Hey all!

This is my first post on this forum.

Almost anywhere I go, I just sleep out or at the very most, put up a light tarp over me if it's raining.

But one of the places I go to a lot near where I live is just infested with Copperheads, Western Diamondbacks, Scorpions, Brown Recluses, etc. I have woken up with scorpions in my bag and copperheads near my bag before, so I vowed that I should probably not sleep out again out there without some sort of protection.

What I need is a recommendation for some sort of small tent, either 1 or 2 person capacity at most, that is still very "open," ie. you can still see and hear everything and still lets the breeze in, but can keep out snakes and scorpions.

I want to still be able to lay there and look up at the stars or hear the wildlife. I don't want some super heavy duty tent that blocks out noise and nature. Temperature is not a factor for me, obviously.

I need a tent that is lightweight, open and protection from snakes.

Is this do-able for under $100? Anyone got any item or product suggestions?

Thanks!

Do you want protection from rain also or will simple netting work for you?

P.S. WELCOME!!!

Thanks! And Nah, I don't need any rain protection or anything. Just simple mesh or netting is great.

I have a Eureka Solitaire that sounds like it might fit your needs. I swear that two weeks ago your could get one new for $39.00. Now I see they're going for $89.00. Probably because backpacking season is starting up.

Here's a pic of it with the rainfly rolled up.

But, if your inclined to DIY... Take a look at this Clear Plastic Tarp I made.

Then take a look at these pics of a "Low Tunnel Greenhouse" I made using the same clear plastic and some "Tulle" I got at a craft store:

Pic One
Pic Two

I think that Tulle and some innovative work with tape, poles, and tie-outs would be pretty easy to fashion into something that might work too.

You might also look into a Byer Mosquito Traveller Hammock if you have trees to tie it to. They're still only $39.00. I have one of these too and I like it a lot.

And welcome to the forums!

You could look at something like the Pyra Tent - Pyra Net from Bear Paw ($75-85)
http://www.bearpawwd.com/index.html
or even a Sea 2 Summit net,add a zip and make your own floor
Franco

MSR Hubba (3 pounds) or Carbon Reflex 1 (2 pounds and a few ounces) are essentially an all-mesh inner with sewn in floor, and a full-cover fly. You can leave the fly off in nice weather, and it's just like sleeping out under the stars (but no bugs.) You can also pitch the fly and poles without the inner, and essentially have a light tarp; you do need the footprint to do this with the Carbon Reflex - but you'd want a ground cloth anyhow, right?

I've use both, and dearly love both. However, they don't fit your "under $100" criteria. This may be a useless recommendation, but I thought I'd toss it in, just in case.

I also have a Eureka Solitaire, and like it quite well, its lite, and keeps the rain and bugs out well. See no reason as to why it shouldn't keep snakes out as well! Anyhow its a great tent for the money and has held up well for me:)

That Byer Mosquito Traveller Hammock looks cool as well. I really need to get a Hammock, might have to try this one:)

I should mention that I blew out the zipper and one of the hangers for the bug netting on mine pretty fast. I was a little klutzy getting out of it so I blame myself

I taped the hanger back on didn't bother with the zipper. I just let bug net drape over and it falls right about where it'd zip anyway. This actually makes it a lot easier to get in and out of.

But, for the price, I think it's a great entry level hammock and perfect to find out if you like them. It doesn't come with any kind of rainfly or tarp, that's why I made one out of plastic, but if you don't need one, all the better.

My buddy is also looking at the Eureka Solitaire for his first tent. 2 lbs, 9 ounces but you could leave the fly at home if you wanted to cut down on some weight. $64 @ Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-2628307-Sol...5620&sr=8-1

How about a hammock? Just hang above them all...rise up! Welcome to the forum. Skeeter beeter is cheap and I hear good things about it.

Outdoor Research Bug Bivy? It's a little heavier than some but tough and absolutely snakeproof. (Anything under twenty pounds, I figure.)

Pair with a lightweight 5x7 tarp and there's a complete shelter.

Cheers,

Thanks for all the quick replies. Feel free to keep 'em coming!

That MSR Hubba and Carbon Reflex are great, and the type of thing I am looking for, but as you mentioned they are pretty pricey haha.

I would still be iffy about sleeping in an unprotected hammock. I've seen snakes climbing around in the trees out here and scorpions and brown recluses climbing up the walls.

It's basically a cesspool of venomous animals out here, hahaha. And they are surprisingly aggressive.

I make it sound like a horrible place, but it really is great.

That Bug Bivy looks good too! Would it withstand a snake trying to bite through the base of it?

You haven't really looked at camping hammocks - many have full length zippers and bugnets, some have weather covers in additional to tarps.

