skilsaw

I currently have a Marmot Eclipse 1 person tent.
While it is well made, it is too small to bring any gear in with me. This is not a problem, except when it rains. I like to retreat to my tent and wait out the rain in comfort.

I'm also looking at smallish 2 person tents to be used by me alone. This will give me adequate room for gear. The Huba Huba by MSR is a tent that interests me. Also the Huba Huba HP. Both tents get positive reviews except for the price. MSR charges a premium for their equipment, but I have never been disappointed.

Does anybody have a Huba Huba, or the HP model? What has your experience been with it? In this case, is it worth the MSR price premium?

chrisch

I have an MSR Hubba Hubba and here's my short review. It has plenty of space for a solo tourer and enough space for two tourers (as long as you're close). It packs light, is freestanding, has no guy wires (optional with heavy winds), takes minutes to setup and collapse, and has good sized vestibules. In short - I love it!

Below is a photo of my touring bike to give you an idea of the packing size. The tent is in the black bag on the rear rack.



I bought mine at MEC for $329 CDN, which I thought was reasonable since it costs over $500 in Switzerland. Good luck with the decision!

Northwestrider

I also have the hubba hubba, I like it. It has plenty of room plus a usable vestibule on both sides. However I think I would have preferred the HP model, but it wasn't around when I bought my tent. The HP has less mesh which I'd think would be better in the rainy area's I frequent. I'd also consider the Hilleberg Soulo, but at $550 it's a bit steep.

bhchdh 

The Hubba-Hubba was one of my dream tents, the others being from Big Agnes, but they are expensive. Check out some of the offerings from REI such as the Quater dome and the Half dome. They are not as lite but are alot less expensive, especialy on sale.

ocho

GoLite Eden1. Goes up in 2-3 minutes. Lighter than most anything mentioned, huge vestibule. The poles are the longest "piece" of the kit but they can go strapped to a handlebar bag or in a frame bag, ala the Revelate (formerly Epic Designs) Tangle bag. The Eden 1 runs about $299 most places. QBP is carrying them in their catalog so bike shops can order them if they are QBP customers and most are.

stringbreaker

+1 on the REI quarter or half dome.

fietsbob

+ if you get a tarp, you can have space for your gear under the tarp but out side your sleeping space.

After a while I just left my panniers on my bike , the tarp could serve as an awning over tent and bike,
or just draped over , as the bike cover..

Hoop tent I have, Stevenson, worked out well , in a pretty stiff breeze ,
the poles go in while the tent is flat on the ground,
Pulling Up and setting the stakes in the end is one motion,
then pounding in a couple more for the corners is securing it well.

It won't blow away like it may, while you are wrestling with inner tents,
rainflys and several crossing poles

Gale force winds off the North Atlantic, cycling along the West Irish coast
made for some 'Interesting' Nights, to say the least.

pivo!

gorshkov

+1 on the quarter dome. Good for solo, but enough space for two (plus gear in the vestibules) if you ever tour with a friend.

tanslacks

My 2 cents are this.. The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2. Unbelievable tent. Weight, space and ingenuity are above par. It is expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for here. I waited until backcountry.com ran a sale and got the tent for 320 dollars. I am 6'3 and had no trouble with space. My wife and I spent several days together in it too. All our panniers fit under the vestibules and when I camped alone, there was room for me and my gear in the tent. I can't say enough good things about it.

Ekdog

I use a GoLite Shangri-La 3. It's light and roomy. I leave most of my equipment on the bike, though.

Bubba Zanetti

I've owned my Hubba Hubba for about 3yrs now and believe me, this tent is about as tough as they come. Plenty of room for you and all your gear, 4 panniers, bar bag and a few more if needed. I purchased mine from REI for $299usd. If your an REI member, you'll receive a 10% dividend of your puchase at the end of the year, so thats like $270, now. I would recommend a footprint to protect the base but other than that, this is a great, lightweight tent for the money.

drmweaver2

I have an aversion to spending more than $150 on a tent. I'm pretty happy right now with a Eureka Spitfire 2 that I found online for $129 with free shipping.

While not free-standing per se, you can erect it in non-windy/non-rainy conditions with just 2 guy lines (front/rear) and 4 tent pegs to stretch out the floor. More than enough room inside for my Clydesdale-sized body and all 4 panniers. The only drawback is lack of a real/sizable vestibule.

I have augmented it with a 5'x9' Tyvek groundsheet courtesy of local residential-construction scrap piles - but I'd have done that with any tent.

skilsaw

Thanks. A good range of positive feedback. Also some good suggestions of different tents.

Philly Tandem

I own all three variants of the MSR Hubba tents, and like them all (1p Hubba, 2p Hubba Hubba, 3p Mutha Hubba). The 1p Hubba is great for bike touring, packs super-small and is very light. Not tons of room, as it's a true 1 person tent. The Hubba Hubba makes a really nice 1p tent with plenty of room to spread out. Still pretty small and light, but not quite as much as the Hubba.

I got them all on a closeout from REI two years ago for crazy-cheap prices, like $80 for the Hubba, $120 for the Hubba Hubba, etc.

Pscyclepath

One of my riding buddies has a Hubba Hubba that he's used for the past 4 years or so...very nice, easy and light to pack, and has given good service in all sorts of weather. When the rain fly started leaking during a taod-strangler last spring, he contacted MSR to tell them what happened and how could he get a new fly, MSR sent him a new fly, just like that.

