MSR Hubba Tour 2

 

The MSR Hubba Tour 2 is one of MSR’s new tents for 2017, and it reminds Garry a lot of his old MSR “Velo” it’s what Garry has been searching for ever since his old MSR “Velo” simply wore out!

MSR Hubba Tour 2
MSR Hubba Tour 2

Garry see’s this new MSR Hubba Tour 2 as an updated version of the old MSR Velo with some significant improvements!

One major improvement is the ability to pitch the tent with the inner tent attached allowing the inner tent to stay dry even in the heaviest of downpours!

It must also be one of the lightest tents for its size weighing in at only 2.74 kilos.

The exoskeleton pole system on the MSR Hubba Tour 2
The exoskeleton pole system

The setup of the tent is also swift with MSR’s exoskeleton pole system, although Garry’s still not convinced of the longevity of these (time will tell!)

Pitching the tent is a case of pegging out the four corners assembling the exoskeleton poles, inserting the poles into the four corners, clipping the flysheet to the poles, assemble the single pole for the vestibule, inserting that into its sleeve and peg out, that’s the basic setup complete!

Watch Garry’s YouTube video

 

Because of the Hubba Tour 2’s lightweight, everything feels a bit delicate, the guy ropes are just like pieces of string, and the flysheet is very thin! So, to test the tent out Garry set off to the Isle of Wight for the night fully loaded as if he was going away on tour.

Thorn bike all ready and loaded to go away
All ready and packed to go away

It was a rather blustery day with the wind blowing at a steady 22 mph. Once at the campsite Garry was unable to find a sheltered pitch and was forced to camp in a rather exposed pitch at the top of a hill!

Setting the tent up in the wind wasn’t a problem, and as Garry has already said it is a quick setup. Because it was so windy, Garry put out all the guy ropes to add stability which as we all know you’re meant to do each time you camp, but do we if moving pitch each night?

Inside The Tent

Once the tent was up Garry unloaded his bike and found that there was plenty of room for both him and all his panniers.

Inside the MSR Hubba Tour 2
Plenty of room inside for both gear and people

Having the large vestibule means that if it has been raining and all your gear is wet, you can put everything in the lobby and keep the inner tent completely dry. It also allows you to get out of wet gear before entering the inner tent. It also provides somewhere to cook if the weather is a bit inclement outside, providing there is plenty of ventilation of course!

Cooking inside the MSR Hubba Tour 2
Cooking inside in inclement weather

The inner tent is an ample size with good headroom, and the two doors provide each person with an entrance, or if the wind changes direction in the night the other door can be used.

As This is the two-man version there is loads of room; however, for two people, it could be a bit cosy! (But as we all know if your cycle touring it’s always best to have a two-man tent for one and a three-person tent for two)

On the night, Garry was trying out the tent for the first time the wind got up and was gusting at more than 30 mph, but the MSR Hubba Tour withstood this and was unscathed in the morning, although Garry didn’t get too much sleep, at least the tent was ok!

MSR Hubba Tour 2
The MSR the morning after
Summary

In summary the MSR Hubba Tour 2 suits all the requirements of a cycle tourist! It has a fast setup, which can be setup while raining and still maintain a dry inner tent. There’s plenty of room to store panniers and bags. It has a square footprint which from experience is better for wild camping as it enables you to tuck away out of site more easily and it’s very light!
Now that Garry has found the MSR Hubba Tour 2 he’s looking forward to more adventure cycling and cycle touring in the coming months!

Now that Garry has found the MSR Hubba Tour 2 he’s looking forward to more adventure cycling and cycle touring in the coming months!

Read Garry’s latest review of the MSR Hubba Tour 2.

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10 Replies to “MSR Hubba Tour 2”

  1. Have you used the tent in heavy rain? The specs give low enough hydrostaric head so wonder how it would perform iif raining heavily and wind together.

    1. Hi Mary, I’ve not used the tent in heavy rain or wind together, but individually I have, and I had a bit of a problem with the waterproofing of the tent it leaked! In fact, it leaked so much so that I had to return it to MSR who replaced the flysheet! The leaks from what I remember were at the seams and not on the main body of the flysheet.
      And you’ve just reminded me that I’ve not had a chance to test it out since getting the new flysheet!
      I must admit that after experiencing the tent leaking, I’ve lost a bit of confidence in it!
      But saying that I still think it’s a good tent, as long as it stays watertight!

      1. Would be really interested to know if MSR have fixed the leaking problem. You’re not the first one to complain about it. It’s all that’s preventing me from getting one to be honest!

        1. Unfortunately not yet! They replaced the tent last year, but because of one thing and another I never got to use it again! But then when I used it this year it was still leaking! I’m currently waiting for a replacement flysheet!
          It is a real shame it leaks as it is a good design, but then it’s no good being a good design if it isn’t waterproof!
          I must admit I am starting to loose faith in it myself!

  2. Hey Garry, curious if you got the footprint to go with tent? and If so could you tell me if it covers the ground only under the inside tent or the entire area under the rainfly?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Stefano,
      Yes I did get the footprint that went with the tent but unfortunately it only covered the inner tent and not the entire inner tent!
      To get around this and cover the entire inner tent I brought the Pappa Hubba footprint which works just fine covering both the inner tent and the flysheet.
      I hope this helps you and answers your question.
      Garry

  3. Garry
    Did you buy the MSR Hubba Tour 2 because you usually tour with someone or just for the extra inner tent room?
    I just bought the Hubba Tour 1. I was initially a bit worried about how much room I would have but as all the gear is in the vestibule I think it s enough for 1 person and i’m a big guy, 6’3″ and still have a couple of inches at the head and feet end.
    Was frustrated as other then MSR’s own review there is little out there especially about the tour 1 version. SO thanks for your review. Will have to do my own but yet to use it in anger.

    1. Hi Phil,
      No, I usually tour on my own, I just prefer the extra room of a two-man tent, particularly when touring for a long time.
      Have fun with your MSR and I hope you get to use it soon.
      Garry

    1. It’s always a bit of a nightmare camping in the wind and I was a little unsure as to how strong the tent was, so that probably didn’t help either!
      As for the back, I was more concerned about being blown away!

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