Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 Platinium Verus Zpacks Duplex Thoughts

I haven’t used either, but are you sure you have the weight of the BA correct?

Outdoor Gear Labs reports the weight as 28 oz (not including stakes, here). BA themselves report 25 oz for “trail weight”, but trail weight does not include guy lines.

Also, what kind of a metric is cost per oz? What would be good? Low? Cheap and heavy? High? Grossly expensive, and perhaps still heavy?

I think the metric you care about is price per difference in weight between the two. In other words, if the BA costs $187 less, and weighs 4-7 oz less, is that worth it? Between $26.71 and $47.75 per oz?

Or, if lightening your pack is your goal, could that money be more effectively spent elsewhere?

Have you compared the floor space between the two? That might be a metric you care about.

I know I’m not answering any of the questions you asked, and for that I apologize. I camp out west, and only need netting for mosquito season, so I prefer modular systems.

Adam,

You maybe right on the weight being more, I have a BA fly creek 2 and its 36 oz. Last month if I remember correctly the platinium was only 6-8 oz. less, making it about 28 Oz. I’m trying to lighten my pack weight but don’t want to spend to much doing it. The duplex would lower my pack weight by 14-15 oz. depending on the stakes used.  I’m trying to figure how to get the most bag for dollars spend. I think the sf. of both tents is 27 or 28 sf floor space. The duplex has more height and vestibule space. It’s really hard to tell which tent I would be more comfortable in by looking at pictures. Wish I knew someone in my area that has one to see first hand what I like or don’t like about the Duplex. I love my fly creek other then getting out of it when I’m sore and hurting in the mornings from old age (lol) and bad back. Your idea of cost per oz of weight saving seems like a better approach BA=$68.60 per 6 oz. or $40 per 15 oz. duplex if I did the math right. Thank you Adam!

John, we just bought a duplex and came from a regular FC2. First I would agree with Adam that your probably not going to come in at 22 ounces with the platinum.

As far as durability the CF might be a little more delicate but probably not much. The FC2 is pretty delicate and the platimum more so. Much of that depends on how rough you are on gear. The materials themselves are not apples and apples so you have to look at the longevity reports to see if they jive with your expectations. If the duplex actually does last the equivalent of an average thru hike I will be thrilled. I also don’t know what the longevity of our BA tent would be. I guess that would depend on how good their fabric coatings are in general. As far as quality of build I would rate them both very good so far.

Now when discussing livability the duplex comes in far above the FC2 . The wife and I are about 5’8″ and the duplex is a palace in comparison. Where the FC had barely enough room to squeeze in sleeping gear and emptied packs at our feet the duplex has a ton of usable space at the head, foot and above. It offers plenty of room for sitting up, all our gear comfortably inside and the two side doors are sooo nice for rolling out of the rack. The only drawback to the extra room is that I can actually misplace stuff inside :)

The duplex also beats the FC hands down in set up. I pitched it once in the back yard for kicks before our first trip and was amazed at how easily it goes up. Much faster than the double wall with poles. On our first trip with it we were pitching it in a fraction of the time of the FC. Its so easy its like cheating. Now if you have some bad staking conditions it would be more time consuming gathering rocks or other anchoring materials.

One concern of ours was the size of the footprint. The FC is great in the tight spots but we were able to pitch the duplex in a couple challenging spots with no problem so that’s a non issue for us.

Packability goes to the duplex as well. One piece fold and roll and your done. No breaking down and stuffing poles, one piece instead of 3 and one less stake to carry. Yes cuben doesn’t pack as tight but comparing the volume of the two mentioned shelters they are about the same in.

Where I feel this shelter will really shine in comparison is setting up in the rain. Much easier to pitch the duplex than setting up the FC in reverse. Condensation is a concern of ours but the duplex vents so well with all the door options it may be more of a fear than reality.

