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Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO Review

A good, high-end tent for the right crowd; some odd and potentially sizable flaws, depending on your intended use
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Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO Review
Credit: Backcountry
Price:  $600 List
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Manufacturer:   Big Agnes
By Wes Berkshire ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  May 3, 2019
73
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Comfort - 40% 7.0
  • Weather Resistance - 25% 7.0
  • Ease of Set Up - 15% 6.0
  • Workmanship - 15% 9.0
  • Packed Size - 5% 9.0

Our Verdict

Big Agnes discontinued the Titan 6 mtnGLO.
REASONS TO BUY
Great duality as a sunshade and tent
Spacious
Fits a specialized need
REASONS TO AVOID
High clips require tippy-toes or something to stand on
No way to set up the tent without a fly
Big Agnes is among the most innovative brands in the camping game. They strive to set the bar, lead the way, and change the game. While that often brings them accolades, sometimes that push to be different falls flat or misses the mark. That seems to be the case with the Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO. It's a high-end, high-quality tent; but you get the feeling that they were trying a little too hard to be new and different and didn't focus enough on what performs well and improves the current state of camping. Features like the fly doubling as an open-ended sun shade/rain shelter are nice in theory, but when you can't remove the fly from the tent, other issues arise. Or, a tent with a 74-inch peak height makes for a great, stand-up-and-walk-around kind of tent, but when clips are positioned at the very apex of that peak height, even tall campers may find themselves on their tippy toes trying to get it up. All told it's a bomb-proof and quality tent, we just found some of the features a bit head-scratching. It's a tent, much like the Eureka Boondocker Hotel 6, that strives so hard to be innovative that it becomes innovation simply for innovation's sake; or, in the words of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the Titan mtnGLO 6 may just be full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO is interesting. It's built to serve a more specific need than many of the other tents we tested. The unique and innovative features that Big Agnes seems to always bring to the table will impress some and disappoint others. The Titan 6 can be reasonably compared with the North Face Wawona 6, but not entirely. The tents are a similar shape/look and size. The big difference is that the Titan can't stand alone as a tent without the fly. The tradeoff is that the Titan does have the ability to act independently, without the tent, as a capable sun/rain shade. For some, this is a great feature, others will be annoyed that they can't get a little more light, wind, or starry night views. It's also worth noting that the large vestibule that enhances the performance of the Wawona is an extra add-on with the Titan 6 (as in, bump up that price another $180).

Performance Comparison


big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - the big agnes titan 6 mtnglo
The Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO
Credit: Berkshire

Comfort


With a floor space of 84 square feet, the Titan 6 feels plenty spacious, but we still wouldn't recommend a full six-person capacity. It could be done, sure, but you're going to be packed in and the art of getting in and out while crawling over and around multiple campmates could get old quickly. Groups of three to four, or families with smaller children, will fill out the Titan 6 just fine.

Two, large, double-zippered doors give you a wide berth to get your queen-sized blow-up air mattress in and out of the tent without having to do any of the inflating or deflating in the tent. Each door also has a moderate window that can be zipped down to help with airflow, or to keep an eye on your kids' and pets' outdoor pursuits. Storage inside consists of two good-sized pockets in each corner, one down low and one up high.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - windows on the titan mtnglo are adequate, but make you wonder why...
Windows on the Titan mtnGLO are adequate, but make you wonder why the zipper couldn't have been extended lower.
Credit: Berkshire

Finally, Big Agnes' signature, integrated mtnGLO lighting is a great idea. We wish there was more of it. The initial setup gives you one strand that runs left to right across the top of the tent, and that's it. Sure, it gives off light, but if you're looking to read a book, or possibly even play cards without squinting too much, you're going to need more. Don't worry though, you can always get more mtnGLO light strands, for a price. You can move the mtnGLO lights to suit your needs, which is nice. Again, we love the lights, it'd just be nice if the Titan 6 came with say, three strands instead of one.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - the integrated and adjustable mtnglo lighting system is a great...
The integrated and adjustable mtnGlo lighting system is a great idea, but the single strand it comes with simply doesn't produce enough light for such a large tent.

The fly. Where do we begin? First off, the standard Titan 6 mtnGLO only comes with the basic fly. It covers the sides nearly to the dirt and gives you just a small sun shade over each door. If you want a spacious vestibule, very similar in shape and size to the one that comes standard on The North Face Wawona 6, you'll be out another $180, and that vestibule is nice. Just like the Wawona, it extends out horizontally from the tent and needs to be staked, but once it's up you can keep bikes and camp furniture out of the elements, or just set up a couple chairs and a small table and enjoy your afternoon cocktail out of whatever the weather may throw at you.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - the titan 6 mtnglo is a transformer. one minute it's a tent, the...
The Titan 6 mtnGLO is a transformer. One minute it's a tent, the next it's a nice, spacious sunshade.
Credit: Berkshire

Moving back to the main fly that comes standard with the tent, the folks at Big Agnes have made the Titan 6 a bit of a hybrid. It's a tent that can also double as an open-ended sun/rain shade. Great idea. We can already see brilliant applications at music festivals and other larger group get-togethers where it's nice to have an open hangout spot that keeps everyone cool and dry. The problem is that the sun/rain shade uses the same pole system as the tent. What that means is that, to have the tent up, you have to have the fly up. There's no way to remove the fly to increase the airflow or get a killer view of the night sky as you doze off on a clear night. Sure there's a reasonable amount of space between the top of the tent and the fly, but it still doesn't give you that breezy feel you get in a tent that's fly-less.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - the tent clips into the exoskeleton/sunshade, meaning you can't...
The tent clips into the exoskeleton/sunshade, meaning you can't simply enjoy the Titan 6 mtnGLO without a rain fly.
Credit: Berkshire

