UKH

Hello all, 

My partner and I have been idley discussing two person backpacking tents after a somewhat cramped three days in a Scarp 1.

We're hoping to spend 14 or so days on the GR10/11 next year and the MSR Hubba Hubba NX came up as an option after a visit to a tent show (😳 felt very middle aged and middle class there).

A quick Google though shows a number of reviews suggesting that the build quality on the latest lot of these tents is not up to scratch. The poles in particular seem to be singled out as poor quality. 

As I understand it, the older versions of these tents were absolutely bomber. Anyone got any experience with a newer one? 

Cheers for any input and off topic advice!

All the best, 

I've been thinking the same....I posted a week or so ago about lightweight 2 man tents. The reviews aren't reassuring enough for me with the Hubba NX....

A talked to a couple of people who have them, one said it's good, light and good features and the other said he doesn't like it, feels not too robust and wishes he'd saved himself £250 and bought something a pound or so heavier and had the spare money in his pocket.....

I really like my hubba hubba nx. Very light, packs down small, good sized vestibules, double doors and really spacious. One thing I like is that you can pull the outer fly all the way back from the door when you have a good view. Downside is they aren't very good in the wind. I think it is just down to the pole structure, not the tent in particular. If you look at the big agnes copper spur 2, that has a similar pole design, and also suffers in high winds. That style of pole system sacrifices wind resistance for a more spacious interior. I think it would be fine up to about 40mph winds, but I'm not sure I would trust it over that. 

I had one, it was good but the fabric perished and seams delaminated fairly quickly. I think I got about 5 years out of it

On that note I bought the msr elixir 2 for a 6 month solo backpacking trip in 2018 and it's still going strong now for weekends away, it's only a little heavier than the hubba but the fabric weights feel far better.

Thanks Jamie, I'll have a look at that model. Much appreciated 

I have an MSR Hubba Hubba NX, purchased around 3 years ago. Several other comments above ring true. It has an amazing amount of space for it's weight, but in order to achieve that some design compromises appear to have been made, notably the cross-bar pole at the top. The seams on the fly are delaminating where they stretch over the ends of the cross-bar. I've also had a small rip - easily repaired - in the fly near ground level. The sides of the fly do deform in moderate winds. So far the tent has served it's purpose well. I've used it back-packing in summer conditions, with heavyish rain, but no gales. It's light enough for back-packing as a single person tent, and very roomy as such. I don't regret buying it, though I might not replace with the same.

Martin

Sorry to hear reports of poor quality in recent ones. I've had mine 6 years or so and it is not showing any signs of wear. I would thoroughly recommend it. As others have said, it is not great in the wind, but mine survived a very windy night up on the Cairngorm plateau during my ML assessment unscathed. It just deforms a lot in high wind.

I'd just add that if you want a slightly more robust tent then the access is a fair bit stiffer. It's essentially a Hubba Hubba but with a cross pole that adds rigidity. I got one a couple of years ago and been pretty impressed with it, it's a fair bit more dear than the Hubba Hubba unfortunately and you need to factor in getting some guidelines (as with all MSR tents).

I've not heard great anecdotal stuff from the elexir with some friends having to return theirs after only a few nights out in it and some broken poles.

The Hubba Hubba HP is a bit more robust than the NX (prob same poles though) - and has a more fabric on the inner rather then a lot of mesh - so a bit warmer. A slight issue with both tents is that the flysheet could do with coming down a bit further - it has a 2 inch or so gap above the ground.  Ive had the HP for a few years now and been happy with it.

I did once get battered by a freak gust on Ben Nevis with a broken pole and rip in flysheet - MSR replaced all broken parts for free even though Id had it a few years - worth considering.

Steve