US Catoma PopUp Bed Net, Coyote Brown, Surplus

Here’s an awesome anti-mosquito bunker for open shelters or anywhere where insects reign in terror. It snaps in place automatically and packs into a compact bundle. When new, these cost a small fortune, so now you can get high-quality military camping gear made in the USA for a very nice price.

Features

Beloved children have many names. Officially this is called Improved Bed Net System (IBNS), the tag on the product says BedNet PopUp, and in the civilian market, these are sold under the name Catoma Burrow. NSN: 3740-01-518-7310. In practice, it is a fiberglass-framed mosquito net for outdoor sleepers that actually works.

The system was originally designed to fit securely onto a military cot with webbing and side-release buckles on all four corners. However, the Marines liked it so much that they were using it in the field, too. In response, Catoma made a new version, which is sturdier and enables you to add a rainfly.

The floor is made from Ripstop Nylon, and it has some sort of waterproofing; the poles are high-quality fiberglass. These come in Coyote Brown, which doesn’t look terrible in the forest either. If you really need to blend in, pair it with an M05 tarp. Made in the USA.

The IBNS is packed in the Coyote Brown carry bag that has a zipper closure, and that can be attached to your gear.

This should come with American mosquito repellants/insecticides, but we removed them to be able to ship these. Note that some permethrin might have leaked on the fabric/mesh, and the soldiers probably have both that and Deet on these on purpose. So don’t store this next to cats or set it up in any natural body of water, no matter how much you’d like to test the waterproofness of the floor.

Use

Pair the bug net with an ultralight tarp, and you have a very lightweight and easy-to-carry open shelter for the mosquito season. These also work in lean-tos and non-mosquito-proof tents and cabins, plus anywhere where creepy crawlers are an issue.

The popup bednet is very easy to use. Take it out of the pouch, remove the cinch strap, and the shelter snaps into shape automatically. No assembly or set-up is required. Do it reasonably far away from your face, because it might otherwise punch you in your noggin’ in a possibly painful, yet kinda comical manner. You can fix the IBNS to the ground with tent pegs (not included). It also features buckled straps for securing it to a cot plus strings for tying a rain fly on top of it. Most of these don’t come with the rain fly, but we did see at least one there, so some lucky person might get one of those, too.

There are packing instructions inside the bag. We recommend reading them or watching the videos below, or you might need to learn what perkele means. It is very easy to do once you see how it’s done. You could of course try it on your own, video the whole thing, and become a social media sensation.

Size info

Measurements when inside the carry pouch c. 34 x 34 x 10 cm (13.4" x 13.4" x 3.9"). If you master the art of packing these, you might get a couple of cm (1") thinner package. The weight with the pouch is c. 1 kg (2.2 lbs).

When the shelter is up, the inside length is c. 215 cm (84.6"), and the shoulder width is c. 78 cm (30.7"). The max height is c. 50 cm (19.5"). So, you can fit in a fairly big sleeper or a smaller person plus the pack, and the mesh won’t caress your face in a creepy kinda way. You can even read a book if you like.

Condition

US military surplus. These are used, so there can be some stains on the fabric, and other signs of use together with that lovely military surplus aroma. However, they are in perfectly usable condition. You can even get rid of the smell by airing them out thoroughly.

Videos

Below you’ll find a couple of videos on the setup and packing of the civilian version. This milsurp model works exactly the same way.