Tarptent vs Hubba
Just wondering what you guys think. Tarptent Rainbow vs MSR Hubba for a through hike?
i used a TT Contrail for the south 1,000 mi. It was great in many ways, very light 24 oz., kept me warm and had sufficent air in summer. the best tent I have tried, and I own 4.
This should start a holy war. I predict 4 posts until someone uses the "m" word.
Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe - Thomas Sowell
I carried a Big Agnes Copper Spur 1 on my thru hike (same weight as the Hubba). In the future, I would carry a 1.5 pound lighter, pole supported tent 100% of the time over a 3 pound freestanding tent. I slept in shelters a lot and just didn't rely on the tent enough to justify the extra pound and a half. I never used my tent out of need south of Mohican Outdoor Center in NJ.
I am a little worried about a tent that uses trekking poles... What happens if you take a spill and break one of your poles?
I plan on tenting the majority of the trip...but I guess that might change along the way.
This could start a holy war is right. I have a tarptent and I dont need to use trekking poles (rainbow)
I've done that, unfortunately. In our case we have two hikers, so four poles, so it wasn't a problem. If I were hiking on the AT and broke a pole, I would plan to tent near the next shelter, and just ask another hiker to borrow a pole for the evening. If that doesn't work, rig something with a stick. Not ideal, but it'll work until you reach town.Originally Posted by B-Rabbit
Oh, and to answer the original question, Tarptent - any of their solo shelters. I have a Moment, but the Rainbow is great too.
Sorry... Not trying to start a holy war... Just trying to make a big decision.... Keep it clean. Chubbs...any problems with moisture in heavy weather?
I havent had any problems really. Been in a couple of storms but nothing id call heavy. I do also have the inner lining so that also helps a bit. I went with the rainbow because its real light, easy to setup and could sleep 2 in a pinch, maybe me and my gf I was thinking. I personally did a lot of research before I picked my tent. If you look at my profile you can find the link. Also if you have ay other info you could give "we" could help you pick what you want; money, weight you want, 1 or 2 person, etc. I did recently look into these but Im not buying anything else for a bit. The skyscape and zpack makes great things.
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/tents.html
http://www.zpacks.com/
MSR Hubba for me. I like having all the features. It's my home away from home. Go Hubba!
virgil
Pick up a stick in the woods.
As others have mentioned, unless you plan to use your tent regularly, go with the lightest you can find. Most folks only use the tent occasionally, so carrying the extra oz or lbs is silly. I carry the Gossamer Gear The One if I want full bug protection and a floor, the Six Moon design Wild Oasis most of the time. It offers partial bug protection which works pretty well for the typical bug problems. These two weigh in at 16 oz and 14 oz respectively and have held up to wind, snow, sleet, and torrential downpours very adequately.
There are LOTS of light weight shelter options out there.
I use the rainbow as a two person tent with my girlfriend... we are both tall and slim. That being said, the inner dimensions of the hubba is much smaller then the tarptent rainbow and it is also heaver.I find the liner for the rainbow to be a bit superfluous and ill-fitting so i wouldn't completely recommend it but the rainbow as a hole would be a great thru-tent and it literally takes 1-2 minutes to set up after you get into the groove.
Argh, unfixable typos above! Just worth mentioning, the gossamer gear “the one” is out of stock but realistically discontinued as spinnaker took a massive reliability nose-dive and the cottage manufacturers stopped using it.
tent
GEt over your stupid FEAR that dictates you be in a tent.
Learn to use a tarp , even a shaped one, like MLD patrol shelter. With a bivy.
You can use the bivy in shelters too to keep the mice off you
MLD serenity and MLD patrol shelter, in cuben, will weigh about ......13oz.
Or, use Zpacks hexamid with their solo inner net, same thing....about 11 oz total
Or use a SMD gatewood cape (which doubles as raingear), with SMD serenity for about 18oz
in all cases you get a bathtub floor, bug protection, storm protection, and can use the inner net in shelters too.
I own and used both (Tarptent squall and Hubba). MSR hubba all the way for me. I got tired of condensation and repitching the tent in winds. I also at times knocked the trekking pole while getting up in the middle of the night. I also found over time that sil nylon shrinks, thus the one tent pole it came with was a struggle to use (and in fact, it did break on me on my hike in '07 and Henry did mail me a new pole). The hubba also works nicely on all the tent platforms in New England
Last edited by Blissful; 09-03-2011 at 19:43.
Why "get over" sleeping in a tent, if you like sleeping in a tent. Sleep in hollow log, if that's what you like. Sleep up in a tree, it's okay with me. It's not a macho contest, there's no right or wrong, it's only a personal preference. I like tents. I'm stickin' with my MSR Hubba.
virgil
A tent isolates you from your environment. It is desireable to most because thats how we spend our whole life, indoors. A tent is your "indoors" while you are outdoors. Which is quite ridiculous, except in case of extreme weather.
A tarp keeps you connected to your environment. It is a really great experience by comparison. So is cowboy camping, just sleeping under the stars when weather is nice. Start with a tarp and bivy, and eventually you will ditch the bivy in most cases too, you lose the fear that you will wake up with spiders or rattlesnakes in your sleeping bag.
In good weather, all you really need is your bag and headnet.
in any case, the tarp/bivy is the lightest option, a few single wall shelter hybrids do rival the weight however, like the hexamid, etc.
I have MSR Hubba-Hubba and Copper Spur UL2 I'M 6'6" 245lbs and both work great for me UL2 is a little bit lighter but its not really that noticable.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
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