Weather Resistence


The Big Agnes Titan 6 mtnGLO is a bit of a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde in this category. As it comes standard, the fly only covers the sides effectively. The polyester on the front is waterproof, but with minimal fly coverage, we still worry. The zippers are certainly not waterproof.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - while the fly covers the sides of the titan 6 mtnglo adequately, it...
While the fly covers the sides of the Titan 6 mtnGLO adequately, it leaves the front and back (the two doors) somewhat exposed.
Credit: Berkshire

Before we get too down on things though, unless you find yourself in a significant and sustained downpour, the Titan 6 should battle the weather just fine. The duality of the Titan 6 is also worth noting as far as weather is concerned. Without the tent up, the remaining sun/rain shade does open up room for people to wait out a passing storm or get some respite from an angry sun.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - sunshade? rainshade? whatever the sky is doing, the titan 6 mtnglo...
Sunshade? Rainshade? Whatever the sky is doing, the Titan 6 mtnGLO has you covered (yes, pun intended).
Credit: Berkshire

Ease of Setup


Setting up the Titan 6 is pretty straightforward. The poles are all color coded, with a six-pronged, double-hub pole that takes care of the top and sides of the tent, while two smaller poles come front to back (or door to door) to extend the other aspect. We had no problem figuring out the setup, and can't imagine even the most novice of campers struggling with it.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - figuring out how to set up the titan 6 mtnglo is pretty...
Figuring out how to set up the Titan 6 mtnGLO is pretty straightforward.
Credit: Berkshire

The one issue we found was that there is an absolute labyrinth of clips and the ones that cover the peak height of the tent are somewhat challenging to reach. We're used to getting the poles set in all the corners and then going back and attaching the clips. This approach got interesting when we got to the middle of the tent as we were straining over the rest of the tent and the tallest among us (at roughly 6') was up on his tippy toes to get those highest clips attached. Perhaps we just needed a different approach.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - reaching the top clips requires a little height (or a stepstool).
Reaching the top clips requires a little height (or a stepstool).
Credit: Berkshire

So we dropped the tent and tried attaching the middle clips before putting the poles into their corners (thus flexing them and creating the height of the tent). That worked, mostly. It didn't seem like the intended way to set up the Titan 6. It took some extra stretching and finagling to make it work. Shorter campers are going to struggle to set this tent up. The Titan can be set up by one person, but they'd better have a little length, energy, and ingenuity to spare. Two people can get it done relatively quickly in five to seven minutes, again, provided they can navigate the height issue.

Packed Size


This is one area that Big Agnes has a good handle on, pun wholly intended. The Titan mtnGLO 6 has a double-sided bag that splits in the middle like a travel bag for an expensive suit.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - the titan 6 mtnglo storage bag is split into two, roomy pouches that...
The Titan 6 mtnGLO storage bag is split into two, roomy pouches that make getting your tent back in the bag completely painless.
Credit: Berkshire

Each side is spacious enough to house either the tent or the fly, and elastic edges help to keep everything where it belongs. Between the two storage sides is a smaller slip bag for the poles. It's super simple but super effective. No need to get fancy when simple works. In the end, the two sides fold and buckle together and can be cinched down. The overall packed size isn't going to blow your mind, but it's a massive six-person tent, so to some extent, you have to expect a little bulk. What we appreciated as much as anything is that it's big enough to make fitting everything in the bag super easy, no frustrated cramming and stuffing, and yet it still won't take up more space than say the average small suitcase.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - all packed, the titan 6 mtnglo is about the same size as a carry-on...
All packed, the Titan 6 mtnGLO is about the same size as a carry-on suitcase.
Credit: Berkshire

Workmanship


As with all Big Agnes tents we've tested, the quality of the product is never in question. The Titan doesn't play around with shoddy materials, thin, flimsy fabric, or weak poles that will get bent in a light breeze. The DAC DA17 poles are thick, strong, and surprisingly lightweight. The ripstop polyester that makes up the majority of the tent (the floor is taffeta, a little thicker and more durable for doing battle with those pesky small rocks and tree roots) is strong and should hold up over time. Finally, Big Agnes has a reputable warranty and repair division that will help you with any unforeseen issues.

big agnes titan 6 mtnglo - big agnes poles are thick enough to hold up in breezy weather, but...
Big Agnes poles are thick enough to hold up in breezy weather, but surprisingly light, and the plastic clips slide on and off with ease.
Credit: Berkshire

Value


This one may sting a little. The Big Agnes Titan mtnGLO 6 is already one of the most expensive tents we tested. When you sport it out with the added vestibule and or any extra gear lofts or mtnGLO strips, you're looking at a major price increase, easily the most expensive tent in our test. It's a high-quality tent, and the duality is certainly worth some extra scratch, but only if you're truly enamored by both potential functions of the Titan 6.

Conclusion


The Big Agnes Titan mtnGLO 6 is an interesting tent, with some truly unique features, but some very specific applications and definite drawbacks.

Wes Berkshire