MSR Habitude 4 Review

The MSR Habitude 4 can be fully set up in 9 minutes, a bit long for a 4-person tent. Three hubbed poles — two small and one large — make up the main structure, forcing two poles to connect on each corner. While not overly complicated, setting this tent up isn't intuitive and comes with a few head-scratchers. That said, the extra strength, extra height, and extra width the poles provide are well worth the added trouble. Once setup is complete, you will find many great features packed into this tent. There are seven good pockets for storage, tons of height for easy changing and stretching, and a great little porch light to help when nature calls in the middle of the night. The rainfly is perfectly sized, allowing for maximum coverage yet superior airflow from under the vestibule and on all three sides of the tent. There's only one door, and it requires two different sides to be zipped independently; while not the end of the world, some may find it a bit annoying.

Performance Comparison

Space and Comfort

This metric is all about how well the tent works for you and your crew. While having a smaller footprint than all of our 6-person tents, the Habitude 4 is still very roomy. Frankly, it feels bigger than its 62.4 square foot footprint. The 23.5 square foot vestibule adds to the spacious feeling when the fly is on, and all zipped up.

Comfort was lost a little with the single door and two-part zipper system. If you don't want to mess with unzipping both parts, it is easy to open the top zipper and squeeze through the side without unzipping the bottom. But this small critique is easily overlooked when you are laying on a twin air mattress, looking out into nature, catching an easy breeze under the well-ventilated rainfly. When you stand up, there is plenty of headroom with a ceiling height of 6' 1". Overall, the Habitude 4 scores among the top in both space and comfort, and while not a scoring factor, this tent's shape, colors, and size look pretty darn good.

Weather Resistance

MSR used a fairly wind-friendly shape — it is a little broad, so you might want to place the vestibule into the wind. Sturdy materials and quality craftsmanship went into the build of the Habitude 4.

The walls, rainfly, and mesh are all very high-end materials with every seam-sealed and held together with strong aluminum poles. While not overly critical to the tent's strength, the guylines have little aluminum lighteners that are super slick and light.

Airflow is another element MSR nailed on the Habitude 4. While not as open as other tents in our lineup, there is still ample airflow and visibility with the rainfly off. And with the rainfly on, two vents and a 6-inch gap around the entire rainfly with guylines to pull it away from the main body allow the tent to breathe in hot and cold weather. Thanks to the guylines, the added angle also helps keep the rain rolling off and away from the tent.

Ease of Use

Setup and teardown were much longer than expected for a 4-person tent, thanks to the lack of color coating on the six poles and three hub setup. But outside of that, pitching the Habitude is pretty simple.

The pole inserts did get to be a bit of a cluster. Having two poles and a rainfly connection at every corner made for a tight fit that rubs and scratches — something to consider for those who like to keep their gear pristine.

Weighing in at only 12 pounds, the Habitude 4 is one of the lightest tents in our lineup. With such high-quality light material, it is clear why this tent is a great choice for activities that have weight and size restrictions. The design of the storage bag mirrors that of a rope bag, with a huge opening that is cinched closed with a small, stretchy cord. This setup will be familiar to rock climbers but may be foreign to those used to a classic tent bag.

Family Friendliness

Weight, durability, and size are all top of the pack for this 4-person tent. The unique shape of the Habitude gives it a roomy vibe for a 4-person tent with great height for changing and stretching. The walls are mostly covered, allowing privacy to change and not be seen while sitting down. However, don't plan on fitting four air mattresses in here. A twin and two sleeping pads will get the family off the hard ground with a little extra wiggle room for gear. The extra room in the vestibule also helps make the smaller inside stay open and clean, and seven pockets help keep things organized.

The porch light also falls into the family friendliness metric and is a novel feature that is surprisingly handy for a toddler heading to the bathroom or a groggy father who can't find his headlamp. The light didn't seem to be the best quality and didn't come with the required two CR2032 batteries, but a few bucks and a quick trip to the store fixes that.

While the Habitude 4 is not in our top rankings for family-friendly, the tent can still house two adults, two kids, and a furry friend.

Quality

MSR is well known for its quality. They have a reputation for making well-made products using high-end materials, and the Habitude 4 is no different. From the 7000-series aluminum poles to the string used for the guylines, almost everything about this tent screams durability. The walls are made of DWR 68D polyester taffeta on the floor and sides and 40D nylon micro-mesh for the open areas. Designers used a 68D polyester ripstop on the fly, and the stakes are also super light and strong.

There are, however, two exceptions. The first is where the poles attach to the tent. The side-by-side nature ensures that the poles will rub against each other every time the tent moves. And secondly, the plastic hubs. These feel like an unnecessary weak point in an otherwise bomber tent.

Should You Buy the MSR Habitude 4?

The MSR Habitude 4 is the best 4-person tent in our lineup. It has all of the features you would expect from a name brand like MSR and touts a total usable footprint larger than any other 4-person option in our lineup. Some bonus features like a porch light, large vestibule, great ventilation, and a 6'1" ceiling height helps make the price point easier to swallow. A few nitpicky flaws include the two zipper door opening, a light without a battery, and of course, the single entry point. But overall, the pros of the Habitude far outweigh the cons.

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