MSR Hubba NX Footprints Confusion

After years of using Vango and more recently Naturehike tents, I have bought myself MSR Hubba NX Solo tent. It's not the latest model (called Shield in Europe) but it's brand new and purchased in 2019. It came with MSR universal footprint (the red one).

MSR Hubba is an inner pitch first tent which deterred me from it for a long time but I have discovered recently that by using a footprint it is possible to pitch the tent in the outer first order. The footprint with its grommets (one in each corner) essentially holds the poles in place allowing for attaching the inner first.

I was greatly disappointed when my new Hubba arrived and I quickly discovered that included, the universal footprint is missing grommets! Further investigation revealed that all youtube reviews I saw prior to purchase were showing a previous (green) version of the footprint and not the latest variation.

Well, I became determined to get hold of the old green footprint and get rid of the new useless one. There were still a few online shops selling old footprint and after forking out another £45 I've become a happy owner of a sheet of green material with four alloy grommets. I've purchased mine from Taunton Leisure as they have good customer support and replied quickly and correctly to my enquiry.

Why would MSR make the lives of their customers more difficult? The answer is very easy. They want people to buy more of their products namely Fast & Light Body for pitching the outer on its own. There is nothing wrong about trying to sell more products but does it really have to be done in this way? Is that a really good idea when they have competitors like Naturehike selling equivalent products more than 50% cheaper than American originals? And yes, Naturehike tents come with footprints and they have grommets.

It is worth mentioning that the old footprint is slightly smaller than the new universal one. I don't think it really matters and I am intending to use it with my new Hubba.

Don't get me wrong, I like my new Hubba NX and I'm going to keep it in favour of Naturehike Cloud UP 1 but all this footprint business has been an unnecessary distraction.