Should I get the Mutha Hubba or North Face VE 25?

[patrickreck]

Hey guys,

I am sick and tired of my current tent, and are going to buy an upgraded one. 

We are doing 1 week hikes 1-2 times a year mostly in late fall in September where degrees are 0 to -6 celcius in the night (Iceland and northern Sweden are the most recent ones). We plan to bring our son along in some years, so we're in for a 3 person tent.

So, I have been looking at 2 models, the Mutha Hubba and the North Face VE 25 - the first a 3 season tent, the second a 4 season. Now I am very split which one would suit me better - the North Face one is ~2 kgs more but should be more durable.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks already!

[PaulGS]

Welcome to TrailGroove Patrick. 

Could you answer a few questions first?

How far do you hike in? Do you expect significant snow? And what is it about your current tent that you don't  like?

[patrickreck]

Thank you Paul  

We're doing some mountains like the ones on the Laugavegur on Iceland, and we're doing Abisko-Nikkaluokta next month which is between mountains. Usually we only have small amounts of snow, but perhaps someday we'll want more, who knows.

We currently have a Robens Voyager 2EX which gives us too much condensation and the poles bent twice, so we're doing taking chances with it.

Thanks again!

[PaulGS]

My personal preference would be for the Mutha Hubba. It is lightweight and uses only one pole so setup is quick and can be accomplished by one person. The VE 25 by contrast, uses 5 poles and setup, while not difficult, is more finicky. Floor space in the Mutha Hubba should be more than adequate too for two adults and one child. The VE25 is more durable, but it really is built for extreme conditions. The Mutha Hubba is also much less costly.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask and when you do make a decision, let us know what you decided to purchase.

[grizzled]

My wife and I have been using a Mutha Hubba NX for about 1.5 years now and it has been a good tent.  You will still get condensation when below freezing but with that tent, the doors are actually canted out from vertical so you can leave the fly doors open or partially open without getting precipitation in the tent, assuming you pitch it so the doors are leeward.

It also seems much more spacious than the footprint would suggest because of the vertical doors and a relatively steep pitch at the base on the other two sides, and is essentially full height all the way across the top.  And you can open those fly doors while sitting on your butt in the tent-no groveling around in the flora on your hands/elbows.

Downside:  It has little stability without the fly and isn't really free standing.  But with the fly guyed out, it can take a LOT of wind.  We have passed that test twice now.