When getting back into the sport we started with the FC and I have no regrets as it was decent shelter had at a great discount which allowed me to purchase a lot of other great UL gear. At the time I didn’t give a hoot about the limitations as it was a fairly light shelter split 2 ways. Now that the wife and I have renewed our commitment and love of BPing the added expense of the zpacks shelter is proving well worth it. Time will tell but so far the comparison is not even close.

I have not used or seen a duplex, so I cannot comment on it.  I bought a Fly Creek UL2 a while back and did some backyard tests on it, before returning it to REI.  I am a stocky 6’1″ with huge feet, so I was looking for something with a little more room.  After setting up the UL2, I found that it felt far less spacious to me than my Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo.  It helped me remember how annoying a front entry tent was (hearkening back to the days of my Tarptent Squall 2).  I also was leery of the material.  No real world experience with it, but the material felt flimsy to my hand.

I am currently happy with my SMD Lunar Solo.

I have both the Duplex and UL2, though not the platinum version.  What others have said is true, but what I really like about the Duplex are the side entries.  It’s much easier to get in and out of, plus it’s much easier to access items.  The UL2 is front entry, so if something’s at the back you have to crawl all the way in to get to it.  And most items will be in the back because you don’t to crawl over them when you exit.  With the Duplex if it’s warm out it’s easy to open up both sides and let the air flow through and not have to worry about dew or rain.  And with both sides down you get excellent views from within.  With two people in the Duplex, either person can easily exit and get back in and slide sideways into their bag or quilt.  With the UL2 and two people you have to slide from the top of the bag or quilt so as not to wake the other person, which for me is much harder as I’m tall.  For me, the Duplex has much more flexibility regarding setup and ease of use.

Jim, Mike, Ken,

Thank you, Jim you missed your calling, I bet you could sell the Brooklyn Bridge. You sure sold me on the Duplex over the BAP.

Mike, you are so right, I’m 5’10 and getting out of the FC is a nightmare. Crawling thru a 28 inch high opening isn’t fun. I have size 9 feet and the low end doesn’t bother me.

Kenny, You made some great point about the flexibility of the Duplex, My grand sons will be hiking with me soon, so I will have room for the little people too.

Happy trails!

John

I recently got a Duplex and took it out for two weeks in Montana and Idaho.

Love the shelter – it’s about as perfect a shelter for what I was looking for.

One tip – the Duplex has small pockets at each end of the tent (inside) to put things in. Put things in them. And make sure those things have a bit of weight. I found by doing this, the ends would drop down a bit, allowing more airflow than having nothing in the pockets.

Doug brings up a good point. Those pockets also have a piece of thin elastic cord attached to the wall of the tent and for the exact reason Doug stated I unclipped it so it is not pulling the ends of the tent up, pinching off the air flow. Weighting them with heavier items of course gives the same effect. I just didn’t have enough smaller items to get there.

John, didn’t mean to sound like a salesman :) although I have done just that in my jack of all trades career. Just passing along the favor folks did for me here. If you end up pulling the trigger on a duplex, enjoy!

“I unclipped it so it is not pulling the ends of the tent up, pinching off the air flow.”

Why is it the obvious solutions often escape me? Thanks Jimmy!

John, didn’t mean to sound like a salesman :) although I have done just that in my jack of all trades career. Just passing along the favor folks did for me here. If you end up pulling the trigger on a duplex, enjoy!

Heh, there’s nothing like getting a thorough run-down from somebody who’s actually used them both. I’ve only seen a FC2 set up at REI and my first thought was “That’s a 2-person tent?”

And the whole cost-per-ounce comparison is really irrelevant for UL because in just about every instance those numbers are going to be inversely proportionate.

Now, for 2 really big people I’d also consider the SMD Lunar Duo. I was thinking of getting one for when I backpack with my 6’4″ friend John, so fellow BPLer Kevin Babione graciously set up his Lunar Duo for me to inspect.and I’ve gotta say that thing is huge for 2 people — Jimmyb and his wife could shoot hoops in there. :^)

i’ll second the anti-FC crowd. I had one and thought I really liked it – until I got really, really tired of trying to reach the zipper of the fly, getting into/out of it, setting it up in the rain and getting the tent itself wet…..

