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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Eureka! NoBugZone CT11 review
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| Author | Message Text | ||
| bobbernumber3 |
ockycamper: "...We moved from tents largely due to the multiple times getting up at night for guys our age, and not liking crawling out of tent on our knees..." The Pee Bottle was invented for old tenting guys.... aka, wide-mouth Nalgene. I haven't been out of my tent at night in years. |
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| Banksiana |
Generally traveled minimalist. Adding a chair to my kit in my mid fifties. Bug shelter came after after a late July trip. Extraordinary evening bugs. Spent the last night on Robinson- still, muggy to the point of fog, high eighties at dusk. Spent the evening sitting on a rock slab above the water- rain pants tucked into socks, bug shirt, gloves- every sort of bug on deck, black flies, stable flies, deer flies, mosquitos, no-see-ums- sit on the rock until strangling and then stripping down, repeatedly dive into the lake, slip back into bug armor..... repeat cycle until retreat to hot, close tent. Next trip in august included a bug shelter. |
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| A1t2o |
ockycamper: "Makes sense. However, our group is mostly in their 50's and 60's. Not a lot of swimming going on. They would rather go when there are no people. . .and . . .no bugs" So you are going to base your trip around the bugs, and judge others that don't do the exact same thing? That seems a little preachy. Personally, I love going in June and there are plenty of ways to deal with the bugs. |
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| Argo |
After my first Quetico trip in 2000 my group pledged to always bring a screen shelter. In those days we brought a free-standing one with aluminum poles. It must have weighed 12-15 lbs and everyone was thankful we had it. The NoBugZone isn't light - particularly the CT13. But no regrets. The extra space for two people is excessive but I'm not spending dough on another one to save 2lbs. Interesting what you say about the sod cloth. If I had the Nemo and learned about the Eureka afterwards I would have been disappointed. Anchoring the sod cloth gives the shelter formidable structural integrity and bug protection. My only regret is not having the smaller version. But I have enough gear. But you can never have enough gear. Life is full of contradictions. |
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| TRadam |
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| ockycamper |
We have been going to BWCA for 16 years, and the Adirondacks for 3 years. We hit mosquitoes and black flys in torrents early on and had a unanimous vote that we would never again trip in black fly or mosquito seasons. All our trips have since moved to mid September to first week of October. Colder temps, but no bugs of any kind, no people, stunning fall colors, and lots of moose sightings. We also got away from tents years ago. Entire group brings hammocks now. |
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| ockycamper |
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| ockycamper |
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| Banksiana |
ockycamper: "You lost me at so many bugs you had to jump into the lake. The muggy heat was the cause of repeated immersions. The bugs the cause of being wrapped in what is basically plastic (no-see-um mesh is not all that breathable)- the only relief from the saran wrap immersion in the cool clear water of Robinson. I trip often, whenever I can secure time away from work, and adjust my kit for the conditions. A year is not complete without a fall trip. |
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| ockycamper |
We moved from tents largely due to the multiple times getting up at night for guys our age, and not liking crawling out of tent on our knees. We put up large group tarps and the guys spend our time under the tarp when raining our just around the campfire. Eliminates the need for large tents. Everyone has their favorite seasons. For us it is any season with no bugs, people or hot temps. |
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| Crashdavis |
I realized I have plenty of time. As long as I am back at school at 7am, August 17, I can stay as long as I want. Gear weight doesn't change much, just consumables. This will be my longest solo, but only by a week or week and a half. Triple portaging will suck some times, but it gets lighter every day. I am using two barrels and my Granite Gear carrier. No more need to hurry, so I will base camp more instead of rushing a pre-determined circuit. I treat everything cloth with permethrin, love that stuff. I am adding the tent. Odds are staying out that long I hit a stretch sideways rain days. I usually hang under a tarp. I dug out my ancient NOLS cookbook and I am bringing staples. Great on Ovaeasy and dried veggies. I bought a number 10 can of freeze dried hamburger to supplement my usual bacon bits. I have a solar charger to juice all of my devices, which I use sparingly anyway. I will turn around early if I start to run out of something important. Like bug dope, cooking oil... scotch. |
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| Lawnchair107 |
Crashdavis: "I have been using a Nemo Housefly as my backpacking shelter for several years, and other tarps before that. I have a CT13 and I am planning to use that as my shelter for two weeks in BWCA this July. Would love to do a trip outside of bug season, but teaching summer school in June pays for my vacation. Does anybody see a flaw in my plan? This is my first BWCA trip, I'm solo and need to cut weight and leave my MSR Hubba at home. No flaws I see. I would recommend looking into if you haven’t already a CCS lean. The lean could serve both a sleeping area & a getaway from the bugs with its huge interior. Very, very lightweight as well. |
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| ockycamper |
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| Banksiana |
When the bugs descend a screen house means more time to linger. Going in season without bugs has disadvantages as well (generally more difficult swimming). When you need it the weight seems well worth it. |
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| ockycamper |
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| Lawnchair107 |
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| ryjanssen |
As far as using as your only shelter…I’d have some reservations to how high the sidewalls (in normal set up) are to keep rain from coming in a side if you’re sleeping on the ground under it. Plenty of things to consider with this scenario as depends on the site you find—it’s probably going to be ok but I would side on extra weight (double portage) over wet gear—plus don’t forget a ground tarp/footprint if going without your tent. Since you’re solo you’ll likely have plenty of room in your tent to duck away from the bad bug hours. One other thing to try is pretreating clothes with permethrin—I’ve not had too many issues with bugs when doing so. Good luck on your trip! |
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| Crashdavis |
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| bobbernumber3 |
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| TRadam |
The Nemo will remain in our car camping tool kit as it is awesome for larger groups and going over picnic tables. |