MSR Hubba Tent Mods

I have made a number of small modifications to my MSR Hubba tent to improve its usability.

Titanium Pegs

I have replaced most of the pegs supplied by MSR with titanium pegs. I carry six titanium pegs:

• four for the corners
• one for the rear of the flysheet
• one to fasten the porch ground sheet down (see photo below) – I can use this peg to fasten the flysheet door if the weather is very bad

I use two of the original MRS pegs (see the photos later in this article):

• one for the holding the flysheet door
• one for my rear guy line

a titanium peg used in the corner on the guy loop attached to the footprint

Guy Loops

Cord guy loops are supplied on the fly sheet and on the footprint – I have removed the loops from the fly sheet. They are no longer used or required as I use the loops on the footprint. (See photo above)

Rear Guy Line

I have pitched the MSR Hubba many times in strong winds and the rear guy line I have added gave some extra stability to the tent. There is already a strong anchor point for the guy sewn into the flysheet so I attached a high visibility line to this point with a lightweight plastic carabiner.

At the other end of the line, I use a similar carabiner to attach it to a a short elastic loop to absorb some of the stress from strong winds. The elastic is permanently attached, through one of the holes that are in the top of the peg. I use one of the original pegs supplied by MSR with the Hubba.

Both the carabiners are normally used to secure items to the outside of my backpack when walking and the line and peg add little weight to my load.

Update summer 2013 – I have replaced the plastic carabiners with lighter weight smaller aluminium carabiners. When not in use the guy line is carried in my “possibles” pack.

Flysheet Door

The design of the MSR Hubba means the flysheet door is an integral part of the strength of the tent – so in very windy conditions strain in put on it. To cope with such conditions I fitted an elastic loop to the door to absorb some of the strain and shock. Again the elastic loop is fixed to the original MSR peg through one of the holes. I have since removed the guy loop on this door.

Update spring 2014 – I have halved the length of this elastic loop so the flysheet is kept closer to the ground, to stop rain being able to blow under the gap.

Porch Groundsheet

MSR sell a ground sheet for the porch and I am sure it fits better than my homemade one. However I am sure it weighs more than 45g!

As the MSR Hubba is such a small tent I find it essential to have some type of groundsheet in the porch to help with getting in and out of the tent without getting wet feet or knees. There are two main reasons why I prefer my small ground sheet:

• The design of the tent leaves a reasonable gap at the floor of the porch so a ground sheet that goes right to the edge will collect water on it as the flysheet offers little protection from blown rain or drips.
• I want to use some of the grass in the porch to stand my meths stove or boots on – they do not need to be off the ground.

I made this lightweight alternative by cutting down a small plastic tarp to the size I wanted and reinforcing the corners with some carpet tape. To stop it being blown away in the wind I fasten it with a titanium peg in one of the corners.

Inside my MSR Hubba Tent

You always need somewhere to hang stuff to dry overnight – using a short length of nylon string and a cord lock, I have fixed this line inside the tent.

MSR Gear Loft

I have bought the MSR Gear Loft – which is really useful storage – but I only take it with me when weight is not an issue.