Originally Posted by
anotherbrian
I have a Fly Creek UL2, and while you haven't mentioned it as an option, I'd at least caution you to my experience with it (and don't know if it'll apply to the SH or CS). While it is fantastically light and compact (I bought it for lightweight [semi-ultralight] backpacking) for its features, it is advertised as being free-standing though in reality you need to stake/guy it out to get all of the usable space. While it isn't hard to do, at the end of a long day it adds hassle (and a tripping hazard :-) to getting it pitched.
While I've been considering using the Fly Creek for bike touring, I think I've decided I'll carry my ~20yo North Face Tadpole instead. While it's twice the weight [not heavy, just not verging on ultralight], it is completely free-standing.
The Fly Creek could be considered to be an ultra-ultralight. It only has one pole at the rear of the tent so it only has 3 pole contact points with the ground...2 at the door and one in the rear. The Seedhouse and Copper Spur are more traditional A-frame tents with 4 contact points...one at each corner. They have more poles and thus weigh more.
I, personally, would never leave a tent unstaked. I've seen too many tents kiting across campgrounds - including one of my own which
had been staked and guyed - to trust a 'freestanding' tent without someone inside it. Since you can't be inside them all the time, it's best to stake them down. Fishing a tent, sleeping bag, pad, clothing, etc out of a lake is no fun and makes for a very wet night
