I thought these sounded interesting so I read the entire article and was impressed. I then scrolled up to check the price and nearly threw up. It must be a joke! Does anyone else feel the same?

Aaron, I almost choked on my vomit and expired. Definitely seems a little pricey for a friggin 2-pack of headnets.

Cheers, jeff

Agreed. Must be stupidly expensive fabric. Also... from the description... it sounds very fragile. Breathability would be nice tho... but $40... ouch.

I feel the same way about those air pillows. It's like $6 for a three pack?! Meanwhile, you can buy a BOX of 50 from any number of websites for around $25!!! So how is it the something that retails for 50 cents each is sold here for $2 each? Also... those pillow have a high failure rate. I've had a few that won't stay inflated. No biggie as I bought a case of the suckers... but I'd be *BEEP* if I paid $6 for three and one or more of them had a leaky valve.

Edited by davidlewis on 08/02/2006 16:36:54 MDT.

Maybe its a typo... maybe the decimal is in the wrong place.

If its true though, that would definitely be a bit of kit in the unobtainium category!

To paraphrase the Clinton Campaign:
It's the Profit motive, Stupid!!

BPL is a business. Some stuff is fairly priced, some stuff is underpriced and some stuff pays for Alaskan adventures. DUH!!!

I would like to see the three side-by-side "through the netting" photos much larger (or clickable to expand). As is, they are so small that my monitor doesn't have enough resolution to see them clearly.

My wife makes my headnets for under a dollar, albeit no where near as tricked out as these. REI sells headnets for $14 (Outdoor Research) to $20 (Columbia sportswear and Produits Horizon) each, so Ryan's $20 for two is not a price gouging act.

I posted this morning on the Forum admin. asking if it was a misprint and I think they deleted my post. I about choked when I saw the price!

Bob, He isn't asking for twenty for two. He is asking twenty apiece or eighteen apiece for members.

Edited by frankenfeet on 08/02/2006 20:47:23 MDT.

Unfortunately, the first batch is priced very high because we did a small run with a cottage industry American manufacturer and the cost is absurd.

If feedback is ok on them and the demand seems there, I'll send them out to one of our main shops for a bigger run in 2007 to bring the price down.

Well at least stupid recognizes an overpriced headnet when it sees one...
I did forget to add that they look kinda neat!

Edited by frankenfeet on 08/02/2006 20:53:16 MDT.

When sold in a package of two, The price does not seem that bad. They do look real nice. Something I would want during the early season in the Sierra's!!! Nice product.

And, I should add:

This is not, and shouldn't be considered to be, a mainstream headnet. It's less durable, it lets noseeums in, and it's expensive.

There are some folks that would be spending their money irresponsibly if they purchased this headnet. If you're choking on the price, then it's for good reason. Spend your money on other ways to lighten your kit. We're talking fractions of ounce here.

Look at the specs, and if it's worth it to you, fine, if not, great. If you want a cheaper option then I do recommend the OR Basic Headnet. It's very functional and offers a good value.

If you really need to pinch then you can find Coghlan's nets for $5 apiece, and they work well enough.

Ryan... yah... I don't think anyone would buy one to save weight... although the weight is impressive for what it is... you're only saving 6 grams over a Coglans net. The things that really stand out about the net are the visability and breathability.

Pete Vacco has done an incredible job designing these headnets. The truth is they simply outperform all other mosquito headnet designs for a fraction of the weight and offer far better breathability. The design allows you to sleep with the headnet on and with no need for a hat or "spring ring" to keep the fabric away from the face and head. Ditto while hiking. This is the first and only headnet that I've actually *chosen* to wear, even when bugs aren't necessarily swarming. It's an extremely useful item to have on hand - perhaps deceptively so, judging from the sight-unseen impressions thus far registered here.

David - Yes, breathability is the primary reason that I coughed up the 36 simoleons. For years I've been using a headnet I threw together with $2 of no seeum fabric. It works fine with or without a hat and while sleeping.

I'm still on my first air pillow out of the set and it's going strong. No more stiff neck from resting my head on my boots at night.

I wanted to echo a headnet as warmth item. I have used a basic head net with hoodless and hooded bags for a long time. I find the miniscule weight is really a boost for the warmth and any (frozen) condensation tends to occur outisde the net so it's fairly comfortable. Also use them for dirty clothes/socks bag untill I can rinse in a river, I've strained pasta, prefiltered sandy water, etc. too. Also good for masking the face siloutte and smile glee while stalking marmot. A core piece of equipment in my mind regardless of season.

I was hiking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne a month ago. The bugs were bad, so I wore an OR headnet. It really reduced my visibility in the dappled light of the trail--and I almost stepped on a rattler. Had he bitten me, the $20 for one of the BPL headnets would have seemed very cheap.

Karl, same thing happened to me....twice...in the grand canyon of the tuolumne too!!! You don't know you're alive until you hear that rattle!


Found this little guy not more than 20 ft. from our camp. Man, I wished I had brought a tent that night.


Roy

Edited by oiboyroi on 08/05/2006 20:49:45 MDT.

going through some thick shrubbery to get to the river, while still half suspended in the bushes, heard the familiar sound - but where was he?!

I guessed right and jumped back. Finally after a bit, saw a guy just like the one pictured above nestled below the branch I was on.

I took my BPL mosquito headnet out for a hilly, hot, run in the sun. I get very hot with exercise so I was anxious to see how the new headnet compared to my old ones for breathability and comfort. I ran for 13 hot miles and at no time was I inclined to remove the netting nor was I even aware that I was wearing it. It’s definitely a superior tool for me.

I put my hand 6” in front of my mouth and exhaled deeply. With my no-seeum and another coarser mesh on I could hear the air as it created drag passing through the material. I also felt a substantial decrease in volume and velocity of air reaching my hand. With the BPL netting in position I felt the full force of my breath and heard no evidence of resistance as the air passed through the fabric.