Interesting bit of kit provided you can keep it there in the winds of the summits LOL
Karl
Interesting bit of kit provided you can keep it there in the winds of the summits LOL
Karl
I certainly was in situations where I wished I had one! Nevertheless, to imagine sitting in one of those on a summit and running a SOTA pile-up makes me uncomfortable. I would be afraid of being carried away in a straightjacket…
If running a radio on a summit would not raise curiosity enough.
73 Heinz, OE5EEP
Never heard of these till now
so much better in our situation
Karl
I use a “Fishing Shelter” it’s smaller and lighter than the thing you linked to and probably much cheaper too, I think I paid 5 quid for mine on Ebay about 4 years ago and it’s still mostly okay (needs a re-proof, but I’ll probably just replace it).
Colin
These things do work. But the photo on the site, showing the shelter apparently holding itself up in a neat square shape under the influence of some kind of anti-gravity, is perhaps a trifle misleading. Reality is more like this:
(though to be fair, this is with only one person inside as the other was taking the photo.
Popping in and out (e.g. to change links) can be a bit awkward, especially if it’s windy (which it usually is as we don’t usually find it worth the hassle of deploying the thing just for a bit of rain, especially as it makes it awkward to run two stations simultaneously.
Operating from inside is a very orange experience:
Martyn M1MAJ
Thanks for sharing the experience with us I do believe an internal pole would help LOL.
Found this one do like this one as you can zip yourself in if need be.
http://www.sportsdirect.com/carp-kinetics-ultra-shelter-943346?colcode=94334699
Karl
And can be rather noisy in windy conditions, but still better than getting drenched when it rains. I have a Terra Nova (other makes available) bothy bag allegedly for 2 people but in reality just adequate for 1. They are remarkably warm inside even in harsh winter weather.
Victor GI4ONL
I have never deployed my bothy bag in over 9 years of activating, preferring to use a plastic tarp for protection. My bag does have a loop which can be used to tether it in windy conditions, but being the shape it is, I wouldn’t trust it being in position when I got back from changing the dipole links. At least with a tarp I can peg it out at several points with it having eyelets around the edge. I often use it in conjunction with bungie cords which are useful to keep it in shape while allowing me to stick my head under to operate the kit.
I have come to the conclusion that there is no ideal shelter for activating. What suits the terrain on one summit, doesn’t suit another. I prefer the flexibility of a tarp - not pretty, but it usually does the job.
73, Gerald G4OIG