1st night in my MSR Hubba..mini review. :-)

[sirbingo]

After a lot of reading the "What is the best solo tent" threads, I decided to get myself a MSR Hubba tent.

It arrived on Friday and so of course I set it up in the back yard and slept out overnight in it. It poured that night so it was a good test. :p

I stayed totally dry. I like the design of the tent. Good quality. Nice and solid. I was able to sit up in it with no problem. Its as good as everyone says. Oh yeah, one thing I never heard mentioned is that the tent has a bunch of little loops on the inside to hang stuff from (you know...headlamp, socks, Rambo knife, etc.)

The cons... Yes it is narrow. But if it's going to be just me in the tent, then its just right. I did noticed that my hands and knees would sometimes touch the sides of the tent in different sleeping positions but it was really no big deal. Its cozy but definitely not cramped. - I'm 5'10" 185 lbs by the way. and the only other con is that the reach to open the rain fly zipper is pretty far. But thats because it has nice sized vestibule.

I paid $159 with free shipping. Definitely worth it.

:bse
Sirbingo

[Dirtygaiters]

Definitely agreed. It's a great tent in a lot of ways. I found the same drawbacks as you, though. The tent is quite narrow (seems they could have widened one end and narrowed the other end for no weight increase). The fly zipper would be better with two sliders (for venting at the top, but still retaining a vestibule). However, it's one of the only freestanding solo tents that I can sit up in comfortably, and it has full bug and rain protection. If they had a version using slightly lighter materials for the rainfly and floor, it would be even better.

[HeartoftheTrail]

Thanks for the review Sirbingo. I was actually looking to buy this tent and your review sealed the deal.

1 more question though, how warm were you tent wise, not counting your sleeping bag.

[sirbingo]

Hey HeartoftheTrail,

To answer your question... Not counting the sleeping bag I guess I was neutral...not cold not too hot. I did feel a slight breeze once come under the fly. I have a SD clip 2 that I would consider more "air-tight" than the Hubba. If you are looking for a tent to add more warmth to your surrounding area I would have to say there are probably better choices then the hubba...but then again I haven't tested it out in really cold weather.

Overall the MSR Hubba is an airy tent. but no where near as airy as a tarp tent. ...for me thats a good thing.

[Lilred]

did you find the gear pockets on either end of the tent?

[tcbonline]

I took advantage of that $159 deal too and snagged one recently. I set it up in my living room the other night. My initial impressions are much like yours in that I really like it, but I haven't had a chance to get it out in the field yet. But this is really the tent I was looking for. After dealing with an ultralight shelter which was made of much more delicate materials and also had a much higher fiddle factor, the Hubba is a welcome change. It's nice and solid and no fuss. At this juncture in my hiking experiences, I'm willing to sacrifice carrying a little more weight for a more no fuss, bombproof shelter. So I think the Hubba is going to be perfect for me. Maybe I'll give a report back later after I get some trail miles with it under my belt.

[Dirtygaiters]

HeartoftheTrail, My own experiences with the Hubba echo what sirbingo found. The Hubba is one of those few tents that, if I wanted to sleep in on a warm summer morning, I actually could do it without the tent turning into a sauna by 9 AM. I've used it in winter, though, and boy was it breezy. There's a combo effect of the rainfly not coming down all the way to the ground and the inner tent being all mesh. The wind goes right through. Bring a warm enough sleeping bag and it isn't an issue, but if you want something that's warm in the Hubba design, check out the Hubba HP. I haven't tried one yet (waiting for them to go on sale), but they look really good.

[ToyYoda]

is this where you guys are picking it up for 160?

http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/msr/msr-closeouts/msr-hubba-tent-closeout.html

[sirbingo]

This is where I got mine.

http://backcountrygear.com/

$159 and free shipping

It took one week to ship.

[tcbonline]

Yes I got mine from travelcountry. They shipped it out the same day I ordered it. Word of warning: if you order from backcountry, I would make sure you confirm their stock before you order. In my experience with them, I have found that the stock information they show on their website is not accurate.


is this where you guys are picking it up for 160?

http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/msr/msr-closeouts/msr-hubba-tent-closeout.html

[Wags]

worth mentioning here that backcountry also has the hubba hubba for $199