bug netting with tarp/ponchos?

[Brett Peugh]

Lately the gf and I have been going hiking and camping a lot.  For the overnights we mainly cowboy camp under trees and just pull our poncho tarps over us if it starts to rain. We are looking for ways to incorporate some type of bug netting into the system.  I like Lint’s idea of draping bug netting over an umbrella to keep up the bug netting off top half but then it lays on the lower half where the mosquitos can bite through.  Any other suggestions?  We are frugal and are not going to spend a lot of money.  We also don’t use trekking poles.

[Steven Hall]

Sea to summit makes some pretty light/cheap but netting you could check out

[Dale Wambaugh]

You could wear a head net. A bivy with a breathable top, waterproof bottom and an insect screen head end option is a geeat combo with a small tarp or poncho and perfect for cowboy camping.

[Brett Peugh]

Thought of that also but it doesn’t work to well in the summer when it can be about 70-80+F outside at night.

[Martin Farrent]

+1 for Sea to Summit: Nano Mosquito Pyramid Net Single (85g). It wants a bit of height, perhaps too much for some tarp configurations. But you can just tie it off with a bit of chord – which adjusts both height and (a)symmetry – as desired.

[Brett Peugh]

I am trying to get my mind to go more of the way of the hanging bug nets like the Sea to Summit ones as the ones that use fixed poles tend to weigh in at about 3#s.  Only issue I see is that we are and there is not always a tree nearby to hang it from but I guess we could make that more of a thing as to where we camp.  We could just keep our ponchos or a tarp underneath it.  Going to check if the local camping store has any of the doubles to see if the 94″ length is enough for my 6’5″ frame.  Thanks everyone!

 

Actually this might work with a 5′ collapsible pole to go with it also that can be put into the ground, right?  Any suggestions on a pole like that?

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve used head net

Also, just a 3 foot circle of netting draped over me.  I sleep on my side and wear a hat so the netting doesn’t touch my face

In Oregon/Washington, bugs are really only a problem for one month – June at lower elevations, August at higher elevations,…  I’ll take headnet or netting circle on a trip or two in that period just to be safe

[Martin Farrent]

Brett, a carbon tarp pole would be plenty. Just get one long enough.

@retiredjerry: I’m in Europe, and the main worry here is ticks… carrying all types of nastiness for months on end (if my cats are anything to go by). Isn’t that so much of a concern in the USA? A couple of friends have had Lyme disease, and it’s apparently no fun at all. In some regions, there’s also the danger of ticks transmitting a form of meningitis. So if I weren’t using a tent, I’d carry the S2S pyramid from late April to late October – and I’m going to start impregnating mine with permethrin, too (since it tucks under a ground sheet, but may come loose).

[Brett Peugh]

Okay, yeah, don’t know where to look for those but I will try.  Insects are pretty bad around here around the same time and we have ticks also because of the large deer populations.

[Martin Farrent]

If just over four feet will suffice, look here: https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/collections/shelter-accessories/products/pole-carbon-fiber?variant=27377863752

I can recommend that pole, having used one for five or six years with my Lunar Solo. Shortening the solo version of the S2S pyramid is simple:

[Brett Peugh]

Might not spend $30 for a pole but I will check things out.  Going to be using a double.  Could possibly use it as a support from the inside because at 6’5″ I need all the room I can get.  Thanks.

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