Adding stove jack to an MSR Hubba Hubba NX?

[bowhunter15]

The floorless pitch of the MSR Hubba Hubba NX is a great option for a solo hunter who doesn't carry trekking poles as I found out on this year's elk trip. If I plan on doing anything cold weather, like a rifle mule deer hunt for example, I'd probably want a shelter with stove. Option 1 would be to buy another shelter with annex and stove jack... $$$

OR, could I not simply buy a stove jack from Bearpaw for $30 and sew it into the fly on the tent I already own? I could add it into the end, or into the vestibule space on the side. Do you guys see any reasons this could or couldn't be done? Or any safety measures that would need to be taken?

 

[xziang]

I have the same tent as you and I would be more apt to try and make/design something that could go between the zippers and design a 'zip in' stove jack.

Will/would obviously require some design and trial and error but would be slick to use. Would need two separate zippers but I would rather go that route then actually cutting a hole into the tent fabric. This will/would also add additional weight because of the zippers but worth it if it would work. Just my .02 I would cringe cutting into rain fly.

 

[colonel00]

It will be hard to get something to zip in as I'm guessing the zippers on the tent aren't designed to accept that sort of thing.

Do you have to use a footprint to pitch the tent without the inner nest?

 

[bowhunter15]

It will be hard to get something to zip in as I'm guessing the zippers on the tent aren't designed to accept that sort of thing.

Do you have to use a footprint to pitch the tent without the inner nest?

You do not need a footprint. I just used a piece of Tyvek under my pad and bag. I don't think that the zipper would be affected by adding the jack in the non-zippered portion but I could be wrong.

 

[colonel00]

You are correct. I was responding to xziang's suggestion of adding a removable section to the vestibule that would zip in.

One thing to consider is a little stove can get quite hot. I was playing with my DIY stove the other day and I was getting very hot temps as I used my IR thermometer to read the surface of the stove. And, it wasn't even glowing. What I'm getting at is that stove might be pretty close to you, your gear or a wall panel. It might be wise to make a mockup of a stove out of a box or something and set the tent up just to really see how it would fit.

Also, looking at that photo, it seems like there is quite a bit of space between the fly and the ground. For a late season tent, this might prove to be cold and drafty. You may also have trouble holding very much heat for any length of time. Another suggestion would be to do some tests at home or in a more controlled environment. Take a little portable heater or even your cook stove and fire it up in the tent once the weather gets a little colder. See if the tent itself performs like you want before you take the time and effort to modify it just to find out too late that it isn't what you had hoped.

 

[bowhunter15]

You are correct. I was responding to xziang's suggestion of adding a removable section to the vestibule that would zip in.

Ah, makes sense now. For some reason I missed that post on my phone. It's an interesting concept for sure; much of it would depend on the weight and angle of the pipe I'd imagine. I totally hear you guys on cutting the fabric making you cringe. I feel the same way, especially if I ever intend to sell. Which is why I'm also considering doing one of the DIY Megatarp builds and just using that as my 4 season shelter even though it'd cost a bit more up front.

As for the MSR, there is a decent gap between the sidewalls and the ground. It can be minimized by cinching the rainfly down tight and burying the stakes, but there might still be some draft with no grass surrounding the tent. So it probably would be a good idea to do a test heat and mock up with stove size.

 

[bowhunter15]

I'm really starting to lean towards just making a copy-cat Kifaru Megatarp intead of altering the MSR. Heck, if I decided to sell the MSR I could pay for the entire DIY project with some leftover!