. The tent was very taut when we up on level ground.

I was very happy with the tent as it was a fully enclosed shelter and the bugs were really swarming. For the price, it is hard to beat for weight, for a fully enclosed shelter. I purchased this in may during an REI 25% off deal.

Has anyone tried to place the rear trekking pole outside, higher than the ridge line, and set the tent that way?

The rear of the tent is tapered, so there is no way to set a pole outside.

Nm

Hmm. I have a Bearpaw LaGarita that is made for a rear inside trekking pole and has a similar rear taper, but by setting the pole high and outside, running the guy up to the pole, hitching it and running down to a stake, the rear can be elevated.

i like the inside rear pole. it keeps "her" over on "her side", which, is where they belong. i go into a tent to sleep.
so i'm thinking one of these tents could be a Good Thing.

v.

Looks like they took your advice. https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/scoutplusul2 Considering getting one, really enjoyed the scout minus the flaws you pointed out.

I like that they brought the poles outside. That gives a lot of usable space on the inside. The weight is pretty nice too for a two person tent.

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/scoutplusul2

And only 12 stakes to put it up! Awesome…lol.

I would opt to only use 6 stakes and see if that would work.

Seems like it could be setup with 8 stakes if you extended the inner corner loops out a bit.