Taking the SansBug on a Plane

traveling with the sansbug in a planeThe convenience vs. portability trade-off.  No net can come close to the convenience of the SansBug.  There’s no need to hunt for a spot to suspend it like a regular mosquito net or join poles to erect one.  Imagine doing that every night and taking it down again the next morning, if you were moving from place to place, or if you have space limitations.

However, when it comes to transporting it, we admit that many users balk at the size.  Here’s an email from a Canadian family who has traveled with the SansBugs around the world for the past 3 years:

“I just ordered two more single SansBug nets for my kids. We have been doing humanitarian work and living off and on in Nicaragua for the last 3 years. These nets are AMAZING.  We have all 3 sizes, and use them all!  My wife and I use the 3 person, and my kids each use one of the other ones.  They have lasted good for 3 years of pretty heavy use – and we are still using them! They are just starting to show signs of wear; most are kid made holes (the kids were 5 years and 2 years old when they started using them).”
 
“It has protected us from an army of flying ants, tons of mosquitoes, a bat, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and maybe snakes, but I haven’t seen any snakes around me while using them.  Something I don’t care to test!  We have used them here in Canada, Taiwan and other places as well, but mostly in Nicaragua.”
 
“For the single person net, the description states it WILL NOT fit in your luggage.  However, the 4-folded 1-person net can fit in a duffel bag (or large suitcase).  When we 4-fold them we make sure to follow the instructions and videos VERY carefully.  We have 4-folded our nets many many times and never had a problem.”
“Tip for fliers: we travel with all 3 sizes, and we just stick them all into the big SansBug bag, so all 3 are together (we often 4-fold them when flying), and often put a life jacket or something else in there as there is usually room; it counts as a luggage but at least you can fit a few of the nets together and not get charged for each one.  Also, they can get hot and stuffy because they stop a lot of the gentle breezes – all nets do (it’s either that or the bugs), so we either put a fan up against them outside, or feed the wire inside and just have the fan inside. Works good.”
“Tip for campers: You can put a tarp over the net and under (just like a normal tent) and make it into a tent very easily, we use them for outside as well, even in the rain.  Thanks!”
Wes, Naomi, Kayla and Kaden from Canada
Note: The SansBug now has an optional rainfly!
The SansBug pop up screen tent has been used in many other countries.  Here’s an email from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police:

January 9, 1438hrs: “Please be advised our office must purchase three SansBug 3-person for members going on mission overseas.”

The Mounties may always get their man but even they need protection.  Three RCMP officers were deploying to Cambodia for one year to investigate crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed during the Khmer Rouge regime.   While interrogating witnesses in remote jungle locations, they had to deal with stubborn ants in their beds and pesky frogs in the bathroom.

2 months later: “Please be advised three of my colleagues have had the opportunity to try the tents on a mission to Cambodia. They indicated they are all satisfied with the construction and the rapidity to install the pop-up mosquito nets.”

So on one side of the world, the tents are being used to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone and on the other side of the world in Cambodia, they’re being used to bring the bad guys to justice.  Not bad, eh?

Can you spot the SansBug somewhere amongst the domes of Fabedougou? The domes are limestone rocks sculpted over millenia.  They are 3km north of Karfiguela Falls in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

As seen on istagram: @nicholsquarters, #sansbug #burkina.

Travelling with the SansBug mosquito net to Africa

Portable Mosquito Net Tent

This pic is from a very remote area – Baramita – a small mining village in the north-western part of Guyana which is only accessible by plane or a 7-day trek through the jungle!  When you’re going remote, you want a mosquito net that can stand up by itself; not one that needs to be suspended.  Here’s the 5/5 feedback left on Amazon:

“Very Amazing Tent – This tent is great, very light, and very, very easy to put up and take down. The instructions are difficult to read for taking the tent down so I recommend getting on YouTube and watching it there (makes it much easier)…”

Which is true… the manual is supplementary and is not a replacement for the demo video.

SansBug mosquito net tent on a twin bed in a guesthouse in Laos

 

Wiebke from Cologne, Germany sent this picture of the SansBug mosquito net in a guesthouse in northern Laos.  Her original plan was to only use it during home-stays, but she also ended up popping it open in quite a few guesthouses.  It definitely set my mind at ease knowing that I would not be bitten by mosquitoes at night or find some kind of creepy crawly on my pillow when waking up.

The highlight of the trip: My fellow travelers eyed my SansBug suspiciously for the first few days, but when we spend the night in a local village and the room we were sleeping in had an ant infestation in one corner, they asked whether I would mind swapping places with them.  I set my SansBug up right where the ants were and they didn’t bother me at all!

By the way, Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Danke Wiebke… Laos is one more country we can add to our list of countries visited!

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