The ORIGINAL Bug Shirt

[ex Member swampy99]

I am thinking of getting one of these
http://www.bugshirt.com/welcome.htm
I want it to use in tropical rainforest and sub tropical areas and in the Australian outback.
Has anyone got one and used it and is it robust enough to deal with jungle trekking or will it just get ripped to bits?

Discuss.

 

[Totumpole]

I dont have any personal experience with them, but have ofter heard people say they are great.
Another alternative to consider is the Beaton Midge Shirt
http://www.midgejacket.co.uk/
Quite a bit cheaper - you could buy 3 just incase they do get torn to shreds!!!

I suppose almost anything made of a fine mesh will get torn quite easily in dense jungle, but I dare say they would still work treats for high risk mosquito times when you wont necceserily be out carving your way through the jungle with machete (ie dawn and dusk).

On the subject I read somewhere that the female anopheles mosquito (the ones that carry malaria) generally feed at ankle level, reinforcing the importance of covering up and the benefit of tree dwelling in malaria endemic areas. Sorry for the slight digression, any mosquito bite is still a pain in the backside, unless of course its not on the backside, but the face arm, chest........

 

[Toddy]

The all mesh ones are the same shirts. The Beatons one is made in Canada and imported to Scotland.

*What* a price difference though :yikes:

I have one, and though it's good, if you're constantly snagging through trees and the like I think it'd shred. Maybe that's why they have ones made mostly of cotton too. Kind of stuffy I would have thought.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Hoodoo]

I have one and in certain situations, it's a lifesaver. I love mine. As for holding up, it's decent nylon--not industrial--so if you are sliding through really heavy cover, I suppose eventually it will be damaged. The only downside from my perspective is that you can get pretty hot while wearing one, depending on the ambient conditions. But I've been in situations where the skeeters were maddening and it worked like a charm. Spent 5 summers camped on the edge of a swamp in a small camper and for a couple of those summers, that shirt made life bearable.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Thanks Hoodoo. Have you got the microfiber one as I am thinking of getting the cotton one may be a bit better to repair and being natural material not melt when near hot stuff.

Thanks Toddy I had looked at the sea to summit net shirts and leggings and knew that they would just fall to bits in minuets and as soon as a wait awhile vine gets you thats it at least with the cotton arms it may last longer and not snag so much.

 

[Hoodoo]

I bought mine a good handful of years ago and I don't think they had a cotton one then. In fact, that's news to me. The material on mine looks something like Supplex.

Just checked mine. It is the Elite edition. Not cotton for sure. I would like to see a cotton one.