Thursday, July 01, 2010

Homemade mosquito net tent

mosquito net tent I sewed my own mosquito net tent.

It was not easy to sew. The netting would get stuck in the sewing machine foot. It's mosquito netting, not no-see-um netting, so it had holes big enough for a sewing machine foot to find its way in. I figure it should be sufficient for the kinds of bugs I usually experience in my area, which is mostly mosquitoes and flies.

There's no door. I could not figure out how to make a door. The netting is not strong enough to sew a zipper directly into it. If I ever figure out a way to add a door, I may add one later. For now, it's easy enough to just crawl under one of the long sides.

It's quite light, but without a sensitive scale, I'm not sure how much it weighs. With the two lines attached, tt feels to weigh about the same as my Equinox bivy, which is listed at 6.5 ounces. I don't mind that it is white. I used to sleep under a mosquito net tent that I bought in a travel store that was made to go on top of your bed in a tropical hotel room. That sucker weighed a pound. It was white, too, and I could see the stars through it at night just fine.

When I first met The Man we did a little backpacking together and one thing I used to like to do was get inside my mosquito net tent and just lay out naked and enjoy the air free from the flies that plague our backcountry. One time I did that while he was out cutting brush on the trail. When he returned to camp, he was surprised to see me. He told me I looked like a beautiful maiden in a gossamer cocoon.

In warm summer months I sometimes feel sad that I am stuck inside my tent without the ability to see the stars. I've tried just using a headnet but if the night is warm, it is too hot to be confined to my sleeping bag. I about died of heat in Seiad Valley when I tried to sleep without a tent and just a head net. I needed to stick arms or legs out but mosquitoes were biting. Having a full-sized mosquito net tent like this means that I can sleep outside of my sleeping bag on warm nights without worrying about mosquitoes.

I may give this a try on my up-coming hike in the Sierras. I'll bring either my poncho or my big 8x10 tarp in case of rain. I have to try the poncho and the tarp to see which one I can actually set up with my mosquito net tent.

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