Garry McGivern’s Travelsonabike2 MSR Hubba Tour2 Leaks YouTube video was posted on his YouTube channel on the 25th of May, 2018. Garry brought his new MSR Hubba Tour2 tent in February 2017, which he thinks is a superb tent. However, he has had issues with the waterproofness of it ever since the first time it rained!
Inside the wet MSR
Now, after 15 months and three new tents later, Garry has had enough of the poor quality and design flaws of the MSR tent, so he’s made a video to highlight the problems!
Garry also wrote an updated review of the tent, which you can read by clicking here.
You can watch the video below or on Garry’s YouTube channel. But honestly, it won’t be any more enjoyable wherever you watch the video! You can also subscribe to his channel. You’ll then be amongst the first to know when Garry releases a new video. Or subscribe to Garry’s emails and receive all of his updates.
MSR Hubba Tour2 Leaks Video
Subscribe to Garry’s YouTube channel.
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Well, it’s been 15-months since I purchased the MSR Hubba Tour 2 tent, so I thought it was about time to write an updated review of the tent, it leaks!
As I said in my previous post, II was excited when the MSR Hubba Tour 2 was released! And saw it as the long-awaited replacement for my old MSR Velo. And immediately bought one! But a replacement it certainly isn’t, it just doesn’t even come close! The tent doesn’t work!
One of the leaks in the front vestibule
I’m not too sure whether MSR tested this tent, before releasing it! But if they had, I’m sure they would have worked out some of the major flaws with the tent, for themselves!
After enjoying a few nights away in the new MSR Hubba Tour 2, without any problems, I was enjoying my new tent. Okay, it all felt a bit flimsy, and the fly needed tightening a couple of times, before settling in for the night! No matter how tight the fly was, as soon as the temperature dropped, the fly dropped! Once the fly had sagged, condensation would then drip in! Maybe that was the un-doings of the tent, over-tightening the fly?
With the inner tent touching the outer tent water then drips into the tent
And yes maybe there wasn’t enough room between the inner tent and outer tent. And no matter what I did, they always touched, causing condensation to drip in! But I was prepared to put up with these. As I said, I liked the layout of the tent, it suited my needs perfectly. And has a well-balanced space to weight ratio.
The inner tent touching the outer tent
The Inevitable
But then the inevitable night came when it rained! No problem I’m in my new tent everything will be fine! When the morning arrived, I noticed that there were one or two wet patches in the corners of the inner tent. There was also some water in the vestibule. But I decided to put these down to condensation. After all my tent was only a couple of months old and had only been out a handful of times there was no way it could be leaking, could it?
The following night came, and once again it started to rain. I must admit I was a little apprehensive and nervous! After finding the pools of water this morning! Then, my worse fears came true, water was pouring in! Through the corners of the inner tent, and the corners of the vestibule! To say I wasn’t happy was an understatement! The new MSR Hubba Tour 2 leaks! The tent that I had waited years for was leaking like a sieve! And to top it all one of the toggles that attach the inner tent to the fly broke! I wasn’t happy!
The broken toggle
Customer Service, What Customer service?
After returning home from my trip, I wrote to MSR explaining the situation. Once I’d eventually found an address to write to! The reply I got back, was somewhat god smacking, and not what I’d expected! I was practically called a liar and told it must be condensation, as nobody else has complained! As you can imagine, that got my back up! What sort of response was that? Terrible customer service on MSR’s part! To be told I’m lying? Especially after I’d sung the praises of the MSR Hubba Tour 2! It felt like a kick in the teeth!
Rain dripping in from one of the toggles that attach the inner tent to the outer tent
Eventually, after a bit of communication, MSR agreed that I should send the tent to them (at my expense) so they could test it. After a few weeks, I got word back that yes, the tent was faulty and they would replace it. But, they didn’t have any in stock! I asked if I could have the old one back as a stop-gap, but that had been thrown away! My new tent eventually arrived a month later. But due to one thing and another, I never got to use it this year.
