Didn't think about the sheers.......
Army surplus stores often have rolls of noseeum... The AS store closest to my house has it on a 5' wide roll...Originally Posted by STICK
Too bad I already ordered it. I'll know next time though....
Well, today I was sitting here thinking about the materials I had ordered for the bug bivy, and the sewing machine that I have also recently purchased. I was waiting for me to get a good feel of using my sewing machine before I was going to embark on the bug bivy experiment. However today I said what the heck! I have been using it with some 1.1 ripstop that I bought from walmart already so I felt like I had a little feel for it. So far I have made quite a few stuff sacks of various sizes, however I still don't have them perfected.....and I have made 3 hammocks. One for each of my kids and 1 for my wife. (I have to get some 1.9 oz for me......)
So, I laid out my silnylon and cut it to size. Then I took my piece of bug netting and laid it on the top, and pondered. I could not figure out how I was going to sew that on the way I wanted, which is the way the MLD bug bivy is (I think I have pics posted in a post somewhere before this one). I played around with it for about an hour then put it away since I still needed to get a zipper anyway. That didn't last long. I pulled it back out about 3 hours later. I used paper clips and finally got 3 sides the way I wanted them. Sewed them on. I was stuck with the top now. That left me baffled. So I went to walmart to clear my head a little bit and look for a zipper and zipper foot. All the zippers were way to short (36" was the longest and it was too heavy duty) and no zipper foots. I decided I would go to a fabric store tomorrow. I came home, struggled some more but finally got the top sewn in. I have a slit cut down the center for the zipper, which I will pick up tomorrow. I want at least a 48" zipper. I still have to put my loops on as well.
So, once I get it done tomorrow I plan on pitching my tarp again and setting my new bug bivy up underneath. I will post pics hopefully tomorrow.
IMO, it came out nice. Not 100% perfect, but 100% effective. And light. I have not weighed it but I will do that too. I am shooting for less than 7 oz and probably between 5-6 oz.
Not DIY ...but we own 2 of these and really like them. Nice thing is that they work under a tarp or in a shelter and only weigh around 11 oz
'Slogger
The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.
Forgot to mention that I am referring to the OR Bug Bivy. Here is a link to one source:
http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/sho..._id=GoogleBase
The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.
I was actually debating getting one of those. How does it do crawling in from the top?
Well mine's about done. I am going to take it out an set it up in a little while and maybe I'll get some pics on here later.
The zipper about kicked my tail. Once I get to a certain point it's hard for me to figure out how to sew stuff without sewing through the whole thing, ya know.....
20+ years ago, I made a "bug bivy" using no-see-um netting (which doesn't breathe too well), coated rip-stop nylon, and a 48-inch 2-way zipper.
My netting was - I think - 48" wide, so I used 2 pieces sewn length-wise to make the top (for plenty of headroom). I sewed some tabs into the ridge-seam so that I could hang the bivy from a ridge-line. Then I sewed the zipper in between the netting and one side of the nylon floor (no bathtub floor - pretty much just flat).
I made this bivy so that it could be used AROUND the hammock that I was using (the old mesh-style hammock from the '80's) - I sewed in a drawstring (with a cordlock) at each end. In the hammock, my body held the sides away enough that I had space inside; if I went "to ground", the nylon floor was a reasonable groundsheet. Unzip, climb in, zip up!
All of the sewing, of course, is done with the bivy inside-out, so that the finished product looks...finished! I'm no tailor, but I was pleased with my end result.
Of course, if yours is almost finished, go with your original design...you can always make another one to improve on your design after you use it a fews times and see what works and what doesn't.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!
Here are some pics I took of my bug bivy today. The size is slightly small to fine. Since the bottom is silnylon it slides easily. Otherwise I like it just fine. I will try to get a weight on it sometime. The zipper I ended up getting was not what I exactly wanted so it may be a little heavier than I anticipated. I would still say it's a half pound or less though.
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