Words & Images Lance Pilbrow
RRP Hubba Hubba Bikepack Tent $1,099 (1P) $1,319 (2P) | Switch Stove System $359 | Coffee Press $69
Distributor Ampro
The first time I did my ‘practice pack’, when I rode Tour Aotearoa a few years ago, I realised that taking a tent was going to be a bit of a pain. Why? My tent poles were much longer than my handlebar roll, so I would need to strap them on separately. Why couldn’t someone make tent poles that bit shorter?
MSR Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1
Since then, a number of tent manufacturers have latched onto the needs of the bikepacking community and started to create purpose-built products around our peculiar needs… like fitting neatly inside the width of handlebars.
Enter the new MSR Hubba Hubba Bikepack range. Fresh to the market, they are available in one or two person options and geared to bikepackers seeking tents that balance portability and durability. I had the one person option ($1099) to review.
Bikepackers often carry tents strapped to their handlebars, or in a handlebar roll, and to cater for this MSR designed the Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1 with shorter pole segments than their other ‘Hubba’ tents. This makes it easy to fit the whole tent inside a handlebar roll or pannier – or a dry bag that usually has much shorter dimensions than say, a tramping pack. At 930gm, it’s light enough for bikepacking without feeling fragile, but it’s definitely not the lightest solo tent out there. On the trail, the compact size meant I could easily carry it alongside my other gear, without it feeling like I was lugging an awkwardly shaped tent around. With convenient rubber attachment points for strapping it easily and securely to the handlebars, there’s enough space for your brake cables to avoid being crushed as you cinch it down. These are removable, in case you want to stow it in a different manner. A third toggle straps around your head tube to prevent it swinging around. It’s simple, effective and easy to use. The shorter pole length means it will even fit inside the drops of drop bar bikes too.
Once you’re at camp, the Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1 is impressively easy to set up. It’s all pretty intuitive – any tent you can set up without reading the instructions is well designed in my book. The poles slot into handy metal grommets at the base and the whole time I was setting it up I was thinking that it just seems sturdy. Some tents leave you thinking there is a bit to be desired and you’re praying it won’t be too windy that evening. Not this one. Each point where there would be stress or tension features reinforced fabric and stitching. MSR’s DAC poles seem plenty tough – I set the tent up in some rough winds on an exposed beach and didn’t notice any wobbling or worrying flex in the poles. It’s also a freestanding design which is a handy option.
Inside, the tent feels adequately roomy… for a one person tent. I’m about 178cm tall and felt comfortable to sit up and organise my gear without feeling cramped. For a solo tent, it’s comfortable – probably one of the more spacious options. I had the generously sized Therm-A-Rest NeoLoft sleeping pad inside it and still had room at my feet for a bag. If you’re on a multi-day bikepacking route, that extra room to move around is definitely appreciated as inevitably you end up with stuff everywhere, and it’s great to have it all inside your tent rather than out. It features lots of small storage pockets too; next to where your head would be, on each side, as well as a ‘loft’ area in the ceiling – convenient for organising things like my phone, small lights and snacks. It also has an inbuilt ‘washing line’ that is useful for hanging up damp gear like gloves and socks. While that convenience adds a bit of weight, I think it makes up for it in overall useability.
After a rainy night, I can say the waterproofing on this tent holds up well. But you’d expect that in a new tent. The built-in “rain gutter” on the fly is a nice feature as well. I could zip in and out of the tent without water dripping down my back or pooling near the door. The tent also handled wind well. The Hubba series has been around for a while, and it’s a sturdy design. Setting it up and giving it a good shake, it just feels stable. Ventilation in the Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1 is surprisingly good for a solo tent. The large mesh panels definitely helped with airflow, even with the rainfly on. There’s also a kickstand vent on the fly that’s a small but helpful touch. I didn’t have any major condensation issues. It’s not a four season tent you’d take up Everest, but for most bikepacking scenarios, it’s plenty reliable.
The MSR Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1 has a lot going for it, especially for bikepackers who value convenience but don’t want to carry more than necessary. After my brief test, I can say it’s definitely something I would recommend to people on the search for a new tent who err just on the side of comfort, quality and functionality rather than the lightest product on the market. The price is on the high end, but if you’re going to be spending a lot of time outdoors and want something that packs down small without sacrificing durability, it’s worth considering. For some it’s going to be a bit on the small side but, in that case, as I mentioned at the start, MSR also conveniently makes the Bikepack 2 ($1319). It’s 500gm more in weight, but even if most of my trips were solo I think I might be tempted to enjoy the extra roominess of the two-person version. Obviously, if you are travelling with a partner it would be a great option.
At over $1000 for a tent, it is probably one of the more spendy options out there, but you tend to get what you pay for. I’d rather have a thousand dollar tent I loved over a $750 tent that is less functional or durable. In saying that, I liked how this was a piece of kit that, while I would be purchasing it for the purpose of working seamlessly with my bikepacking setup, is not restricted just to bikepacking. As a family, we hike and holiday and use tents a fair bit, and I know this would get a lot of use (as opposed to a niche piece of bikepacking equipment).
Ultimately, the thoughtful design combined with the versatility and ease of attaching it securely to the handlebars, makes this a unique product on the market that will appeal to a lot of bikepackers.
MSR Switch Stove
Mountain Safety Research (MSR) has also just launched the new Switch Stove system. The Switch is a versatile all-in-one stove that has a few handy tricks up its sleeve. Most importantly, that it can be used with or without the integrated pot, unlike some other all-in-one systems.
Out of the box, it has a familiar look – a burner with a piezo igniter screws on to your fuel can and the pot sits on top; but MSR have incorporated a number of cool features. The pot has a neat removable cork wrap that helps insulate it and also creates something you can hold onto. The burner’s circular ring neatly matches the pot but, if you want to cook something else while the Switch pot is holding other food, you can fold out the pot trivets to support any brand of pot you have with you. The pot also has a handy spherical base with integrated wind protection to mean you get great efficiency in your cooking and also a more even heat across the whole surface – less burning food!. There is also a supplied rubber tripod-style stand to clip to the base of your fuel canister to keep everything stable. We only had the Switch for a short time but on a windy day at the beach it was impressive how quickly it boiled water for our coffee. Speaking of coffee, there is an optional coffee press that matches the pot so you can quickly turn it into a coffee plunger.
The only downside of the Switch – for space conscious bikepackers – was that the all-in- one system can feel a little bulky as a whole packed unit. To combat this, however, you could simply leave the pot behind and instead pack something smaller to use with the Switch – collapsible silicone pots have become increasingly popular and are a good space-saving option.
It includes a handy cup (or is it a bowl?) to transfer food to, and a lid to keep everything hot. The burner regulator had great modulation and every part of the Switch seemed durable and well made. Packing it down, the burner, can and stand all fit neatly inside the pot, keeping everything together and ready for use. It is probably a little too bulky for light-packers, but for those rides where the purpose is to get to camp somewhere remote, where there is no chip shop as an option for dinner, a one-stop solution like the Switch makes sense. A bit like the Bikepack tent, the Switch is the kind of product that would get lots of use in our family, as we hike and camp a lot, so its use would go well beyond my own bikepacking adventures.