When I started touring, I went down to the local outdoor shop looking for a Hubba Hubba. They were out of stock, so what I came away with was a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2. It's a little bit lighter, packs just a hair smaller, and goes up just as fast if not a little faster. The one drawback I see to it is that I like the side entrances for the Hubba Hubba a little better, rather than the single fron-end entry on the Seedhouse.

staehpj1

Good sales are a great time to buy tents. I would order a Hubba in a heart beat at that price. I have an MSR Fling (bought dirt cheap when they discontinued it). I have used it solo but wouldn't do that if I also owned a Hubba. The Fling is just right for two and kind of overkill for one, IMO. I am sure I'd feel the same way about the Hubba Hubba. I'd use it solo if I didn't own a light weight solo tent but otherwise no.

When I have used a two person tent for for solo travel, I still wasn't inclined to bring more in than what I need to sleep, clothes for the morning, and my handlebar bag. Since my handlebar bag has all of my electronics, maps, and reading materials I have never wanted for other stuff inside. The rest stays on the bike and I am not sure why I would want any of it in the tent. Much easier IMO to leave it all on the bike and ready to roll that much quicker in the morning. Packing up in the rain sucks bad enough when you keep packing to a minimum.

Food might be the one additional thing that I might wish I had inside on a rainy morning, but I make it a rule to never have food inside the tent. It isn't a huge hardship since I never stay in all day. Even if it rains hard, the longest I am inclined to stay in the tent is a couple extra hours to sleep in or read.

That said... All of that is just one opinion and if you really want the extra space the Hubba Hubba is a nice tent.

wheel

I like sierra designs
https://www.sierradesigns.com/p-128-vapor-light-1.aspx

I had this design pdf which is no longer.
I love it. 4lbs
half mesh half nylon *which blocks the sun
Freestanding is the only tent I want.
https://www.sierradesigns.com/pdf/pdf...ius_2_2008.pdf

zeppinger

I have a Sierra Designs Clipflashlight 2 that I got for under 200. Its not free standing but thats why its only 3.4 pounds. It takes just 4-5 minutes to put up and has more than enough room for one person, two in a pinch. Its the best tent for the price that meet your criteria.

rothenfield1

I agree that the Clipflash 2 would be a great solo tent for the price although I have no first hand experience with it. The lightest full-featured tents that I have seen are made by Big Agnes. Although, to save a pound, they sacrifice material durability, as all ultra-lights do. I think for a decently durable & light solo tent capable of providing enough livable space for one and gear, you can't go wrong with the REI Quarter Dome 2 for the price and the return policy. As a full-featured 3-season solo tent, I like the MH Sprite 1 which I use. There are niftier ones out there, but for the price, it is actually roomy enough to spend some time in without getting claustrophobic. https://www.mountainhardwear.com/Spri...efault,pd.html

nun

I have to put in a word for ultralights. I find the Tarptent Contrail to be just right for touring. 1.5lbs, packs small, single walled tent with a vestibule for gear and enough room to sit up. You're not going to throw a dinner party in it or take it up Everest, but it's good for 3 seasons

balto charlie

backpackingLight.com has more low weight tents than any other place I've seen. These guys have dropped their backpacking weight to under 5 lbs, yes under 5 lbs. I know each person needs to determine his comfort level but heck 10 lbs should be easily doable. Tents are often the heaviest article in the bag.
As nun suggested tarptents(made in US) are excellent and extremely light. LightHeartGear is also a very light double walled tent. Look at their Solo(silnylon fiber made in China weighs 24 ozs, Cuben fiber made in US and weighs 14 ozs!!). Another lightweight is Mountain Laurel Design, made in N. Carolina. There are other but their names escape me at the moment. Nowadays tents are going between 1-2 lbs. 4 lb tent are great but twice as heavy.

NeilGunton

I'm curious about the inverted 'U' shape door on the Copper Spur:

https://www.rei.com/product/764119

I usually prefer a 'D' shape door, because it gives you easy access to stuff in the vestibule by simply unzipping along the bottom edge. But it seems like with the inverted 'U' shape, you need to unzip almost the entire thing to do that. Also, when you unzip the door completely, doesn't it tend to flop into the dirt or otherwise get trodden on, since it's all now on the floor? It must work for you, just curious as to how you deal with this... the door is one of those often overlooked, but important usability aspects of a tent. I'm interested in the Copper Spur 2, because is is a good size and weighs less than 4 lbs.

I'm also looking at the REI Quarter Dome T2 Plus:

https://www.rei.com/product/787394

The T2 Plus is a bit longer than the standard T2, and I hate brushing the head and foot of a tent with my sleeping bag. Unfortunately it's out of stock at the moment, but it came back in a few days ago and went out again almost immediately, so I guess it must be popular!

I'm also curious about the effect of having all that mesh... is it a problem for blowing dust and sand into the tent, when you're in dry, desert conditions? How about rain splashing in? The new Quarter Dome design seems to get some positive reviews at REI, it looks attractive. REI's tents are an example of where an "own brand" really can stand up there with the best of the bunch - I have a Half Dome Plus 2 from 2003 and it's been great.

Neil

truman

I've got a 1/4 Dome UL2. No problems with sand or rain getting in. Too short if you're over 6 feet tall, though. I sleep diagonally across the floor to avoid touching the walls. And I'd prefer that the pole sections be 2-3 inches shorter, but I"m pretty happy with it. I love the extra space for changing clothes, waiting out rainstorms and organizing gear out of the rain/mosquitoes/view of strangers.

Bubba Zanetti

Just received my fall season REI catalog in the mail today. The Hubba Hubba is on sale for $260

JoeMan

If you can find an REI Chrysalis solo tent on Craig's list or ebay it's a great tent. I do not think REI stocks them anymore. Nice price and size. I have used it in Oregon in some heavy rains with no problems.