If you were to hand us a blank sheet of paper with the purpose of designing our ideal bikepacking tent, the resulting scribbles and sketches wouldn't end up being too far from the MSR Hubba Tour series. They have very clearly been designed by someone who actually uses them, and that is a breath of fresh air.
For starters they pitch all in one, with the main compartment poles on the outside. So many lightweight tents pitch inner first, draping an outer over only once the poles are complete and the structure in place. In pouring rain that means it is a race to stop your bathtub groundsheet filling up with puddles before you have even got in. Top marks so far MSR.
The main selling point to us however, was that roomy vestibule. Lightweight tents often compromise on comfort and space, so having this roomy porch meant we had room to store kit, cook when the weather was poor and have an area to strip off outer layers before getting into the inner tent. Half the area is even fitted with a sewn in groundsheet - perfect for sitting on when peeling wet kit off, or storing gear off the wet ground. We would happily cart around a few extra grammes for this really useful extension area.
These two features on their own would sell this tent to us ten times over but when you add the top quality construction, attention to detail and materials you really have a winner.
At 2.4kg and nearly £600 it isn't the lightest or the cheapest tent out there, but that price is worth every penny if you are planning years of use, and the weight certainly isn't a show-stopper - especially when you consider that extra useful space. Having a two man capacity also means you can split the tent down between you, reducing it to a much more manageable weight and bulk. Simply superb.
