MSR Mutha Hubba NX 3-Person Tent

The Mutha Hubba NX 3-Person Backpacking Tent is one of several Mountain Safety Research (MSR) tents we’ve had the pleasure of testing over the years. If you are curious, look to the following links for our impressions of earlier tents: MSR Nook Tent and the MSR Carbon Reflex 3 Tent. MSR is one of several companies under the Cascade Designs group. To see other product reviews from sister companies, click the links that follow: WhisperLite Stove, Thermarest, SealLine and the now defunct Hummingbird.

MSR tents have been around for long enough that they’ve worked out the kinks and are providing some real innovations. The company’s tents and shelters are split into three different categories: 1) Minimalist Shelters and Wings, 2) All Season Tents and 3) Backpacking Tents. The Mutha Hubba NX lives in the backpacking category—it’s lighter and perhaps less bomber than the All Season Tents, and it provides more shelter and weight than the Minimalist Shelters and Wings. It’s a perfect tent for backpacking around BC’s interior.

MSR_Mutha_Hubba_NX_3_person_backpacking_tent

SHOW THE REST OF THE REVIEW / PHOTOS / VIDEOS: MSR always provides excellent videos on their products and here is one they’ve put together on the Mutha Hubba NX.

Here below are some pictures that’ll highlight some of the tent’s features for you. We had the Mutha Hubba out backpacking, SUP camping and we even took it to a music festival.

Here’s the tent, fully deployed, on Kootenay Lake. It was a windy night and the tent felt like a fortress.

As with the Elixir 3 we reviewed last season, the Mutha Hubba NX is great sans fly for warm nights with no danger of precip. I am a fan of the half mesh/half tent fabric on the side wall for privacy.

Idiot proof, colour-coded grommet system for the fly, footprint and tent attachment system.

Here’s a close-up of the fly attachment cam device. Attach them loose and tighten to make everything taught.

Here you can see two of my fave features. The KickStand fly vent (in the middle below the little red pyramid) and the StayDry door and vestibule.

See the perpendicular poles here. Likely what makes the tent seem so stable. It also helps limit sidewall sag.

Here’s the attachment system for the tent rods on both axes. Metal on metal and simple to click in.

Here is an interior shot. It’s a three person tent but I always like a little extra room to move around in or store gear. It’d definitely work for three in a pinch.

Here it is all packed up, with a wine bottle for perspective. The rope-bag style stuff sack is a really cool feature—it enables you to compress, and even reshape, the tent for packing.

Materials:

Rainfly Fabric - 20D ripstop nylon 1200mm Durashield™ polyurethane & silicone
Canopy Fabric - 20D ripstop nylon & DWR
Mesh Type - 15D nylon micro-mesh
Floor Fabric - 30D ripstop nylon 3000mm Durashield™ polyurethane & DWR

Features:

- Optimized symmetrical geometry and non-tapered floor
- Large, easy-entry D-shaped StayDry door and vestibule
- Side entry zipper orientation
- Rainfly kickstand vent
- Adjustable rainfly (roll-up vestibule & stargazer view)
- Light gray rainfly color (neutral light)
- Adjustable integrated stake-out loops
- Lightweight reflective guy-outs
- Durable high-tenacity nylon fabrics
- Reinforced Infinity bar tacks and lap-felled seams
- Durashield-coated rainfly and bathtub-style floor
- Compression stuff sack with pull handle

Verdict:

The MSR Mutha Hubba 3-person backpacking tent hits my personal sweet spot. I don’t winter camp so I don’t need an All Season tent (I’m more of a hut guy). I also don’t really need to go with an ultra, super duper lightweight tent because I think one sacrifices some durability in the materials. The Carbon Reflex 3 we tested, though by no means flimsy, seemed like it might not stand up over time the way the Mutha Hubba will.

The experience inside the Mutha Hubba is pleasant as well. You know how some of those trapezoidal/asymmetrical tents can create a slightly weird vibe and mess up your sleep (maybe that’s just me…). This is not the way of the Mutha Hubba, whose rectangular footprint is more comfortable—the ample headroom and vertical-ish walls help too. I haven’t yet had to wait out a storm in this tent, but, if I did, I’m sure it would be more comfortable and less claustrophobic than many tents I have been in before.

PROS:

Comfortable living space
Smart features like the Kickstand and RainGutter
Stands up in a storm
Relatively light weight
Large vestibules for gear
Simple set up
Nifty new reflective guylines

CONS:

Fly position is tough to figure out
The fly’s bottom guy points on the side are a little too low
Heavier than some (it's a trade-off)

SPECS:

Price: $515 CAN
Color: Red
Capacity: 3
Minimum Weight: 2.38kg/5lbs 4oz
Packed Weight: 2.26kg / 5lbs
Floor Area: 3.67sq m / 39sq ft
Vestibule Area: 1.3sq m / 14sq ft
Vestibule Volume: 453 liters /16cu. ft
Interior Peak Height: 112cm / 44in
Packed Size: 53 x 17cm / 21 x 7in
Number of Doors: 2

RATING: 9/10

Interior Space 2/2
Design 2/2
Features 2/2
Weight 1.5/2
Quality/Price 1.5/2

Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in below and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation. You'll need to login or register before you can comment but it only takes a few seconds, then you're good to go.

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MSR Mutha Hubba NX 3-Person Tent

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RATING: 9/10

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