The 2-lb freestanding tent

Oneil, you made a very good choice.

Checking back in on this thread as I just spent three nights in the BA Copper Spur. Overall very nice tent. Quite a lot of impressive engineering and attention to detail. I really like the loft pocket sewn into the roof, it makes the most of otherwise wasted space. Great catch-all for clothing and the like.

One feature I did not see mentioned anywhere is the high bathtub floor. That is, the bottom 12 inches or so of the tent walls are solid, below where the mesh starts. I’m sure this was a balance between ventilation, condensation management, and keeping rain from bouncing in. It seems to allow adequate ventilation (even though it was quite dry as is typical in the Sierra), but it really offers a bit of privacy with the rain fly off.

I even pitched the ‘porch’ option in a couple of different ways, and it gave me enough shade to lay down outside the tent and get a nap with max air flow (too hot inside the tent at 2 PM). I thought that was cool.

Anyway, looks to be a good investment. Looks like the poles will fit inside the framebag on my bike without issue so this is a major bonus and deal-maker, that I can use this tent bikebacking as well.

One feature I did not see mentioned anywhere is the high bathtub floor. That is, the bottom 12 inches or so of the tent walls are solid, below where the mesh starts.

Only the lower 4-or-so inches of what you’re describing is the “bathtub floor.” That’s coated nylon. The additional fabric attached to it is uncoated (breathable), and is there to mitigate wind. I far prefer that design to all mesh.