Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 Review: The Classic Tent

I bought my first Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 early in the spring 2004. Since then, I’ve used it on many Boundary Waters trips, long distance kayaking trips, biking trips, for backpacking and for car camping. I’m now onto my second one. When combined together, I’ve spent months and months under the canopy of this tent. When I first wrote this review in 2004, I had no idea that I’d have so much time in a single tent and be able to write this Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 review based on years of usage. I’ve parted ways with many other tents, but the Seedhouse is one that I’ve kept. As I update this review in 2020, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been using a Seedhouse for over 16 years!

Seedhouse SL 2 Description

The Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 is one of Big Agnes’ classic tents that has been in their lineup forever. I’ve had one since 2004. It’s a single poll structure that uses hubs for quick setup and to make it freestanding. Even though it is freestanding you should always stake out your tent. There’s a single door on the front of the tent at your head when you’re sleeping. It has multiple mesh pockets for storage.

The fly covers the tent completely For extra storm-worthiness, the fly attaches to the poles with Velcro. The new version has zippers on the side that give you access to the smaller side vestibules. There’s also a cool new 3D shelf above your feet for stashing gear. Although I don’t have an updated Seedhouse, we have this on our newest Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3. We love it!

Lightweight and Durable

Although weighing fewer than four pounds and built with silicone nylon (silnylon), the Seedhouse SL 2 is durable enough. While mine has a few holes in it, it wasn’t because of the quality. I’ve never used a tent footprint. The only reason that the floor has a hole is because I set it up on sharp rocks. A large branch fell from at least 40 feet above and ripped the rain fly. It hit the fly at just the right angle. I repaired both with Tear-Aid (I can’t recommend Tear-Aid enough for your emergency repair kit. It has saved my trips a number of times) and have been using it for years since the original damage. 

I did have to replace my 2004 version of the tent, because the seam tape on the floor ended up coming up. I sent it in for a repair and they sent a new one back to me. On my original tent, I ripped on the bug netting when my wife tumbled onto the tent while tripping. She ripped out a part of the zipper, which we sewed back up in the field. I don’t think we can blame that damage on the tent though.

Waterproofness and Condensation

Over the years, Big Agnes has updated the tent based on what I assume have been Seedhouse SL 2 reviews giving feedback. The original rain fly zipper allowed water to drip in. Big Agnes later fixed this with the addition of a flap over the zipper. In my second tent, it has never been an issue. In fact, I haven’t had any water leak in through the rain fly.

It is easy to get the inside of the tent wet though. When entering or exiting the tent during rain, the door allows water to fall into the inside of the tent. I found that I have to smack the tent to make most the water run down the front of the tent. Otherwise, the vibration of opening the zipper causes water to run into the tent. If I were to redesign this tent, I would change the vestibule door to a two-zipper design. Each zipper would run from the stake to the top of the tent. Then you could use trekking poles, paddles, etc … to hold up the vestibule door and become an awning. The redesign would be similar to what they did with the vestibules in the latest Copper Spurs.

The specter of condensation was held at bay even during hot humid Midwestern days in August. Although no matter where placed, in the morning there would be a good amount of condensation between the tent floor and the ground. Other than that there isn’t much condensation to speak of. The tent and vestibule are well ventilated. If there’s one thing I want to emphasize in this Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 Review is that the design is well thought out for ventilation.

Ceiling Media Pocket Is a Big Plus

One of my favorite features in the tent is the pocket above the door. If you put a headlamp in this pocket it points down into the tent and provides the right amount of light for playing games, reading books, or just organizing the maps for the next day. This pocket has changed shapes over the year. It used to be vertical and above the door, but they increased the size of the door and moved the pocket to the ceiling. It still would work well for the headlamp trick.

Zippers Are an Issue Again

In contrast to the great placement of the above-mentioned pocket, the zippers leave a lot to be desired. This has changed throughout the years. My original tent had this problem. My second tent fixed it, but on the recent version of this tent and the Copper Spur, the zipper issue is back. Here’s the issue:

The canopy door uses two zippers that meet in the lower corner. This makes several problems, the first of which is that the person sleeping on the left side of the tent has to fumble over the person on the right side in order to open the door.

