MSR - Hubba Hubba Bikepack 2-Person

There are bikepack specific tents (I have a Hubba Hubba Bikepack 2-person tent) and ultra-light hiking tents. Many products have a light or ultralight version. Be prepared to pay premium prices. As for a sleeping bag, some of the ultralight ones pack down to a very compact shape. I prefer to use a quilt and a good sleeping pad during warmer months.

Hey dude I was in the same boat as you last month, went for the Hubba Hubba bikepack 2, I've used it a lot already in various weather, it's survived a fair amount of wind and rain and while probably isn't the lightest, I use it a lot for wild camping and me and my friends are all 6'6 and I don't like to be cramped. It blends in pretty well to environments and has decent features to make wild camping easy, you can pitch it fly first with no mods by just rolling the fly and inner together in your bag, takes more skill but when it isn't raining you can pitch in 2 minutes It's a really good tent, I was really sceptical of it's rain resistance because I've been caught out a lot of times in a poor tent for the weather. Since buying the tent, I've got a lot more faith that despite the low HH and thickness, because it's so taut, water just runs off. My friend has the 3 man version and I've seen it survive serious storms. Get the footprint and do it all properly and it's more than enough for UK weather, Also if you want any advice let me know, my friend and I are doing a long bikepack soon and last month concluded our tent research and purchases

I have the MSR Hubba Hubba bikepacking tent which is right about 2lbs in 1 person variant. It comes with a nice compression sack and foam spacers that can be strapped directly to handlebars although I usually just put it in a larger roll top bar bag with some other things. I think it’s mostly a good tent. The only downside is it can be a kind of hot with the dark rain fly and limited mesh. The upside is that it’s relatively private even without the rainfly, and it holds heat well on colder nights. On really hot trips I’m likely to use a bivvy anyways so this works for me.

I know this sounds ridiculous to a lot of people but me and my partner both have our own tents. I'm a horrendously light sleeper and also snore, we actually have separate bedrooms at home too. We both currently have the msr hubba hubba 2p because we like our space, but I might downsize to the new durston x-dome 1+. Having our own space is nice especially when we go on 10+ day backpacking trips and want some alone time.

https://preview.redd.it/3jjpcrj4ypde1.png?width=558&format=png&auto=webp&s=c54930f7d4a900e6899433849d22551ccf8d5c3f I rode the GDMBR earlier this year and ended up with a fairly unique solution. Pictured is my rig (and self) at the end of the ride. My handlebar harness has all my sleep gear rolled into a single lump. Inside the orange drybag is my tent inner (MSR hubba hubba 2p), sea to summit comfort plus sleep pad (I'm a delicate flower who likes a comfy pad even if it's heavier) and sea to summit sleeping bag. The pad and sleeping bag are inside the inner and all rolled up as a single roll and then put in the dry bag. I then rolled the fly and the ground sheet around the dry bag and strapped the whole lot into the harness. This meant that pitching and striking camp each day were very simple and quick and all the stuff you want to be dry was with it's friends and all the scungy wet stuff was on the outside in the elements. Now I will admit that I was definitely in the upper end of the limit of weight and size for a handlebar harness, but not so much so that I was popping seams on the harness or ripping tent fabrics because it has to be strapped super tight. Also you can see the revelate every day pocket that was strapped over all that on the front and wasn't particularly light either and still it didn't tip over into too heavy/cumbersome territory. If you're planning any expedition for a good length of time you'll naturally find your own rhythm and system but I strongly recommend a shakedown ride or two before you head off so that your first few days on the road aren't super demoralising as you go through teething problems with your setup and bike and adjust to expedition lifestyle all at once.

I'd go for a 2p, but make sure your sleeping pads will fit. Many 2p tents are tapered meaning they can't accept 2 rectangle wide pads. If you're both on 20 inch pads, then it'll be fine. There are tapered wide sleeping pads for just this reason. The MSR Hubba Hubba and the REI Half Dome are examples of tents that have a full non tapered rectangle floor.

I like the Hubba Hubba dual door vestibule design. Can pee out the door without getting out of your sleeping bag.

My friend has an MSR hubba 2p which I find is tight for 2 people (especially in damp conditions) but is great for one and relatively light/compact.

I really love my Mormot Tungsten. It is a little heavier than some of the other Recs but is roomy and has withstood some intense PNW rain. It also comes in an ultra light version (I don’t think it’s actually ultralight, but it is lighter than the OG version). Don’t pay full price for it though, Marmot tents are on sale all the time. I don’t like the zipper geometry on the MSR elixir and hubba for heavy rain and damp/dew- it’s meant so you don’t have to reach so far out into the vestibule to open your fly, but i find it means the zipper can drip into your tent through the open door.

My wife and I backpack a fair bit (multi day up to two weeks). Our primary tent is an MSR Hubba Hubba 2 from a couple years ago (not sure if I’d recommend them now as company changes have affected their gear a bit, but just using it for reference). The tent floor is 84”x25”. We use Nemo Tensor Regular Wide sleeping pads which are 72”x25”. So, they fill the entire floor width with only a handful of inches top or bottom. I am 5’10 with wide shoulders and over 200lbs. She is 5’4.5 (the extra half inch is important to her) and 130’s. We are able to put our packs at our feet and sleep fine. She sleeps on her back. I tend to sleep on my side or stomach (and then feet end up on the pack or under knees if I do end up on my back for a while). We also have Nemo Fillo Elite pillows (with and inch of memory foam on top of the air bladder). Comfort is import to us while trying also be efficient about size and weight (but not ultra light). For packing, we mostly carry all our own individual stuff (quilts, clothes, headlamps, personal items, food, water, etc). A few random things get split; stove versus battery versus shit kit, etc. For the tent, the way we handle it is I carry the whole tent, but she then gets my sleeping pad and pillow to offset the volume and some of the weight. This is what works for us. For a two person backpacking tent, you will be cozy and hopefully like being near the person you’re sharing it with. I wouldn’t want to share it with a random person or someone I wasn’t very comfortable sleeping very close to. Carrying a 3 person backing tent would not be a bad decision if you want the extra space. You pay for it with about an extra pound of weight and a slight bit more volume in the pack, but it’s your choice to make on what is important to you (as well as what money you can spend). I personally prefer freestanding tents (and then still stake them down as best I can) because I’m in Colorado and find that staking can be hard enough to do that I really don’t trust trekking poles type tents that rely on staking. Too much risk of a staking pulling out due to poor ground. Means I will never have the lightest tent due to carrying tent poles, but I’m the one that has to carry them (not the randos online that are measuring the eight of a ziplock bag).

MSR Hubba Hubba 2. Double walled free standing. Got me through an AT thru last year and NEVER leaked. Very roomy.