View Full Version : Anyone use the Original Bugshirt?
I am finding that this year's mosquito crop is epically prolific. My favorite time of my hiking/camping day is usually after dinner, lounging before bedtime. This year, it seems no amount of DEET keeps the bugs at bay and I turn in early to escape the attack.
I saw the Original Bugshirt at a local retailer, http://www.bugshirt.com/ I am considering getting one for those Dusk to bedtime hours but they are a bit more exspensive than I'd like.
Anyone have experience with the Original Bugshirt?
Thanks
TrippLite
07-14-2014, 00:40
No experience, I wonder how much your vision would be impaired through their netting. I've had to cut eye holes in head nets in the past while still hunting so I could see. My first thought was shipping cost when I noted they were made in Canada as postal rates between US and Canada are unreal.. Add $15 for shipping locally from US stores. Hmmm
I'm sure they work nicely when lounging. You would definitely look funny but who would envy whom when the mosquitos are taking no names. A zippered head or face piece would be nice.
I was going to post a thread for feedback on Insect Shield.. I treat my clothing with Permethrin regularly but Insect Shield claims their treated clothing last for 70 launderings. I found on their website that you can fill out this form (http://www.insectshield.com/PDF/IS%20Your%20Own%20Clothes%20-%20U.S.%20form.pdf) and mail with your clothing and they will treat it for you. I may have some of my regularly used items treated by them and order a Peter Vacco head net as I've heard others say they can see out of them good
Be interesting to see any feedback on the Bugshirt
Offshore
07-14-2014, 08:34
I am considering getting one for those Dusk to bedtime hours but they are a bit more expensive...
I think $55 - $65 as shown on their site is excessive, especially when you add shipping and potentially a foreign transaction fee from your credit card company (happened to me when I ordered directly from Hennessey Hammock). I've had good results with a Zorrel LS Insect Shield treated T-shirt (currently ~$28 on Amazon, but I got mine for $19 early in the season) paired with a $10 Sea to Summit head net.
Turk6177
07-14-2014, 09:18
you could try your own shirt sprayed with permetherin and a head net sprayed with permetherin. When I was in the 100 mile wilderness last year, the mosquitoes were really bad in camp. I had a long sleeved shirt that I had sprayed with permetherin that kept the skeeters away from me. It might be the cheaper route.
Pringles
07-14-2014, 21:43
I have one of the Original Bug Shirts, and a pair of pants that match. I have used them on Arctic trips. I refer to the combo as my "sanity suit." In the month or so that I've spent in the Arctic, I've probably gotten a couple of dozen mosquito bites, while people who didn't have any bug suits had lots. With the bug suit, I didn't have to use bug spray except when I visited a bush, and on my hands. I don't know if I'd wear it while hiking on the AT, but I can say that I love my Original Bug Shirt clothes. They work.
As to shipping from Canada, I believe they ship to US customers from a US post office (or shipper). It's been a while since I bought my stuff from them, so maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I remember the purchase being a good experience and I KNOW they make good products.
Pringles
Thanks Pringles,
A local retailer has the tops, not the bottoms, in stock. This particular retailer has frequent sales (ie 20% off one item). I have convinced myself to pick up an Original Bugshirt with the next sale.
Thanks again for your feedback.
Pringles
07-15-2014, 22:31
I hopes it make you as happy as mine has made me.
gunner76
07-16-2014, 23:55
I got one of those long sleeve shirts with built head piece made of skeeter proof netting some years back. Problem I found with it was, if any of the netting was touching you, then the skeeters could bite thru the holes in the net. If it was not fairly cool or cold out them the you would sweat in side the net, crazy how much heat it retained. When you sweat then the net would stick to you and once again the skeeters could bite thru the net. While I have not worn it it in many years I was thinking that spraying it with permethrin would help.
Pringles
07-17-2014, 08:07
The Original Bug Shirt isn't made of just netting. It is a mix of mesh and fabric that is woven so finely that the bugs can't drill through it. The mesh is in the areas that won't fall against your body due to gravity... so there's a sizeable strip from your wrists, under your arms, to your waist. Then there is mesh on the front of the hood. On your arms, the fabric that would lay on your skin while you're upright is either a nylon or cotton. Their testing shows that the bugs can't bite through the nylon at all, and the cotton is something like 97% effective against bug bites. I got the nylon. The body is mostly of fabric, and there is a hood that is also fabric. The big advantage of this bug suit is that you don't need to put any bug spray on it. The bugs can't get through the area of the suit that touches the body, and there is some ventilation from the mesh which doesn't touch the body, so doesn't really need the bug spray. I don't know if you need that kind of coverage on the AT, but in places where the bugs were horrible, I was very, very thankful to have it. One Arctic outfitter told people NOT to bring bug suits, that you'd still need to spray DEET on it, and then when wearing a fleece jacket with the DEET on the mesh touching it, the fleece would basically disinigrate. I took it anyway, knowing I wasn't going to use DEET on it, and I was very happy with it. It is warmer, but I go nuts from bugs. I would have the hood down if the bugs weren't too bad, and have the hood up but the face mesh not zipped up if the bugs were a bit worse. When the bugs were horrible, I zipped myself in. I guess it's a choice.
