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MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Two Person Tent Review

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX is a highly refined and comfortable two person tent that is easy to set up

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 is a great tent for two people. It’s incredibly easy to set up, lightweight, and has two doors so you can come and go at night without disturbing your partner. Nearly freestanding, the pole configuration creates an interior space that has near-vertical walls, providing excellent interior space and livability. With a trail weight of three and a half pounds, the Hubba Hubba is lightweight enough for backpacking use when shared by two people, but on the heavy side if used by one. Still, MSR has done a fine job designing this tent, which should definitely be on your shortlist if you’re looking to upgrade to a spacious and comfortable lightweight two-person tent for backpacking and camping.

MSR has renamed this tent and updated it so that it is much lighter weight. Visit the new MSR Product Page or check out our latest gear review of the new Hubba Hubba 2. Many retailers have started discounting the older models: the Hubba NX1, the Hubba NX2, and the Hubba NX3 with discounts up to 30% Off so this is a good time to pick one up at a discount. While they’re a little heavier than the new Hubbas, they’re still superb backpacking and camping tents.

Specs at a Glance

  • Minimum weight: 3 pounds 4.6 ounces (without stakes or stuff sacks)
  • *Trail weight: 3 pounds 6.6 ounces (including 6 stakes)
  • Product weight: 3 pounds 11.3 ounces, including all components.
    • Poles: 14.8 ounces
    • Rain fly: 18.9 ounces
    • Inner tent 18.9 ounces
    • Tent stuff sack: 2.7 ounces
    • Pole sack: 0.5 ounces
    • Tent stakes (10): 3.46 ounces, MSR needle stakes; minimum 6 stakes required
    • Tent stake bag: 0.1 ounces
  • Floor fabric: 30D ripstop nylon 3000mm Durashield polyurethane & DWR
  • Fly fabric: 20D ripstop nylon 1200mm Durashield polyurethane & silicone
  • Number of doors: 2
  • Style: Semi-freestanding

MSR Hubba Hubba NX Tent

Comfort
Ease of Setup
Weather Resistance
Durabilty
Weight
Packed Size

Well Designed

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX is a great tent for two people. It's incredibly easy to set up, lightweight, and has two doors so you can come and go at night without disturbing your partner.

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Tent Set-Up and Design

Setting up the Hubba Hubba is amazingly easy to do. It comes with one many-segmented tent pole that has two end hubs and a roof cross-piece, that unfold to form an exoskeleton for the inner tent. Each corner of the inner tent is attached to a small piece of metal hardware with a hole drilled into it on one end and a webbing strap attached to the other, which is used to stake out the tent.

The tips of the tent pole slot into holes in the corner guyline hardware.
The tips of the tent pole slot into holes in the corner guyline hardware.

The tips of the pole slot into these holes, easy-peasy, forming a curved arch that you attach the inner tent to using plastic clips. The roof cross-piece, which is attached to the long multi-segmented pole so it can never be lost, clips into two other plastic connectors above the inner tent doors. This long multi-segmented pole is a bit bulky to pack however and is best stored on the exterior of your backpack rather than inside if you are short on space.

It goes up really quick and you don’t even need to read the instructions really to figure it out. Those too are attached to the stuff sack that the tent comes in so you can’t lose them…”dumb-proof” for you guys who ignore product documentation.

Drape the fly over the inner tent...
Drape the fly over the inner tent…

The outer fly drapes over the exoskeleton frame, with color-coded corners in grey and red, so you match the fly corners in the right orientation.

The corners of the fly are color coded and also have metal clips at the end, which fit over the ends of the pole tips, on the underside of the corner metal hardware.
The corners of the fly are color-coded and have metal clips at the end.

The corners of the fly are color-coded and have metal clips at the end, which fit over the ends of the pole tips, on the underside of the metal hardware where the pole tip sticks out. Once that’s done, you can stake out the corners and tighten the webbing straps on the inner tent and rain fly to tighten up the pitch. You don’t technically have to stake out these corners (this is the part of the tent that is “freestanding”), but it’s the only way to secure the tent to the ground in wind and to reduce the slack fabric in the structure.

Fast Fly Option without a footprint.
Fast Fly Option without a footprint.

Fast Fly Option: It’s worth noting that you can just pitch the fly without the inner tent on the Hubba Hubba NX using the pole and the clip system described above. This means you can set up the fly first and the inner tent second to prevent the tent interior from getting wet, although you have to be a bit of a contortionist to do it. Still, it’s a substantial improvement over other tents that require that you buy and carry an additional footprint for their fast fly options, including the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 Person Tent.

The Hubba Hubba NX requires a minimum of two tent stakes for teh vestibules although you'll normally want to stake out the corners, requiring at least four more
The Hubba Hubba NX 2 requires a minimum of two tent stakes for the vestibules, which are most definitely not “freestanding”.

Once that’s done, you can stake out the tent vestibules (the part that’s not “freestanding”, despite what MSR claims.) The Hubba Hubba NX 2 requires a minimum of two tent stakes for the vestibules although you’ll normally want to stake out the corners, requiring at least four more. There are additional guy lines over the vestibule doors that you can stake out to give the tent additional stability in wind, as well as window vents at the end of the tent that helps with the airflow.

MSR has also added “rain gutters” to the vestibule doors that are designed to keep rain from dripping on you when you unzip wet doors. These gutters are simply extensions to the fabric flaps that cover the vestibule zippers and help channel the flow of water running down the fly fabric away from you. More importantly, the zippers in the vestibules are oriented to run along the sides of the tent and not down the middle of the vestibule, making it easier to get in and out of the tent without having to crawl over your gear or brushing against a wet door: more evidence of how well this tent is designed.