The second is much more annoying: When opening the door to adjust the venting of the vestibule zipper, you have to open the zipper very widely. Basically, you have to open it from the bottom corner of the tent all the way to the top of the tent. This leaves a large opening in the door. If you adventure in areas such as Minnesota’s Northwoods during bug season, the door lets a ton of blood suckers into the tent. It is also hard to get the zippers to come together and close completely. It always seems like there’s a small hole between the two zippers. Somehow bugs manage to get into the space between the zippers. Had Big Agnes used one continuous zipper with two pulls the tent would have been much more user friendly and less bug friendly.

I don’t get why Big Agnes switched back to zippers of this design after having fixed this issue in the past.

Livability of the Seedhouse SL 2

The zipper would have been much more annoying, if the tent was bigger than it is. There is very little distance between the person on the right and the zipper on the far left. It feels tight sleeping with two people, so you better be friendly. Most of the time, I use this as a solo tent, but on those few occasions that I used it with a friend, we both agreed that we wouldn’t have wanted to be stuck inside during a rain day. That being said, it has enough room for two to sleep as long as they like each other, and it was a great size for one person. Just don’t expect to spend a lot of time inside sitting up or moving around if there are two people in the tent.

One of the new design features adds volume to the tent by including an additional pole across the top. I haven’t had a chance to test or write a new Seedhouse SL 2 review about the latest tent with that feature. It looks like it would be nice, because you’d get steeper sidewalls which should make the tent roomier.

The Set-Up

This tent uses a unique pole system to set up. The pole is a single pole with hubs at either end that split into two separate poles. The unique pole makes it easy to set-up, and when staked out with only 5 stakes, it is solid in storms. During many storm windstorms with the tent setup in wide open spaces, the tent doesn’t budge. The set-up and design continues to impress me, but by the end of the year, the poles on my first tent where starting to bend into a curved shape. I didn’t notice the bending on my second tent, but a client that I was guiding stumbled into my tent at one point and did end up bending one pole segment.

Conclusion to the Seedhouse SL 2 Review

Although, I have said a few negative things about this tent, I feel that overall it is a great lightweight tent and one of the best out of all of the under four pound tents. The biggest issue I have is with the canopy zippers that I wrote about above. I love the lightweight, the simple setup, the breathability and the ability to handle bad weather.

I recommend this tent for anyone looking for one of the best lightweight tents on the market. One of the reasons that I updated, added to and rewrote this Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 review is because the tent offers such a great value for anyone that wants to solid, light and reasonably priced tent for two.

The real questions is, would I buy one today? Probably not. The reason is that there are three of us now, so we take a Big Agnes Copper Spur HV SL3 camping. When going solo, I still use my Seedhouse SL2. If I were buying today, I’d look hard at the Big Agnes Tigerwall SL2 for solo travel. It’s 1 pound 4 ounces lighter and although not completely freestanding seems to be a reasonable compromise to save over a pound. It’s also has a two-inch lower peak height. It runs $100 more, which is a lot of money. I’d also seriously look at the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2. It’s 10 ounces lighter, a couple of inches longer but has a lower peak height. It has two doors instead of one and over twice the vestibule and steeper walls. It’s way more livable. It does cost $150 more and that’s a lot of money. Still, if I were buying for two today — and had the cash — I’d get the Copper Spur HV UL2. If I personally had the extra cash right now, I’d buy myself a Big Agnes Tigerwall SL2 (you can Venmo me the cash at @bryanhansel).

Overall, this is a solid tent. You won’t be sorry if you buy it. If you can afford the extra $150, you’d get a much better tent in the Copper Spur HV UL2. Still, I love this Seedhouse SL 2 and until I buy a Tigerwall, I’ll be using it for many more days.

Buy It: REI | Amazon

• Original Review: 10/16/2004
• Updated: 07/08/2005, 2/10/06, 12/1/2009
• Major Rewrite: 5/27/2020