April 2018
Roll forward to this year (2018) and the start of the camping season and yes you’ve guessed it, on my first night out in the rain the new MSR leaked and even more than the old one! Although one good thing the inner tent seemed to stay dry this time! It was, however, leaking in the corners of the vestibule and this time above the vestibule door; it poured in through there!
The leak around the main door
A New Season
Roll forward to this year (2018) and the start of the camping season. And yes you’ve guessed it, the first time it rained, the tent leaked like a sieve, even more than the old one! Although one good thing the inner tent seemed to stay dry this time! It was, however, still leaking in the corners of the vestibule! But now there was a new leak, above the vestibule door; it poured through there! PHOTO
Whoever passed this tent off for general sale should be fired, was it not tested in the field first? (If you’ll pardon the pun) It’s not waterproof! The seams leak, the fly stretches too much and sags! There’s not enough space between the fly and inner tent. Allowing them to touch no matter what you do! That, in turn, enables condensation to drip into the inner tent! And as for the fly screen on the vestibule door, why? It serves no purpose! Yes, it keeps fly’s from entering by the main entrance, but with no fly screen on the vents, it’s useless! I know I’m not the only person who has had problems! Do these issues not get passed on to production? If they want to contact me, I’d be more than happy to help!
Profit First
Does MSR not care about the quality of their equipment anymore? I’d read one or two disparaging reports about the MSR Hubba Tour tent but chose to ignore them as I am such a big fan! But you can only push somebody so far! What has happened at MSR? Their equipment used to be robust, reliable and long-lasting! Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case with the MSR Hubba Tour 2 tent!
Although my main problem with the MSR Hubba Tour 2, is that I want it to work! I don’t want it to fail! I think it’s layout and design are excellent and ideally suited to cycle touring! But the reality of it is that it’s not fit for purpose! And after defending the tent for the past 15-months, I feel I can no longer!
As I said earlier the “MSR Hubba Tour 2 a brilliant tent as long as it doesn’t rain!” I have since received another replacement fly, which like the previous ones still leaks!
As of May 2018, I’m awaiting for another response from MSR!
Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in England on Friday, 11th-May-2018. Adgestone to Bognor Regis. 38 miles. Seeing as there was no rush this morning, I decided to use the phone to navigate a different route from the campsite to the ferry or, rather, the Fastcat. And I certainly did go a different way. It took me way off the beaten track through housing estates and across fields! All good fun!
My route across the fields
Once off the island, the ride home was hard going. And what normally takes me about two and a half hours took nearly four! There was a strong headwind, and because my hip was hurting, I stopped at every opportunity!
Beach near Ryde
Despite the struggle home and cycling across fields, it was still an enjoyable day.
On the Fastcat
But I think now is the time to get this hip sorted; everything is becoming too painful! After all, I was told it would all be done and dusted within 4 months. That was 6 months ago now!
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.
You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.
The Quad-Lock stem bar mount is used to mount Garry’s phone onto the stem of his handlebars, simply twist and lock!
The phone is attached to the Quad Lock with specially adapted phone cases which you can get for all popular phones. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one that fitted Garry’s phone! Not a problem you can buy a separate universal adapter to stick to the back of the phone case.
The adapter stuck on the back of Garry’s phone
Its position right in front of him allows him to see any incoming calls and it’s quick release system allows Garry to answer them before they ring off, even with gloves on it’s easy to release! Pull down the locking nut and twist to lift off!
The Quad lock has proved invaluable when Garry wants to use his phone as a navigation tool. No more having to try and ride along holding the phone in one hand and steering with the other, hoping he doesn’t have to brake suddenly!
The Quad Lock attached to the bar stem
The quick-release system also works well when Garry wants to take a picture; it’s there right in front of him! Not buried somewhere in the bottom of his bar bag and once again it’s quick and easy to release.
The Quad Lock stem bar mount is an invaluable piece of kit for any cycle tourist.
