Thanks Brandon - Now I'm Midge proof

[Shewie]

I sent a mail to Brandon a couple of months ago to ask if he could make me a slightly modded Blackbird for my trips to Scotland during the warmer months. I already have a 1.7dbl but found out last June that the no-see-um netting was not fine enough to keep out the abomination that is the Scottish Midge.
I lay there one night on our Loch Shiel canoe trip last summer and watched in horror as the little beggers dragged themselves through the holes in the net and into my living space. I sacrificed a couple of ciggies in an attempt to keep them away but in the end I had to reach for an additional head net before I could finally get some peace.
A bit of email tennis followed and Brandon agreed that if I sourced the some midge net myself he'd be happy to have a look at it, if it was up to the job then it was a goer. I got straight onto the suppliers and had them post me a large square of net direct to Warbonnet HQ, a couple of weeks later I got the news I was hoping for and the Scottish Midge proof BB went into production.
A few more anxious weeks past before I got the shipping notice from Brandon to say it was on it's way I was then annoyed to see that customs had got their hands on it and I spent another five days constantly checking the tracking link. Eventually after five days of thorough testing by her majesty's finest it was finely released and on it's merry way again.
Today I called into the local postal depot and happily handed over another £20 in exchange for a smallish box which interestingly weighed very little. Twenty minutes later and I was in my bat cave and getting it rigged for the first time. Having already got one of Brandons early BB's I knew what to expect, every stitch line was perfect, no loose threads and the finish was top quality. The net looks perfect and a lot stronger than I thought it might be, I' hoping to get out for a test hang at the weekend but as for testign the midge resistance that will have to wait a couple more weeks until I head north again.

Just wanted to say thanks to Brandon for working with me on this, the BB was already perfect but now it's even better

[Soupy]

Aye... They are persistent wee pests.... and they do love the English.

I've never had a problem with my generic mosquito net... but I tend to avoid the swarming months.

Can you tell me where you sourced the midge netting?

[Crash]

I'm heading out to Scotland for holiday for the last half of June. How are the midges then?
My brother-in-law wants to hike some of the Hadrian's wall.
He doesn't want to camp out but I may bring my HH Scout but has no netting on it if the midges are not a problem. Is the netting on the HH Expedition able to keep them out?
D. Stewart

[Soupy]

June is peak season, Crash.

And although you are going to be exploring the Southern end of the Country... it would be wise to take a bug net of some sort.

I need to test out this permethrin stuff... I hadn't heard of it before joining this forum.

What other parts of Scotland are you planning to visit?

[lazy river road]

Awesome, I love our vendors here. I want a midge prof WBBB just so I can say I have one in my collection .

Now an on topic question. I'm curious about midge netting. Is it a thicker or thinner weight net then no see um. I wonder what the weight of it is? Without suspension what is the weight of your WBBB? Enjoy the new hammock I'm sure its a beaut.

[Shewie]

Can you tell me where you sourced the midge netting?

Hi Soupy, I used these guys for my netting, I've always had good service from them in the past and hoped the net would be suitable for hammock ..

http://www.midgie.net/

I'm heading out to Scotland for holiday for the last half of June. How are the midges then?
My brother-in-law wants to hike some of the Hadrian's wall.
He doesn't want to camp out but I may bring my HH Scout but has no netting on it if the midges are not a problem. Is the netting on the HH Expedition able to keep them out?
D. Stewart

As Soupy says, you're pretty much in the thick of it come the end of June. They're not so bad lower down but I'd definitely be prepared for them, the Beatons Midge Jacket is a good buy for anyone spending a lot of time in Scotland along with Wilma's Nordic Summer and you should be fairly pest free.
Re: the HH netting, I'm not too sure but I think it's no-see-um also, I never took my Expedition Asym up to Scotland in summer so never got to find out. Loch Shiel was particularly bad for midges last year, normally they don't bother me but at that time they were really dense and bitey little so and so's.

Awesome, I love our vendors here. I want a midge prof WBBB just so I can say I have one in my collection .

Now an on topic question. I'm curious about midge netting. Is it a thicker or thinner weight net then no see um. I wonder what the weight of it is? Without suspension what is the weight of your WBBB? Enjoy the new hammock I'm sure its a beaut.

Not too sure of the weight yet LRR, I'll have another play on Saturday and get the scales out.

[warbonnetguy]

i did agree to make one with that stuff, but don't know if i will again, i didn't like the fabric and it was hard to work with. it was woven like fabric, rather than knitted like netting, and the stretch characteristics of it were not consistent. it didn't seem to pitch as well as my normal netting. i hope it works for you though. looking at them side by side, it didn't appear that the holes were any smaller, but they could have been, i suppose the midges will let you know

[Soupy]

Thanks for the link, Shewie... think I'll make myself a headnet and test out the material.

Let us know how you get on with the (possibly one of a kind) Midge proof WBBB.