Somewhere in between a bivy and a 2-person tent lives this, the Catoma Burrow, also known as the Improved Bed Net System. In short, it's an instantly deployable compact net system that doubles as a larger bivy with the addition of a rain fly.
Originally designed to be fastened to military cots to keep bugs out, marines liked it so much that they took it upon themselves to use it as a standalone system when a rainfly wasn't needed. In response the company made a few improvements to it to allow rain flys to be attached, ruggedized the design, and have since made hundreds of thousands of these.
Simply undo the cinch straps and hold tightly because it literally snaps open once you let go. After that, there's zero assembly. Seriously. There's even a funny little graphic showing a guy getting smacked in the face by how fast these open. Once it's open and deployed, you can either use it on top of a cot like it was originally intended to do, or throw a rain fly over the top and stake it to the ground to make an extremely quick summer bivy. Folding it up takes practice (each will include instructions) but makes it worth it, as it compacts down really flat.
It's made with pultruded fiberglass rods, giving it an ultralight and super strong construction. The mesh material is 20 Denier "No-see-um" mesh that keeps insects out, and the floor is made out of 75D 1.9oz Ripstop nylon. Incredibly, the whole thing weighs just under 2.0 lbs. Of course, being originally designed as an insect barrier, it's pre-treated with Permethrin to repel insects.
Specs
Condition Guide
Excellent: Net Systems are in excellent condition with no blems, stains, tears, or rips in the netting.
Great: Net Systems have field repairs to netting, or fabric. Retains 100% functionality.
| Performance |
Rated 5 out of 5
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| Utility |
Rated 5 out of 5
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Came in Very good condition except for the smell. Definitely pissed in, hosed it off and let it sun out for a few days.
| Performance |
Rated 5 out of 5
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| Utility |
Rated 5 out of 5
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You can take the surplus out of the USMC but you can't take the USMC out of the surplus hahah
Fantastic system, but knocking a point off for condition.
The instant deployment, light weight, and scalability of this system makes this by far my favorite one man tent on the market.
The tent was described as in "great" condition but arrived with abrasion tears and missing a cinch strap, which doesnt even reach "good" standards. Absolutely should have been listed as "serviceable"
| Performance |
Rated 5 out of 5
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| Utility |
Rated 5 out of 5
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