Bivy Users: how to keep mosquitos off your face

Here’s a link to a couple of pictures from 2014.  I use a different bivy now but still use the same technique.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/95162/

-Lance

Yes, you’re being paranoid about the trees branches.  Sure, don’t camp right under a dead or dying tree, but I deal with hundreds of trees on my 13 acres and branches come down in wind storms.  If it’s a pretty calm night, I’m not worried.  Camping among the trees keeps you warmed (than in a clearing) because you’re not radiating as much heat away into space on a clear night.

The netting doesn’t touch your face over much area, so it’s more protective than you think, but, OTOH, they do have all evening to take off, land, and try again.

Someone once gave me a self-supporting headset.  Like a two-pole, square-base, bottomless, free-standing tent.  Lighter than a full inner netting liner for a tarp, but heavier than my 0.9 ounce frameless headset that I wear over a brimmed hat during the day.

If you can fall asleep with the hat on, that would definitely help.

3 foot circle of netting draped over your face

affix the top to the ground at two points just to keep it from moving around

it’ll touch your face only at the top.  Wear a stocking cap or whatever, and that will keep it from touching your face

a head net works, but there are more places for it to touch your face

the netting is uncomfortable if it touches, not to mention the mosquitoes that can bite through it

I just use the line that is attached to the head of my Recon bivy wrap it once or twice around my trekking pole and stake it out and have not had a problem it’s very easy you can see in this photo PITCHING BIVY WITHOUT TARP although they are also using a rock I have not had any problem without a rock but you could if it felt more secure to you. Here is another example but the person is using 3 lines but I don’t find it necessary Katabatic Bristlecone Bivy Set Up  .

Hat bill.

Sleep on your back with a straw in your mouth… :0)

Thanks for the advice guys.  Maybe the hiking pole setup isn’t too hard.

Lance, what bivy is that?  I like the amount of mesh it has.

Trees are good, they help prevent dew. Just watch for large dead limbs.

Trekking poles work but I usually don’t bother. I don’t mind if the mesh touches my face and if there are lots of mosquitos I’ll put something in the bivy above my head to push it up a bit. A full Smartwater bottle or my puffy will push the mesh up enough that it stays off my face.

Balloon

where do you put the balloon?

I just don’t find it touching my face normally, but I normally wear a hat to bed (just covers the ears up; if its too warm for one, see suggestion below about a baseball camp). But even when I don’t wear a hat, it rarely seems to become an issue for me.  But I’m normally a side sleeper and the shoulders help keep it off.  If I turn face up, if there are a lot of them swarming, I may bunch up my warm hat more on my forehead area to give a little more face clearance since they will try to land on the mesh and crawl around. I think a few really bad cases, I bunched something else on the upper part of my head until it cooled off enough for them to finally leave. It’s rare for mosquitos to stay all night in places I normally camp.

The angle of your head on your pillow helps naturally; I do fill in the area around my head somewhat with extra clothing, but that is more to give me more height on my clothing stuff sack that is functioning as my pillow which tends to tip my chin down more.

When I cowboy camp without my bivy and using just a headnet, I wear my baseball cap to bed under it and turn the bill sideways so it’s always facing up. If I turn over, I turn the cap. Works pretty well. I’ve used other sun hats as well for this.

You should set it up how you want to sleep in it and see how the mesh naturally wants to be and play around with things a little.

I personally find having to attach the cord on the face mesh to something to hold it off too much work which defeats the reason I mainly cowboy camp (too lazy to setup a shelter).

Bent over bush or sapling tip (here used with Alphamid)

https://www.randonner-leger.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32910

The brim of my hat works fine.

or tie one of the attachment points to a tree.

Thanks guys.  I tried some of the suggestions for hiking pole setup and if I Pre-tie the hitch knots on the line it’s actually very fast.  I like the dual pole setup where the poles are angled above my face with one line to the ground or backpack.  I think in practice I would use a combination of this and just beanie with brim when I’m lazy.

i tie it off to my trekking pole every time.. works perfect and never had and issues.

If you wanted to make it quick and simple.. zpacks sells trekking pole cups..  they weigh nothing. Simple to use and quick

here u can see the small pole is a carbon fiber pole and I’m using the treking pole cup with it.  You can also use it with your trekking pole…as you can see I am. I was experimenting in my yard here…