I really wanted a front-loading tent for CharlieDog and I – but I just can’t do them anymore.

You guys are making me want to get a duplex!

 Prior comments/opinions of this subject

If you don’t use trekking poles and like a free-standing shelter consider the Big Sky Mirage 2P. 2 person, 2 doors, 2 vestibules (sp?), and truly free-standing if the doors are rolled back.

Jimmy,

I agree with Bob, there is nothing wrong with an informative and thorough perspectives based on experience. That’s what I look for on BPL. I don’t want to relive the pass regrets of buying gear that’s sitting in the corner of my living room serving no purpose. My favorite piece of gear is a small REI pack towel. I’d like to be able to say every piece of gear in my pack is my favorite. The best for me gear!

I’d like to thank everyone for their input, I’m made my decision to buy a Duplex. Thank you all

John

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the Duplex. I’m going to echo what many others have said…

I own a BA Fly Creek2 HV and a Triplex. I liked my BA quite a bit as it’s a great tent for me solo but even when I have just my 55lb dog I don’t take it as it’s just too narrow and I end up with the slopping wall right in my face. Add in that the interior gets wet when it’s setup in the rain and it hasn’t seen much use since I got a Triplex. I also like that with cuben you don’t get the sag. I didn’t really think much of that until pulling into camp after a long day, pitching my tent, eating right out the door and then falling asleep and never having to re-tension on a very windy night! The Triplex is so incredible for camping with 2 and a dog (or even 2 kids, 1 dog and my 6’1 self!) that I’m planning on replacing a couple other tents with a duplex.

I will mention that I’d strongly suggest the .74 CF. I tore my .51 stuff sack so easily I was doubly happy to have “upgraded” to the heavier duty CF. I’d also suggest getting the carbon rod to pop up the end, it makes the tent much more livable (reading a book without it can be a bit claustrophobic).
Good luck with the Duplex, I think you’ll enjoy it!

O.K. just to be contrarian: I like the BA fly creek ul1. If you travel solo, in expected good weather, and then it pours or is windy, it’s bomb proof. The double walls keeps it from misting, and the integrated bathtub floor keeps flooding or pooling water at bay. In those conditions I’m in my tent and happy to be dry. Granted, I don’t care much about interior room.  I find the front entrance to be not even a nuisance. I mean, I get in and out in six seconds.

That said, my Solomid is palatial by comparison and lighter as well. Easy to sit up in and move around. Line locs make for a taut set up that doesn’t need tensioning if it rains. But mine is the old style with a beak that worries me in high winds. And it mists fierce in sustained downpours.

I have both. The BA is a very storm proof shelter you crawl into and lay down in. The Duplex is a palace you can sit up in with a front and back door with a view. I prefer the palace.

I’m only in my tent to sleep–or to lie down to read a book for an hour in the afternoon. Or if it’s raining. Then, in any tent, it’s zipped up and I don’t have a view. I try to avoid rain and will cancel a hike if multiple days of rain are in the forecast. SO: what I really want is unexpected rain and wind worthiness. If the forecast is sketchy I’ll take the FC ul1. If not, I take the Solomid. But I’m a nervous type; everyone reports that the Solomid is fine in rain. I’m still worried about high winds in this shelter though.

I bought the FC 2 as I wanted a ‘free standing’ light option to compliment the Duplex. However I am selling it without using it, not because it’s not a really great tent, but because the Duplex just does everything better for my needs. The only time I have had an issue with the Duplex set up was on these truly weird convex artificial grass camping ‘pads’ in the photo. I’ve just had the Duplex upgraded with the flex option and this is just brilliant – free standing tent for 2 under 1 kg with no issues getting the inner wet in the frequent rain here in NZ. Hugely impressed with the team at Zpacks – just over 2 weeks turn around including shipping to and from NZ which is the best part of a week each way – legendary!