Catoma Adventure Shelters IBNS (Improved BedNet System) 64581F & 64583F

I'm a humanitarian and disaster photographer and I recently bought this for a trip to Haiti. I usually carry compact mosquito nets and rig them up on walls, but I thought there might be a better solution for what I do. I wanted to give some random thoughts, in no particular order. If you want the short answer and save yourself some reading, then know I would recommend this 100%. It was a great investment, and I expect it will stand up to much travel over the years. Buy with confidence. If you're 6'3" or above, though, that changes my recommendation a tiny bit. Read below for my comments.-Tent setup takes literally seconds. Really nice to have such a quick setup.-Tent breakdown takes about fifteen to twenty seconds. The first couple times I had to carefully read the instructions to make sure I was doing it correctly. When in compact form, the tent is very light and compact. It was easy to pack it in my large duffel bag. Watch a few videos on Youtube and practice tent setup and breakdown before you travel so you get the hang of it. I figured it out on my own, but the added confidence of watching a few instructional videos would have helped.-I'm 6'5" and 225lbs. I fit in this thing, but barely in length. My head rests up against one end, and the ends of my toes touch the other end. If you sleep a little curled up (and I do), this thing will be long enough. If you sleep straight like a board and like to really stretch out all night long and not have anything touching you, and you're 6'3" or above, this may be a deal breaker. Again, I'm 6'5" and it didn't bother me. But if you don't like things touching your toes, and you're a huge person, this may be bothersome. Also, the idea of this isn't to be a huge tent around you. It's more like a casket, meant to be snug.-I was able to put my sleeping pad, sleep sack, and Thermarest pillow inside the tent. There was plenty of width in the tent, and I'm a pretty wide person. When I got back home my small dog crawled in it and I think we could almost sleep in there together if we got real snuggly.-The tent also goes on top of things, like crappy bug infested third world mattresses. I did this in Haiti too. I was worried I would wake up others around me if I moved a lot, but the floor of the tent isn't too crinkly or loud on top of mattresses. I didn't test the waterproofness of the floor but trust that it would hold up to a little water if it needed to.-This is not a true tent. If you're outside and it rains, you'll get wet. If you add a ground floor or tarp underneath and rig up a rain fly, you could get by with it as a summer tent. While the bottom does appear to be waterproof, the fabric is relatively thin. If I used this outside on rocky ground or gravel, I'd definitely want a tarp underneath it!-The zippers allow you to get in on either side of this, which was really nice depending on how my sleep setup was arranged. The zippers grabs themselves are a little loud, especially in a quiet room at night. The zipper grabs meet on a certain point of the zipper line, and when you move they bang against each other a little. They make some noise as you move around. It never bothered anyone else that slept around me, but if a roommate was a super light sleeper, it might wake them up. This was really the only negative I could find at all. And it wasn't really that bad at all. If you're mostly sleeping by yourself, or with some space between you and roommates, this isn't a concern.-The mosquito netting is really effective. I don't know technical specs, but the netting is fine mesh, and it kept out literally everything, including no-see-ums or whatever those tiny little bugs are. Not sure about fleas, but I didn't have any bites overnight of any kind when I was in this thing. I'm confident it'll keep out anything that poses a threat to me while sleeping.-It was hot in Haiti, and this tent really didn't retain heat at all. It did knock down a little bit of the fan speed overhead, but I didn't feel like it affected the warmth around me. This was really important for me as I mostly travel to developing countries closer to the equator. I did NOT want to add heat to my sleeping arrangement and was thrilled this tent did not.-This traveled well in my checked bag. It has some flexibility, even in it's most compact size. If this even makes it through a year of my travels, I'll keep replacing it. (I hate taking anti-malarial tablets). I'm headed to Sri Lanka, Togo, and Peru in the coming months, and if this tent breaks or poles snap expect me to write an update and change my review!-When I store this, I think I'll not fold it up into the most compact size. I'll probably store this in the larger, circular size. I'm worried in the most compact form long-term storage might bend the poles over time. Just a hunch.My overall recommendation is to purchase this. I travel to countries with zika, chikungunya, malaria, and other mosquito-borne illnesses. This takes up little room in my checked bag (I think it would fit in a carry on too), sets up quick, and lets me sleep with confidence. No more setting up mosquito nets at midnight in dark rooms. Or getting tore up with bites when I sleep in large rooms on concrete. When I hit purchase on Amazon I was a little concerned about price. But honestly, after using in Haiti during Hurricane Matthew response, boy am I glad I had this with me. Great piece of kit that I'll keep traveling with for a long time. Buy with confidence.

