View Full Version : six moons VS big agnes fly creek
cricket71
02-04-2012, 09:56
I recently discoverd a hole in my north face tadpole fly wich has now made me look into other tents. I've been looking at the big agnes fly creek and the six moons design tarp tents. I really like the idea of just using my trekking poles instead of having to carry tent poles, both designs are real lite but I was just wondering wich one is more durable. they both look to be of similar materials, the other thing I looked at was the golite shangrila 1 wich in a month or two will be sold with the no-seeum and flr attached so that was another option. Any opinions and experience with any of those would be appreciated.thanks folks;-):-?
Own both Fly Creek UL 1 & 2. Good tents for 1. Should be durable enough for Thru hike with a little basic care. However- they both work for 1 but the UL2 is too small for 2 people. Buy the UL3 if there are 2 of you. The listed weights for Big Agnes are 2 low, bring your scale to the store & weigh. Very easy to set up & no issues so far with condensation. I hear very good things about the six moons & have looked at them in the past. My wife & I are using a Go-lite Shangrai 2 for our thru-hike this year. She sewed 6 inches of bug netting around the bottom & will be sewing a Cuben 1.43 floor with a 5-6 inch bathtub. Should be under 2 lbs. & much roomier than my UL2. If you want to go lighter, look at Cuben Tarps, I hear good things about the Z-packs Hexamid. Finally, do not pay full price for Big Agnes, they always seem to be on sale.
https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/FlyCreekUL2
When this tent first came out I noticed that it doesn't have as many clip attachments to the main ridge pole as the orig. tent.
Another thing I noticed is that it doesn't have as much mesh (only the door has mesh to the bathtub floor). Not enough mesh for someone like me (a hot sleeper) in the summer, and, as I mentioned, fewer clips to pole probably means less stability in wind. Might be fine for a cold sleeper in a sheltered tentsite.
Orig. tent design (Seedhouse) - https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/ProductFinder/Tent/filters/58 for comparison.
swjohnsey
02-04-2012, 12:02
The BA Flycreek 1 is a decent tent, popular on the trail. Mine weighs 2' 2" without bag, pole bag and six stakes. Some folks don't like door on the end. Goes up fast, dry in heavy rain. Big enough for me and my gear but I'm 5' 9", 170 lbs. Look on eBay. I got one very slightly used w/footprint for $180.
Oh yeah, I also have a Seedhouse UL 1. Both tents have the same amount of mesh. The Flycreek has clips on the rear pole while the Seedhouse uses loops. The FC has a better pitch than the SH and is probably more stable in wind given same number of tiedowns. The SH UL1 is about 10 ounces heaver.
Less clips, less weight. Plus quicker to set up. Have not had them out in high wind yet but there are extra guy out lines included. No problems with condensation so far.
The BA Flycreek 1 is a decent tent, popular on the trail. Mine weighs 2' 2" without bag, pole bag and six stakes. Some folks don't like door on the end. Goes up fast, dry in heavy rain. Big enough for me and my gear but I'm 5' 9", 170 lbs. Look on eBay. I got one very slightly used w/footprint for $180.
Oh yeah, I also have a Seedhouse UL 1. Both tents have the same amount of mesh. The Flycreek has clips on the rear pole while the Seedhouse uses loops. The FC has a better pitch than the SH and is probably more stable in wind given same number of tiedowns. The SH UL1 is about 10 ounces heaver.
I copied and pasted the url for Big Agnes for both tents mentioned, and it looks as though the Seedhouse UL1 has a lot more mesh. Different years, maybe?
This year's Seedhouse uses clips. There is a lot of unsupported pole at the rear of the Flycreek. Might not be an issue except in very high winds, but the issue is staring me in the face, so I had to comment on it.
Tents for really rough weather have more tent to pole connections, and it was believed for years that a fabric to pole connection (sleeves) was superior, strength wise, to clips, but clips won out over pole sleeves due to ease of use (though they put more concentrated pressure on the underside (usually the coated side) of the fly.
Both the Six Moons and Big Agnes Fly Creek tents will last you a LONG time if you take care of them. I did my thru last year with the Six Moons Lunar Solo and love it. Had friends with the Fly Creek who loved it also. The price, weight, and one-pole setup sold me on the SMLS.
Drybones
02-07-2012, 21:48
Go to www.tarptent.com (http://www.tarptent.com) and view the set up videos. I have two of thier tents and am happy with both. Have the 2-person Double Rainbow (40 oz) and the new Notch solo (24.5 oz) I got for a thru hike. Almost bought a BA before I knew about Tarptent but when I set it up at REI it was too short for me.