MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks

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!

MSR Hubba Tour 2 leaks
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?

Drip MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks
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.

Inside a tent MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks
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!

Broken toggle
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!

MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks
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!

Leaking tent MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks
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!

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13 Replies to “MSR Hubba Tour 2 Leaks”

  1. I’m sat I’m my new 2019 hubbahubba in rainy Wales, water is starting to come through the fly.. not happy..

  2. I bought a hubba hubba. Took it on an 8 day alpine summer trip in Tasmania – first 2 nights were very wet. The first night a little water came in but I wasn’t sure where from. The second night we were on a wooden camping platform, so were not in pools of water, but it was pouring,. The footprint and floor were still wet on the outside from the night before when they went up. Well everywhere you put pressure on the floor water just oozed through. If you knelt you got wet knees, put your hand down and you got a wet hand and could see beads of water in your handprint. We managed to sort of camp on top of our down mats and stay fairly dry, but the bottom of the mats were soaked.
    Luckily the next day was dry and windy, and we got to a campsite early enough to spread everything out and get it dry.
    Have not used the tent since. Have lost confidence in it. Thinking of getting a hilleberg anjan. We have a Nallo and it has stood up to much worse. (Same for our old macpacs – Olympus an minaret.) But it is heavier than needed for summer trips.
    Trudi

    1. Hi Trudi, sounds like you’ve not had a good experience with the MSR Hubba Tour either!
      It’s so frustrating when away camping and the main piece of equipment required for a camping trip lets you down!
      I found I was spending every night hoping that it wouldn’t rain and not getting much sleep!
      Hilleberg is an excellent choice they make some good reliable tents, I’m thinking of getting the Staika!
      Sorry I’ve taken so long to get back to you, I’ve only just come out of hospital.
      Hope you find a better tent soon.
      Regards
      Garry

  3. Wow, Amazing. Thanks for the info. I was looking at the Hubba Hubba nx with the gear shed to go to South America … now not so long, so clear … the last thing I would want is that water would enter on a stormy night.

    1. Remember this is the Hubba Tour tent not the Hubba Hubba I’ve not tried that one out in the rain yet!
      Good luck with you’re trip to South America that’s on my radar to do at some point!

  4. What a shame coz it’s a lovely lay out. You deserve better than that, especially after a hard days ride.How many times could you return it before they got the message? It must be so depressing in a wet tent.

    1. You’re right it is a real shame, as it is such a good tent! All I want is for them to sort out all the issues! But I am beginning to wonder if they will or even want to!
      Being in a tent when it’s raining is pretty satisfying listening to the rain falling on the tent, but then when you discover a leak it all changes, all of a sudden your moving and packing away stuff in a bid to keep things dry and now all you want is the rain to stop!

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