I was in the Infantry for five years and this tent did it's job phenomenally well. It starts out small and light, with a packed profile that makes it very easy to fit it into a bag or rucksack without leaving unecessary empty space around it. Setup is as easy as you could ask for. Take it out of the case and let it fly. It snaps open and to shape on it's own. No poles to set up or sort out. It is a great size for one average sized male. Low-ish profile so it doesn't draw too mich ire from your higher-ups for looking like a comfort item. :p It has double zippers on both sides for ease of access and even has a little extra room to fit some gear in with you. Keeps those ticks and spiders out of your boots. I've been impressed with how well it has held up being placed directly on the ground with no poncho under it. I still have no holes in mine. Teardown is the real treat. Once you're ready it's just three quick folds and then back in the bag it goes. Ready to move in a few minutes, if that. The only change I would like to see is some form of removable, water resistant flap over the top for the rainy nights. I used my poncho as a cover, but would be a nice inclusion. Oh it also has five clips to attach it to a standard cot if you get a hold of one (fifth clip goes under the middle of the cot to keep the sides pulled out, a nice thought).

I used this multiple times in the field in Alaska. I had everyone jealous. It sets up in seconds and takedown is a cinch. It is about the size of a cot and will attach to said cot to stay in place. It packs very small making it easy in a duffel bag, ruck sack, or back pack. It can also be attached to the outside. The compact size and light weight makes this shelter perfect for the military, survival, and any other outdoor use. It is spacious inside to keep a couple items and sleep comfortably, bug free.

After researching numerous bug shelters, I chose this because it seemed highly compact, yet unlike other shelters, the frame extends the entire length of the shelter to keep the net lifted away from you even towards your feet. Many other shelters only hold the net up near your face and let it drape across your legs, so they only really keep the bugs off you if you sleep in a sleeping bag. Also, this shelter fully envelops you... some others do not actually have a bottom, so this is a good choice if you also want to keep crawling bugs away from you instead of just the flying ones.I'm 5'10" and broad shouldered. As far as width and height, there was enough room to comfortably roll over. However I am about as tall a person as this shelter would comfortably accommodate.I took the shelter to Ecuador and it performed admirably. The biggest reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the airflow through the netting is fairly poor. It was hovering around 60 degrees overnight. I was sleeping on top of my sleeping bag and was still very warm from the trapped heat. I found myself opening up the net several times each night to vent it.It's also fairly difficult to fold up and store unless you've read the instructions and practiced it. It's really under a lot of tension, but this allows it to be collapsed down to a very small size.

I haven't really written any reviews but I have to say I love this shelter!! I have owned it for a couple of years to use as a assistant scoutmaster for my sons troop when we have our summer camps in the old fashion tents. In the past the bug nets that you would need to string up did ok but bugs could get in if you toss and turn to much at night or forget to draped it correctly before heading to sleep. This just connects to the cots and you letdown in it and zip away to full protection! I use a mattress pad under it for extra comfort and I have even pulled it out of the tent for some night sleeping under the stars with great views. I am 5'10" and I fit it in with no issues. I may buy the shelter cover for some light backpacking needs instead of carrying my REI half dome tent. It also works well with my Helios lite cot.

Literally takes .5 seconds to set up, and 30 seconds to take down. Very simple, seems durable (after 2 collective weeks of backcountry camping), and very affordable. Obviously you need a poncho or some sort of overhead cover, so this is not a stand alone system. But still fantastic! Makes a soldier a little more happy in the woods

Es un producto muy bien pensado para su aplicación, mido 1.83 mts y me va perfecta, calculo que alguien de 1.90 sería el máximo que entra en ella, al ser muy compacta, la movilidad al intetior esta limitada, hay que cambiarse la ropa afuera o con una de las "puertas" abierta, es sumamente ligera y en conjunto con el "fly kit wolverine" que compré aparte, son una maravilla, en caso de lluvia o viento, recomiendo mucho este sistema de Catoma.

This bug bed net is really good. Storage is easy, deployment is very rapid. Once you figure out how to fold it, you won't forget. Keeps the bugs out, the net off your face and gives you peace of mind while you sleep. Highly recommended.I used this directly on the ground under a tarp.

I travel in Africa extensively for work and thought this would be much better than having to hang up a mosquito net every time, but much to my dismay the poles snapped on my second trip. The poles are under so much tension when the tent is packed, that they don’t last long after repacking several times. I emailed the manufacturer about the problem and got no response. I tried to repair it myself using duck tape so it would be useful for the remainder of my trip, but the top of the tent sags annoyingly close to my face. If your going to use this tent for awhile I would recommend buying something more robust.

Great product, sets up in seconds and not much more to tead down. Feels very durable, and roomy on the inside. Happy with the purchase