MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Review (2026)

Where to buy

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Key specifications

What we like, and where it gives ground

What it is, and who it suits

The Hubba Hubba NX 2 is MSR's do-everything two-person tent. It sits in the middle of the market on weight, price and space, and it has stayed a best seller for years because it asks so little of the owner. You get two doors, two vestibules and a freestanding body that stands up without a single peg. That last point matters on sand, slab and deck sites, which cover a lot of Australian campsites. MSR lists a 1.54 kg trail weight and a 1.72 kg packed weight. The floor measures 2.7 square metres, enough for two adults to sleep without touching.

This review answers one question. Is the NX 2 the right tent for how you actually camp? We have not put this unit through a wind machine or a measured downpour of our own, and we are honest about that. Instead we read the maker's published specs against the conditions that wear tents out here: heat, humidity, strong sun, sudden storms and fine red dust. Those pressures decide whether you will be happy after three summers, long before any spec-sheet number does.

If you want one tent that covers hiking weekends, car camping and the odd beach trip, this is the shortlist favourite. If you live at the light end of the scale, or you only camp in one sunny spot all season, read the skip list first. The sections below take the tent apart piece by piece.

Weight and packed size in real terms

Weight classes only make sense next to the trip you take. At 1.54 kg of trail weight, the NX 2 is not ultralight. It is comfortably light: the kind of weight two walkers split without a conversation. One carries the body and fly, the other the poles and pegs. Carried alone on a long day it is noticeable but fair. Carried by two people across a weekend, it disappears into the load.

The number to plan from is packed weight, not the brochure figure. MSR quotes 1.72 kg in the bag with sacks and kit. Real carry lands a little higher once you add a footprint and spare pegs. On a car camp that gap is irrelevant. On a multi-day walk it is the difference between a happy first hour and a grumpy last one. The tent packs small enough to vanish into a 50-litre bag, which is why it travels well as a hiking spare.

There is no award for the lightest tent you own. There is only the one you will actually carry. If your base weight is already low and every gram stings, a lighter shell exists further up the ranking. If you want a proven two-person tent that still feels easy to lift, the NX 2 sits in the sensible middle.

Space and liveability

Space is where a two-person tent either earns its keep or quietly frustrates you every trip. The NX 2 is a good tent that punishes one habit: keeping all your gear indoors. Live with the vestibules and the space works. Ignore them and you will spend evenings shifting packs around a small floor.

Pitching and the clip system

The colour-coded clips are the reason people keep recommending this tent. Pole ends and clips match by colour, so a first-timer can raise it in daylight without the manual. Once learned, one person can pitch it alone in a few minutes, and that skill pays off when you reach camp tired as the light goes.

Freestanding means the body stands on its poles before a single peg goes in. You can assemble it on a rock slab, shuffle it to the flat spot, then stake it down. On soft sand the same freedom helps, though you will want deep sand pegs. A partial fly keeps the inner dry in a quick shower while still letting air move through the mesh walls.

Rain, wind and the water head

No tent earns a place in a dry-climate guide on rain alone. But Australian summers throw short, violent storms, and a shelter that fails at the worst hour fails everywhere. So the honest test is not the peak rating. It is whether the fly sheds rain, and whether a gust finds it guied out or loose.

How it copes with humid nights

In much of Australia, ventilation matters more than a few saved grams. A solid inner turns into a wet box by 3 am on a humid coast. The NX 2 leans the other way. Its mesh-heavy inner lets moving air pass straight through, and the fly stands off the walls so the vents stay open even in a light drizzle.

Condensation still happens. Warm breath hits a cool fly overnight. But a double-wall design with a standing fly manages it far better than a single-wall shelter of the same weight. Pitch along the breeze rather than in a dead pocket under a ridge, open every vent, and the damp has somewhere to go. You will wring out less and sleep better.

Durability, sun and long-term value

A tent's real cost is its price divided by the seasons you get from it. On that math the NX 2 usually lands well, because the boring things are done right, and because the sun is the killer no brochure mentions.

Should you buy it?

Buy the Hubba Hubba NX 2 if you want one dependable tent for most of what you do. It forgives a beginner, it breathes in humidity, and it will still be standing after several feathery rivals retire. It is the safest first real tent, and a sensible upgrade for a car camper who has started to walk.

Look elsewhere if you walk alone, if you live at the light end of the scale, or if you leave a tent standing in one sunny spot for weeks. A solo shelter halves your load. A lighter two-person shell saves grams on long tracks. A tougher car-camping tent shrugs off months of sun better than any thin fly.

Still deciding? Compare the NX 2 against the alternatives, and read the full ranking in our lightweight tent guide. If you share, the two-door layout is worth paying for on its own. If you are unsure of the size, our tent size advisor works out the floor area you actually need.

Frequently asked questions

Is the MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 good for humid Australian nights?

Yes, and this is where it beats many rivals. The inner is mostly mesh, so moving air strips heat and damp away instead of trapping them. The double-wall fly stands off the inner, which keeps vents open and cuts the wet-box feel. Pitch it along the breeze, open every vent, and a humid coast night becomes sleepable rather than a wring-out in the morning.

How much does the Hubba Hubba NX 2 really weigh when you carry it?

MSR quotes a 1.54 kg trail weight for the body, fly and poles, and a 1.72 kg packed weight in the sacks. Your real carry lands a little higher once you add a footprint and spare pegs. Split between two people that is easy. Carried alone on a long hot walk it is noticeable, so plan from the packed figure, not the headline one.

Can one person pitch the Hubba Hubba NX 2 alone?

Yes. The clip ends are colour-coded, so the pole order is obvious once you have done it twice, and the freestanding body holds its shape while you stake it out. That makes solo pitching realistic rather than a two-person job. Rehearse it once in the yard, and a single walker can have it up in a few tired-minutes at dusk.

Is the 1200 mm fly waterproof enough for a storm?

For most Australian rain, yes. Summer storms are short and heavy, and a well-cut fly with taped seams sheds that well. It is not a four-season shell for days of sideways soak, and no tent at this weight is. Care for the seams after sunny seasons, re-waterproof when beads stop forming, and always guy it out before a forecast storm.

Does the Hubba Hubba NX 2 come with a footprint?

Usually not in the base package, and you should treat a footprint as essential rather than optional. Abrasion from grit and rock kills more tent floors than rain does. You do not have to buy the branded one. A groundsheet or track mat trimmed a couple of centimetres inside the floor line does the same job for far less.

Is the Hubba Hubba NX 2 worth it over a cheaper tent?

For most pairs, yes. A budget tent saves money now but costs more per season once thin coatings and hardware give out. The NX 2 splits the difference: lighter than a car-camping shell, tougher than a minimal ultralight, and easy to repair. If you camp a handful of times each year and want one tent that lasts, the maths favours it.