A new year a new tent.

1 January

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Msr hubba hubba

I couldn't wait any longer, though my Hilleberg Nallo is almost the perfect tent for me it does have a couple of small flaws for my trip through Africa (any excuse to buy more gear).

I won't bore you with a review of my MSR Hubba Hubba, but here's my first impressions, its the first of January and I've already camped once, its going to be a good year!!

What was wrong with the other tent?

In warmer weather its just too warm, and the inner(outer) tent isn't self supporting. Not the end of the world, but a pain if you plan to cycle through Africa for 18 months.

First impressions of the MSR?

Plus: It's light, much more spacious than I expected.(bonus for Shane the claustrophobic), it has about the same if not more internal space as the Nallo, though is slightly less wide (of course because its a 2man tent!). Its easy to set up, and unlike some people claim it is possible to put up the outer tent first, though it is a fiddle to get the hooks engaged(could be because I have the newest version). Plenty of storage space. And most importantly and the main reason I bought it, its self supporting and the inner tent is made of mesh, so if you put only the inner tent up its nice and cool:).

Minus: The built quality is good but no way as robust as my Nallo but that is to be expected with a tent that is half the price.......I dont think I'll sleep as peacefully in a heavy storm though. The ground sheet is very thin, I dont think it would take much to start leaking (hope I'm wrong), but wont be seeing too much rain in Africa anyway. The tent pegs seam quite cheap, as are the guy line tensioners, I think I'll be robbing those from my Nallo :)

And last but not least its yellow! great for photo's but not so handy for stealth camping.....ahh well cant have everything.

Time will tell if I've made the right choice, trading in my trusty castle for the yellow thing......

Yellow MSR Hubba Hubba

Update: Msr have seen the light, the newest 2011 Hubba Hubba is green!!! >CLICK<

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10 comments

Comment Link posted by DeFietsreiziger
Shane, as you know I have the smaller Hubba HP. It's green, but not as stealthy as other tents. As a tall person I like the fact that the tent is very long. This week I tried to put up the outer tent first, and then to clip in the inner tent. I was able to do that, but it wasn't very easy. As with everything, you need to practice I guess. If really needed it's always handy to have this option available.

The groundsheet is almost the same as on my old tent (Vaude) which is very durable! Just remove any sharp objects before you put down the tent and you should be okay.
Thursday, 13 January 2011 12:20
Comment Link posted by Richard
The Nallo GT is a legend. MSR should stick with stoves ...
Friday, 21 January 2011 10:06
Comment Link posted by richard
How was the MSR in Africa? Did it keep the flies/mossies out? Ventilation?
Sunday, 20 February 2011 14:12
Comment Link posted by Shane
Richard,

Although not Lion proof, I loved the MSR. light, compact and easy to set up. On the warmer nights I only used the inner tent and had a great view of the star, the only reason I usually included the outer tent was for a little privacy.

The pegs where as I expected pretty crap, though I´m usually not too gentle with them.
Condensation will always be a problem with lightweight tents I think, in wetter area´s even with just the inner tent there where some drops on the ceiling in the morning.

I´ll stick with my Hilleberg for crappy european weather, and the MSR for the nicer weather.
Sunday, 20 February 2011 18:27
Comment Link posted by richard
I cant find the thread where I asked you about a dynamo hub charger. What was the one you use and why did you choose it? Can it be connected directly to a USB device like an iPhone? Or do you charge a battery pack which then is used to recharge other USB devices over night?
Tuesday, 08 March 2011 14:52
Comment Link posted by Shane
Sorry about not getting back to you Richard,

I have the B+M E-werk, which is a transformer for the Hub Dynamo, copy/paste "- voltage (up to 13.3 V) and current (up to 1.5 A) are set in small increments so that all mobile phones, GPS, radios etc. can be powered or batteries charged while cycling, without unwantedly high currents or voltages causing damage to connected devices
- negligible idle losses (only 0.03 W at 30km/h)" .

This can be used to supply most usb gadgets (though you have to manually adjust the output). I also use it as a 12v 1.5A supply for my Varta battery charger. It can charge 2x AA in about 1 day of cycling(or maybe trickle charge 4x AA) . My gps lasts 2.5 days on 2x fully loaded batteries, so in theory I can be self supporting. Or I can use it to power the GPS/ipod indefinatly. The varta can also be used as an usb buffer/charger for my usb gadgets (will be buying a different e-reader for this reason).

In the end I didn't get round to using it in Uganda, because I stayed in a guest house often enough to recharge from the wall.

At home it works fine(20-25km/h), but I can't say much you feel it if cycling most of the day at 10-15km/h off road....I really shoould of tried it out, even just for an hour.

Hope this helps:)

http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html
http://www.en.varta-consumer.com/content.php?path=/1243614792.html&&domain=www.en.varta-consumer.com ( I have an older version).
Tuesday, 08 March 2011 16:20
Comment Link posted by richard
Thnks for the detailed reply. I cant think of anything I have which uses AA batteries and the LCD Charger cant then be used to charge USB devices from what I can gather from its features. I suspect the Zzing is more for since it can charge during the day and then be used to charge my USB devices at night. I'm in Electronics hell at the moment. I cant make up my mind about the right combo to take on a bike trip. I would love to take my netbook (asus 1015PEM) but a tad heavy despite it being best of class for mobile netbooks. But 10 hours on a charge is nice - watch videos etc in the tent. My new "old" iPhone 3g might just do it but then I dont really have a need for my new Garmin E-800 bike gps since the IPhone has a gps. Bah. I remember the old days when you only took 20p for the phone ....

Being a tech junky causes havoc with my base desire for "purity" when cycling...
Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:21
Comment Link posted by Shane
I know the problem, For years the industry has made tents, bikes, sleeping bags etc lighter and smaller, and now we use this extra space for heavy electronics. If you dont use AA batteries then the ZZing would be great I guess, but I use them for my torch and GPS. I too need to find a new laptop my current "notebook"is 1800g.

What where and when will your trip take you?
Thursday, 10 March 2011 10:31
Comment Link posted by richard
re: where.

No idea. I tend to potter around the rivers in Germany. 2 or 3 weeks at a time normally with half that time curled up in a ball regretting that last round of Korn at 4am .... I want to send my bike frame back to be resprayed (its flaking badly) early in the summer so no early trip. I must say though, your trip reports are prompting me to go further abroad again. I always had some mad idea of doing the trans-siberia highway but being wrapped around the wheel of some Gangster's SUV doesnt appeal. Hamburg to Munich is my current Summer aim! Drop me an email since this recapture lark is a pain...
Thursday, 10 March 2011 14:29
Comment Link posted by richard
btw, you can still charge the Varta LCD charger via the Zzing from what I can gather since its got a USB in to enable charging from a netbook/laptop/desktop USB port.
Thursday, 10 March 2011 14:45