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).

Very lightweight and durable. Once you get the hang of un packing it without getting smacked in the face and contorting it to get it back into it's stuff sack this this is amazing. Took a trip where we rustic cabin camped in the Upper Peninsula Michigan very last minute. Cabin had no screens as advertised, so I bought one of these to use instead of a bugnet. Ended up the only one that slept bug free the entire trip. Only regret is that I didn't get the full set with rainfly and ground cover. Packs small, setup is instantaneous, plenty of room for you and the essentials but not much else. Can't wait to use it again.

Arrived with one of the fiber glass poles already shattered and snapped, one edge of it was stabbing though the pole sleeve! Found out during initial set up. I will be sending it back to Amazon for a replacement next week. May update review when the replacement comes in. But my initial impression was horrible. They actually issue out this product to our soldiers and Marines overseas? How does it really stand up to the elements if it can't even stand climate controlled storage? This product has ruined my planned camping trip for this weekend.

Of course, whenever I receive a product — I complete a complete inspection prior to using it outdoors. I must admit, this product is amazingly simple and extremely useful for those in the military in areas that are littered with bugs. If you know, you know. It’s lightweight and portable — merely weighing 1.9(ish) pounds and stores flushed in the main pack, taking minimal room. However, unfortunately, I cannot give this product 5 stars — because it came broken. The foundational pole that props the tent us was snapped. The tent kept dropping down and wouldn’t remain open. Overall, I ordered a new one and will continue to use this product — so long it doesn’t keep coming back broken. Fingers crossed.

Good overall but it has a flaw. There is a connector near where your left shoulder would be. This is attached to the fiberglass pole. This connector is not of the greatest quality and broke off the third time I folded my Burrow. I contacted Catoma who immediately knew the part I was referencing that broke. Sounds like this is a common complaint. They are shipping me a replacement, but I had to pay for it which is a little disappointing. I would think that they would warranty replace a part that is defective and prone to fail. Other than the issue with the connector I have been very happen with my Catoma Burrow. I will be looking for a stronger connector piece to resolve this issue long term.

Providing a quick review as I was a bit hesitant to purchase the Catoma IBNS due to some reviewers reporting broken or cracked fibreglass poles. I received the IBNS today and first gave it a thorough once over to look for any issues with poles broken or cracking. Happy to report that all poles look in perfect condition as is the rest of the "tent" . I have decided to store the IBNS in semi folded state to reduce strain on the poles while being stored (which is 95% of the time for most casual outdoor people). I will update the review once I have a chance to try it out.

Must have to barrier yourself from the bugs and bite flies.

Hatte vorher die Version mit "Regenschutz" und war vom Prinzip des Artikels überzeugt leider ist die Version nicht mehr zu bekommen so nutze ich nun ein Tarp als Regenschutz. Klein, funktional, transportabel auch vom Gewicht völlig ok. Einziger Nachteil: Dadurch das, dass Gestänge im lagernden Zustand unter Dauerdruckbelastung steht, kann es brechen :( ging mir zumindest bei meiner Version mit Regenschutz so. (Besser einfach gefaltet lagern)

Have used these for a number of years. Just came up on a longer duration trip to Africa for work and knew I needed a bug safe system so specifically looked for this model and was quite thrilled they had them here in UAE for same day delivery. Ordered 2 as I knew my partner would want one as well once they saw my setup. Will probably order the Wolverine tent cover here and complete the systems in the future or ship the armadillo cover I have from the US. Haven’t looked at the rest of the offerings but the Wolverine with the ground sheet is also an awesome fly/footprint combo in bug free areas. 100% recommend.

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.