Bushwalk Australia

While traipsing around the online camping world today I came across this. It's basically a lightweight tarp, with insect mesh sewn to the sides that drops down to the ground. I've never seen one in the flesh, but I thought it might be interesting to discuss.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/bugout-elite.html

I assume the main downside is the weight penalty. A bug bivy and tarp combo would probably be lighter, as would a hammock with built in mesh. If the netting is not removable, you just end up with a heavy tarp for those times you don't need the bug protection.

That aside though, I could see this being useful for use over a lightweight hammock, or groundsheet or bivy. I reckon one about 8ft square, at about 1kg, would be a pretty competitive entry for lightweight summer camping.

Is the reason no-one has come up with this before because it's not that useful?

Looks a bit like a niche product... I've used the tarp/mozzy net combo plenty of times in the tropics but as two different setups, not integrated.

This item looks pretty good, especially for those areas with 1 mozzy per square cm of exposed flesh. It looks great as a 'base camp' setup - you can sit under the tarp without being bitten to death. Ideal for PNG or any other malarial area. Not what i need in a temperarate climate though.

When it's stormy you generally want to pitch a tarp closer to the ground. If the netting is attached, it will lie loose when the tarp is pitched low. Every time there is a gust of wind it will flick water out of the netting onto you.

But for lolling around a base camp in the daytime ... perfect!

Could be good on a day walk - shelter from the sun at lunchtime and stop the flies from sharing your sandwich
We sometimes take a tarp on a day walk, the bug free sounds option sounds appealing

I see it also comes in a 9 ' and 12 ' version

I use a similar arrangement for my MYOG pyramid tent , although the tent edges are much closer to the ground and the mesh only drops about 40 cm

andrewbish wrote:I use a similar arrangement for my MYOG pyramid tent , although the tent edges are much closer to the ground and the mesh only drops about 40 cm

I'm in the process of making a pryamid tent with mesh around the edges. It seems to me to be a good way to do it. Andrew, after reading your post I searched for and found your blog entry on how you made your tent. I love that final picture of the old Ibrasco balance!

Orion wrote:I'm in the process of making a pryamid tent with mesh around the edges. It seems to me to be a good way to do it. Andrew, after reading your post I searched for and found your blog entry on how you made your tent. I love that final picture of the old Ibrasco balance!

Yeah it's a classic. How many sides and what dimensions will your mid have?

andrewbish wrote:How many sides and what dimensions will your mid have?

I'm just mucking around with it in my head at the moment but I'm thinking of four sides, about 9x4 feet (2.75 x 1.22 m).
I'll be mocking it up in plastic sometime soon. Going to use Cuben to try and keep the total weight very low.

How important is a catenary cut on a small mid? I'm thinking that it doesn't matter that much. Am I wrong?