Good luck!
Pringles
rgarling
07-17-2014, 08:52
I have used this shirt in dense swarms of mosquitoes. It is very effective and will keep you sane. It has quite a bit of ventilation under the arms and I didn't find it excessively hot (didn't hike in it though).
The Original Bug Shirt isn't made of just netting. It is a mix of mesh and fabric that is woven so finely that the bugs can't drill through it. The mesh is in the areas that won't fall against your body due to gravity... so there's a sizeable strip from your wrists, under your arms, to your waist. Then there is mesh on the front of the hood. On your arms, the fabric that would lay on your skin while you're upright is either a nylon or cotton. Their testing shows that the bugs can't bite through the nylon at all, and the cotton is something like 97% effective against bug bites. I got the nylon. The body is mostly of fabric, and there is a hood that is also fabric. The big advantage of this bug suit is that you don't need to put any bug spray on it. The bugs can't get through the area of the suit that touches the body, and there is some ventilation from the mesh which doesn't touch the body, so doesn't really need the bug spray. I don't know if you need that kind of coverage on the AT, but in places where the bugs were horrible, I was very, very thankful to have it. One Arctic outfitter told people NOT to bring bug suits, that you'd still need to spray DEET on it, and then when wearing a fleece jacket with the DEET on the mesh touching it, the fleece would basically disinigrate. I took it anyway, knowing I wasn't going to use DEET on it, and I was very happy with it. It is warmer, but I go nuts from bugs. I would have the hood down if the bugs weren't too bad, and have the hood up but the face mesh not zipped up if the bugs were a bit worse. When the bugs were horrible, I zipped myself in. I guess it's a choice.
Good luck!
Pringles
Where were you hiking that the Mosquitos were so bad? On the AT? I have just never experiences bugs on the AT so bad that I've needed that much protection - yet.
Pringles
07-19-2014, 08:42
Where were you hiking that the Mosquitos were so bad? On the AT? I have just never experiences bugs on the AT so bad that I've needed that much protection - yet.
Deacon, I've not been anyplace on the AT where the mosquitoes were all that bad. But the original poster asked about a garment, not how to deal with bugs on the AT. So I tried to answer the question about the garment. I've used it in the Arctic, the Boundary Waters, and in high mountains out west when the bugs were bad. In those situations, it has been wonderful. Pringles
You want bugs? C'mon up to New Hampshire. We have plenty. So bad at times you can't breath in without ingesting them. Headsets help...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Deacon, I've not been anyplace on the AT where the mosquitoes were all that bad. But the original poster asked about a garment, not how to deal with bugs on the AT. So I tried to answer the question about the garment. I've used it in the Arctic, the Boundary Waters, and in high mountains out west when the bugs were bad. In those situations, it has been wonderful. Pringles
I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but was curious about your bug experiences. Thanks.
Where were you hiking that the Mosquitos were so bad? On the AT? I have just never experiences bugs on the AT so bad that I've needed that much protection - yet.
Sorry to have confused anyone. My hiking is Northern MN, WI and Isle Royale NP. My last trip to WI raised my interest in the Original Bug Shirt. My guess is the mosquitoes were not as bad as Pringles' arctic experience but bad enough to send me in search of alternatives to DEET.
I have used this shirt in dense swarms of mosquitoes. It is very effective and will keep you sane. It has quite a bit of ventilation under the arms and I didn't find it excessively hot (didn't hike in it though).
Keeping sane is exactly what I seek.
Thanks for your input.
Wise Old Owl
07-19-2014, 15:24
In the video - the face mesh is on a zipper and can be lowered for eating or taking a picture... no need for holes...
Appears to be well thought out.
Pringles
07-19-2014, 17:42
The face mask does lower for eating, but I've made a "thing"for eating when the bugs are bad. This is good for rafting or canoeing, where weight its less of an issue. I take a piece of ninety, maybe 4 feet by 6 feet and fold it in half, so it its about 3 feet by 4 feet, doubled over. Then I see the short ends together. I put some light Bungee chord in a hem around the open end and cinch it with a cord lock. Then, I have a little envelope of bug free sanity in which to eat. My upper body is free to move around within the bug screen. It's a small version of Cliff Jacobson's Susie bugnet. It's cheap and it works well. Pringles