Jumbo bug bivy (net tent) 4.8 oz. w/removable floor + 1.8 oz. for A frame tarps

[Monte Masterson]

I love my MLD Bug Bivy, but it’s small. And the top entry is certainly better than the chest or side zips you see on most other bug bivies, however, it’s still not easy to enter and exit. So I figured for the same weight I can have something much roomier and arguably easier to get in and out of. Smaller than a net tent, but larger than a bug bivy.

Measures 30″ high head, 24″ foot, 87″ long, 33″ wide front and 27 ” foot. It  will fit under any 6′ or wider tarp.

Green side panels are made with RSBTR .50 noseeum. The black lower portion, which includes 7″ under flaps, as well as the front triangle, are made with Questoutfitters .67 noseeum. Foot end triangle is 7D silnylon. Features # 3 YKK front entry zippers.Under flaps might be hard to see in the pic, but with a groundsheet on top they make the net almost 100% bug proof.

I used a horizontal AND a diagonal zipper to both meet at angles in the right corner. That eliminates any drama with a curved zipper and maximizes opening space. You can see the mid-weight 1 mil polycro floor inside. I taped up the corners 4 “so it gives me a semi-bathtub floor. Ploycro is of course 100% waterproof nor does it hold any water. Just give it 4 or 5 hard shakes when packing up and there’s hardly any moisture left.

The foot end 7d triangle is the only thing that doesn’t pitch drum tight, however, all tieouts are only lightly pulled with shockcord, so considering it’s not too bad really.

 

[dirtbag]

That is awesome! You make yourself some slick gear!! Great job!! If you ever take custom orders.. Hit me up please?????

[Erik G]

Great job. Looks professional, and way less claustrophobic than most bivies. I really dig the floorless idea with the flaps, too.

[Geoff Caplan]

Impressive work!

Do you find that the underflaps pick up duff and other crud? Or is that not a problem?

I’d been playing with the idea of an MLD bug bivy style design, but with a bit more headroom. I was thinking the top entry might have advantages. Perhaps more adaptable if you need a low storm-pitch with the tarp. Easier to reach stuff stored at the side of the tarp. But that’s only theory – I’ve never used top entry.

As you have practical experience with with MLD bivy, I’d be grateful to hear your reasons for going with front entry for this project.

Oh – and your seams look really professional. Any tips for sewing netting neatly?

[Monte Masterson]

Thanks for the accolades. This is about the 15th bug net I’ve made over the past 5 years. I’ve had many failures and I have become aware that the corners are the weakest points. That’s why I reinforce them all with 0.9 noseeum. I’ve also found bug nets need to be somewhat elastic and stretchy in order to keep the lightest nosseum fabrics from failing, and to get them to pitch correctly. Shockcord on all tieouts. If you have to pull hard on a net to get it taut, it’s not designed properly.

Geoff, The top entry MLD Bug Bivy isn’t bad when it comes to getting your feet all the way in, but then you have to do a contorted move to pull the front end of the bivy up over your head and torso. Kind of hard to explain. Not perfect, but the MLD is still an all time classic piece of ultralight gear IMO. This net I just made may not be much easier to enter, however, there is a lot more space once you’re inside. The MLD Bug Bivy is pretty tight.

I don’t have too much problem with getting dirt and debris on the under flaps because I always camp over grass or sand, never dirt. And the Questoutfitters .67 noseeum is very durable and I believe it is infinitely better than Dutchware or RSBTR’s. It looks and feels like 0.9 noseeum, but I’ve weighed it and it’s spot on. Also, most of my weight will be in the center of the net so the under flaps really don’ get pressed into the ground very much.

The ridgeline has a 1.25″ cat cut and I join the 2 panels by taking a 1 1/8″ wide strip of 7d silnylon and folding it in half and then running a warm iron over it to create a crease (very important). Then I sandwich the 2 noseeum pieces between the fold and pin HEAVILY. Next I sew a line down the seam with weaker tension and a larger stitch length. After that I fold and pin the nylon strips again (no iron) and sew with average tension and medium stitch length. This leaves me with a 1/4 inch seam that is strong, but stretches, which as I stated earlier is very essential to bug nets. On the front triangle seams I do the same process, however, on the foot end I just sandwich the silnylon triangle and the noseeum between folded 7/8″ wide strips of .74 DCF and sew only once. After the earlier processes this allows me to get everything straight and even. And since it’s a short seam the rigidity of the DCF doesn’t matter much (but it is why you see a few wrinkles on the foot end triangle).

The seams at the bottom of the side panels adjoining the lower black .67 and the green .50 is done by simply folding the .67 over onto itself twice at 1/2″ widths. Then I sandwich the .50 noseeum between the folds and pin, then sew. It ain’t easy, but without the triple thick lower seams, everything goes wrong’

I know it all sounds long and confusing and that’s because it is. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I’ll try to convey things as well as I can.

 

[Geoff Caplan]

Brilliant advice and much appreciated!

I meant to say in the first post that I think the T zipper design is far smarter than the curved zip.

A few years back I did an informal survey of reports of zip failures on the web, and they were almost all for curved zips. Short, straight zips seem to be much more reliable, for rather obvious reasons. I just don’t understand the rationale for curved-zip inners and bivys.

[todd]

Having used a Wild Oasis from SMD for a few years awhile back – the mesh flaps seem like they would get all kinds of stuff stuck in them, but in practice (while it happened some) it wasn’t a bother.

Monte – I applaud your continued innovation!!!

[Monte Masterson]

If you’re going to do a top zip bug bivy Geoff I’d definitely make it with a sloped front and the foot end tieout placed where you see it on the MLD and Yamamountaingear Bug Bivies. I’ve tried doing a full top zip on a net tent (like this one in the OP) and it was a complete failure. Nearly impossible to enter or exit.There’s a reason why the MLD and Yama bivies are designed the way they are.

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