Test: Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2 bikepack

We had a Fly Creek series from the last series, and at the end of the article I mentioned a side-input version, and it was this version that I got.

I had intended to treat this article as a mere performance and test it over a longer period of time, but it turned out to be pointless, because I had driven a lot of miles with my predecessor, and to this day it serves seamlessly. Without fail. So treat this article as both a performance and a review. It’s the differences, it’s not so much different than the last version, and it’s more of an improvement that pushes this tent back a little bit further.

Weight first. The whole tent weighs 1.330 grams (weighed). That may seem like a lot, but take into account that this is the weight of the complete tent and that includes a solid waterproof cover. The cover was completely unchanged from the previous one. They are still part of the Velcro to fasten to the wheel, and both for handlebars and frame. All the seams are taped. With the packaging, it seems to me to be slightly supersized, and with a little effort you can compress its volume to very small dimensions. But I set off without this compression pack and tropico, and the bedrooms managed to get into an extra Acepac handlebar and I stuffed an iPad mini in there.

The tent poles are again 30 centimetres long, but there’s an extra shorter pole compared to the Fly Creek tent, I’ll mention it again.

The stakes are from DAC and are completely redesigned. They look firmer, considerably easier to handle and should be lighter. There are nine pieces in the pack.

Let’s go tropical. There has been a radical change here and that is the material. The new SDF (Solution Dyed Fabric) technology is used. And what’s the difference with the original material? The original production took place, as is common in the textile industry, with the material dyed after the weaving of the fabric. That meant the material had brighter colors, but the drawback was the heavy use of water, chemicals, and energy in dyeing. Things are different for SFD. The granulate from which the threads are made for weaving is first dyed before being processed into threads and woven. The result is a 50% saving in water use, and an 80% reduction in both carbon emissions and chemical use.

The downside of this type of dyeing is (certainly not for me) that the colour is not as pronounced as in the standard production process.

Let’s go, but for the important thing, and that’s the useful properties of the tent. As I mentioned earlier, I set off without a compression pack and used an extra satchel to store the pegs and sticks in a frame bag (this is due to the shorter length of the sticks).

After finding a suitable spot, I threw up the bedroom, straightened it out, and fixed the sticks first. The main support rod is folded into a T-shape, with the shorter side rods slightly arched. Anchoring the rods is simple, just insert the ends of the rods into the respective holes. It’s all in the moment. The bedroom is equipped with plastic hooks to attach the bedroom to a stick. You place the second, shorter rod on the main carrier and snap it into the plastic eyes. Using four pins, you tension the bedroom floor, flip the tropico, which you clip to the rods using three Velcro fasteners and clip three buckles to the ends of the main support rod. You don’t have to look hard to see if the tropico is rotated properly, because the buckles are, for ease of reference, color-coded. You clip the tropico with the remaining pins, drag the corners, and you’re done. Everything can be done, no trouble and a little practice, in ten minutes. The ends of the shorter rod don’t forget to insert the case in the tropic. These cases are, for better handling, fitted with loops. Bullshit that’s very pleasing.

The tent is slightly trapezoidal in shape, so watch out if you want to sleep in a tent in two people. Then I’d recommend mummy-shaped carimatums and definitely not rectangular. Ninety percent of me sleeps in a tent alone, so I don’t have to deal with this, and there’s more than enough tent space.

Stan has two entrances. You’ll find a helmet bracket with each one, and it holds reliably. The halls are somewhat smaller because of the weight savings, but the shoes, the cooking and the bags fit just fine, and my second foyer was still free. By the head you’ll find small pockets on both sides, a roomy pocket overhead with outlets for headphones or powerbank charging. The pocket is so spacious that I could fit an iPad mini (I took it to read a book) and it’s a better solution than the original shelf at Fly Creek, which tends to sag. At the bottom of the bedroom you’ll find a big, really big shelf. Here, there has also been a change from Fly Creek, and that is the solidity of this “shelf” and the spacious. I stuffed a puffy jacket, a cycle jacket, and there was plenty of room left. On the ceiling of the bedroom, you’ll find a couple of loops in which you can hang, say, a headlamp. In the trophy, you’ll find rather large handcuffs on the roof to hang, say, a towel and the like.

For one, room in the bedroom is plentiful; for two, it will be very close. If you’re going alone and on a longer trip I’d definitely recommend UL2, if you’re going for a night or two, I’d vote UL1.

The Footprint (an extra floor of thicker material) that I wrote about here can also be purchased for the tent. The floor of the tent is rather flimsy, but believe me, it is not flimsy at all. Fly Creek had traveled with me through Norway, Scotland, and many others, and I had never been able to break the floor and destroy it. In addition to its protective function, the subdivision has the advantage of allowing the tropico to be built without an inner tent. In short, you just take the tropico and the footprint, and within moments you have a beautiful and spacious tarp.

There’s one other thing I’d like to mention in the negatives at Fly Creek. By negative, I meant the absence of ventilation and subsequent condensation. I apologize and repent. There’s a venting, I just didn’t notice it. Big Agnes handles things a little differently than I’ve seen in other tents. The entrance openings are equipped with two riders. At first I didn’t understand the reason, and it wasn’t until I looked outside that I figured it out. The top zipper has a significantly larger covering lesion on the outside than it has on the bottom. I gather from this that if you need to vent, you can just unzip the top zipper to create a vent. It’s my opinion if you have another think or experience definitely write in the comments.

I’m glad there are still companies that are doing well, that their innovations are going to get better than worse. I’m looking forward to taking a longer, much longer journey with this tent. That is, if it’s even possible this year.