REVIEW: MSR Access 1 Tent

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 UKC/UKH Gear 07 Feb 2023

Though it's designed for ski tourers, the Access 1's balance of solid weather performance, comfy living space, and reasonable weight also makes it a winner for four-season backpacking. Sarah Douglas tests it on a series of windy Scottish summit camps.

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 Garethza 07 Feb 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

What is the difference between this and the MSR Hubba? It seems pretty much identical apart from the poles perhaps and less mesh?

In reply to Garethza:

Hubbas are lighter and cheaper, but not as sturdy in the weather. I would say the Hubba is a UK summer and bridge season model, but not really ideal for the wintry end of spring or autumn. The Access is almost opposite, really quite winter-worthy for a lightish backpackable tent but not so well suited to full summer.

Poles: It's decent but unremarkable alu (Hubba) vs snazzy Syclone (Access). The pole design is also different: With the Access the cross-pole reaches the ground to give you a lot more lateral stability, whereas in the Hubba it's just a short overhead section to increase space at head height.

Inner: Hubbas are very meshy, which is great in summer but I can attest to it being draughty and cold in less-than-nice weather. Very little mesh in the Access. Without pitching them side by side (I've got both here) I'd say the fly comes lower on the Access too, which would be better for keeping wind out but less venty if it's hot.

Sure there are other differences but I think they may be the main ones.

 gooberman-hill 07 Feb 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Looks really, really interesting.

Does anybody know how many pegging points it has? I'm looking for something that I can peg out on snow with a max of 6 points (2 skis, 2 poles + 2 spare poles).

 phizz4 07 Feb 2023
In reply to gooberman-hill:

My Terra Nova/Wild County Voyager pegs out with three pegs, two on the porch, one at the rear. It gets used a lot when sea kayaking and pitching on a beach.

 gooberman-hill 07 Feb 2023
In reply to phizz4:

interesting - possibly a bit bigger and heavier than what I am looking for (a one person tent). I have an old Terra Nova Trisar -and this looks quite similar

In reply to gooberman-hill:

The basic structure is self-supporting, which reduces your absolute reliance on pegs. So you could use very few points, or quite a lot, depending on what you had to hand and the weather.

  • I'd say at an absolute minimum you'd need two - one to hold the porch out and one on the opposite side of the fly.
  • Use the pegging points at each corner too and you'd have six.
  • Then there's an intermediate point at each end of the fly, so 8.
  • Various guylines, generally useful, bringing you up to 10 or 12 or so.

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