The floor of the Hubba Hubba NX is rectangular not tapered providing more interior space.
The floor of the Hubba Hubba NX 2 is rectangular not tapered providing more interior space.

Livability

The Hubba Hubba NX 2 has two doors, which I consider essential in a two-person tent if you intend to use it with another person, so you can get out at night without waking your partner. Some people will argue that two doors are a convenience and unnecessary extra weight for a tent you just sleep in at night, but I’m not one of them. I drink a lot of water during the day when I backpack and…I think you get the picture.

The interior of the Hubba Hubba is not tapered at the ends, but rectangular, giving the inner tent a very spacious feel. The ceiling is high enough to comfortably sit up in (34″ at the ends and 40″ at the center) and the near-vertical sidewalls make it easy to move around inside without bumping into the ceiling.

REI cites the interior dimensions of the Hubba Hubba NX 2 as 84″ x 50″ (they’re not published by MSR on their website), but my measurements of the tent interior are 81″ x 48″ (since I measure the usable space in the tent interior when it’s pitched). Either way, the width of the tent is snug when shared with a partner, and you’ll be hard-pressed to fit two 25″ pads side by side without them bulging out the floor’s sidewalls. Most backpackers carry 20″ width sleeping bags to reduce weight, so this only becomes an inconvenience when car camping with more luxurious, 25″ or 30″ wide sleeping pads that many people (like my wife) bring on our camping trips. If you plan on doing more car camping, I’d recommend upgrading to the Mutha Hubba NX 3-person tent which is considerably wider (84″ x 68″), although heavy enough that you don’t want to take it backpacking.

Internal storage inside the tent is fairly sparse, with one mesh pocket running the width of the interior at each end of the tent, below the end window vents. The interior is long enough however (81″ usable) that you can store a small amount of gear or clothing near your head/pillow for easy access. Plus the side vestibules are large enough to store high-capacity packs and not block door access.

Side vestibules are large enough to store big packs without blocking door access.
Side vestibules are large enough to store big packs without blocking door access.

Interior ventilation in the Hubba Hubba is very good, provided you keep the vestibule doors cracked and end window vents propped open. The exoskeleton style architecture also keeps the rain fly off the inner tent, minimizing moisture transfer to the interior, always a problem when you have a tent with two adults sleeping inside in high humidity or rainy weather.

Comparable Two-Person Tents

Make / ModelStructuralTrail Weight
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2Freestanding2 lbs 11 oz / 1219g
NEMO Dagger OSMO 2Freestanding3 lbs 6 oz / 1531g
Zpacks Duplex ZipTrekking Pole1 lbs 4.4 oz / 577g
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2Semi-Freestanding2 lbs 3 oz / 992g
Gossamer Gear "The Two"Trekking Pole1 lbs 7.5 oz / 667g
MSR Freelite 2Semi-Freestanding2 lbs / 907g
Tarptent Double RainbowSemi-Freestanding2 lbs 10 oz / 1191g
Dan Durston X-Mid 2Trekking Pole2 lbs 3.4 oz / 1005g
Slingfin Portal 2Freestanding2 lbs 14 oz / 1305g
NEMO DragonFly OSMO 2Freestanding2 lbs 10 oz / 1191G
Camping in Autumn with the MSR Hubba Hubba NX Two Person Tent.
Camping in Autumn with the MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Person Tent.

Recommendation

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 is a two-person camping and backpacking tent with a roomy interior that is exceptionally easy to set up. Featuring a rectangular floor, vertical sidewalls, and dual doors, the attention to detail on this tent makes it extremely livable for two people out to enjoy a backpacking or camping trip. While it’s not the lightest, one-person double-walled tent you can buy today, the 3 pounds 6.6 ounces* MSR Hubba Hubba NX strikes a superior balance between comfort, livability, and light weight. If you’re looking for a double-walled two-person tent, the MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 is definitely the cream of the crop and is a good benchmark on which to judge other tents in this category.

Disclosure: The author purchased this tent with his own funds. 

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3 comments

  1. Philip, I like your wisdom.
    Questions on tent choice, seems to be no perfect tent. Not an ultralighter, but not far off. Have the paragon 58, zpacks classic bag, xtherm max and the duplex. Put extra weight in something if needed. 61 years old, not doing a hike through. Perhaps up to a week at a time, mainly 2 or three nights. May go in winter, but NC mountains rarely goes below 25 for me. Like the weight of the duplex, but the condensation is obnoxious at times, especially in cold and wet weather, realize it is a trade off with this. But their are times I have to wipe the condensation off my bag. Also have QUARTER DOME, to much like a coffin. Hubba Hubba seems like a nice 1 person option, perhaps a tad to heavy. Any thoughts? like the durability of this. My perfect tent will be durable, light and keep me dry. Is their such a thing?

    • Cold and wet weather is about the worst thing in the world for a single wall tent. If the condensation doesn’t kill you, the draftiness will. Some people just suck it up and bring a towel. The Hubba Hubba is slightly on the heavy side and will be more be more comfortable, as long as you don’t have to set it up in the pouring rain. The durability is very good, only they just moved to carbon fiber/composite poles and we need to wait a year to see how they hold up with consumers.

      I would suggest looking at the Tarptent Bowfin, Moment DW, or Rainbow. They can all be set up without trekking poles. They have plenty of room and excellent ventilation. If you buy one, have them seam seal it for you. I’ve owned 4 Tarptents and they’re very good in the rain and wind.

  2. Igor Korneychuk

    is it okey to use large pads in hubba hubba nx? 196-63cm. Or the is not enough space.

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