YOu would need a pad or underquilt for insulation underneath you, a sleeping bag or quilt inside the hammock... but I sleep with my hammock completely zipped up in buggy weather, or when there's enough wind to knock stuff out of the trees. Pine cones and sticks bounce off the bugnet. I treat the straps around the trees with permethrin, keeps bugs from crawling out to me.

Hennessy, Warbonnet, Clark and a few others have full bugnet enclosure with a couple different entry methods.

Hammock is your solution, however you say:



Where is this place?? May be you said and I missed it. There aren't any venomous tree dwelling snakes in North America. Brown recluse spiders are shy, bites are rare, and you have to look really hard to find one. Scorpions are around but aren't that big a deal.
I'm curious where you are camping....do share.

Switch to a hammock if there's places to hang.

What, do you live in Texas or something?

I don't think anyone has mentioned a bug net. Just put it over you and under your tarp. Here is one for $25.
Bug net


You could of course, just sew one. You can even buy this one and sew a floor to it, and a zipper to get out. The meteor bivy is similar and a good option as well.

I am a hammock guy, but a lot of people have already recommended that. Good luck.

I was going ask if he was an Ozarker

We have Brown Recluses here, one of my daughters, and a close neighbor kid, have been bitten. It's a nasty bite, no doubt about that. Here's a good description of them. A few years ago my pole barn office got infested with them. I don't kill spiders as a rule and never really took a good look at them. Finally, after living with them for months, I thought I might have gotten bit, so I looked into what I had crawling all over the place. After a positive ID, I started a killing campaign and stomped everyone of them I saw. If I missed any of them they left on their own and I haven't seen one in a long time now.

I don't know of any tent that would stop the fangs of a big venomous snake. We have plenty of those here too, but I've never worried about them. I'm careful of them, but not worried. I can't imagine a snake spending much time trying to get into a hammock. That would be way below the odds of stepping on one.

The thing that scares me the most about sleeping out in the open on the ground here is ticks and chiggers. I've heard some horror stories from ol'timers here who tipped a few too many and passed out on the ground and when they woke up found they'd been the main course at a feast. You can get away with it in the cold months, but odds are against you in the warm ones.

+ 1 for the hammock
As Glenn mentiond im also a huge fan of the Hubba

For those wondering, I am in SE Oklahoma, by the Ouachitas and south of the Ozarks.

I've encountered Water Mocs, Copperheads, Western Diamondbacks, and probably a dozen or more different types of non-venomous snakes.

I've also been way up in a tree and had a pack of rat snakes decide to climb up there with me after I was already up there. They got about 50 feet up - I had never seen snakes go that high in a tree before.

I know I probably sound like I am being overly cautious, but like I said I've woken up a couple of feet from a Copperhead and woken up with scorpions in my bag, so I'm trying to err on the side of caution. Plus I am out there alone a lot and the nearest hospital is many miles away.

Thanks for all the responses!

Lake Ouachita is one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever been to, and that list includes Tahoe.

I've also been to Disney 4Wheeling with the big dogs there. Course, I wasn't following them, but I did do some trails and a lot of watching, and I got to meet Buss Hogan and watch him drive his Unimog up a cliff face

Check your PM (Private Mail) - click on the flashing letter on the forum tool bar at the top of the screen. (Just in case, being recently registered, you didn't know.)

One other person mentioned it, but it sounds like a mosquito net is what you are looking for. If you want something with a bit of structure check out REI's bug hut pro.

Mosquito netting is cheap, light weight, and wide ope like you are looking for. Pair it with your tarp for rain protection.

"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

Indiana Jones.

Yeah, I felt that way a few times.

My wife and went to a swimming hole on the Buffalo River around July a few years back and we swam all day. Later on I thought I'd take a night swim so I walk the 20 ft from our tent to the rivers edge with a flashlight.

There was a bunch of water weeds growing along the shoreline there and they were floating on the water for the first 4-5 feet all along the bank and when I shined that light in it I could see cottonmouth water moccasins swimming everywhere in there.

They could see me too, and they stopped what they were doing and took a good look at me. I just stood there. After a bit they started back to work making their rounds and I went back to the tent and our campfire and sat down. I wasn't scared though, I just didn't feel like swimming anymore.

Thing is, not one of those snakes ever came up onto the gravel bar we were on that night, and an hour or two after sunrise the next morning they were all gone.

There's guys that go frog gigging here at night. I hear frog legs are really good. I've never tasted them, but all the guys I know that go gigging have run into cottonmouths and more than a few have stories about getting chased by them, but that's never happened to me.

snakes and bugs sure, but will it keep you safe from sasquatch? We don't got no snakes and scorpions up here...
Jim