Advice about choosing a hide (tent-type) (1 Viewer)

[Kevin]

I'm thinking about buying a portable hide (to take photos from)

There seems to be a bit of choice - but the prices seem high for things that are little more than simple tents (that I could buy for a fraction of the price at Miletts).

I'd be interested to hear what people are using, and their experiences

Thanks

 

[griffin]

Kevin Keatley Dome Hide is excellent, well designed and made, and is well worth the £175. I have the Advantage leaf standard size one.

See www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk

 

[postcardcv]

Kevin Keatley Dome Hide is excellent, well designed and made, and is well worth the £175. I have the Advantage leaf standard size one.

I'm glad to hear that as I'm getting one for my birthday in a few weeks time...

 

[Ragna]

I got a Ameristep doghouse blind from Cabelais in America about £90.Easy to put up and take down but a bit heavy about 12lbs these blinds are more for hunting than photography they have 3 adjustable windows.Ive seen these advertised on ebay for £150 so ebay isnt allways as cheap as you think.

 

[SiG]

Slightly at a tangent as I don't own a hide as such, but may be worth bearing in mind if you're on a restricted budget: I've spent some time getting hold of various nets, bashas, and pieces of camo material in different woodland, wetland, mountain and desert prints, plus poles, clips, etc, including clothing. I probably paid around £250 for the lot - and this includes several choices of outer shell clothing and insulation. Some of it is identical to the stuff on the website linked earlier in this thread.

My point is that I am fairly confident of good concealment in a wide variety of environments and have enough kits to knock up several hides at once. Patient second-hand purchasing and shopping around hunting shops and military surplus, and ebay, to research going rates and spot bargains.

 

[Kevin]

Kevin Keatley Dome Hide is excellent, well designed and made, and is well worth the £175. I have the Advantage leaf standard size one.

See www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk

Do you use the basic dome hide as it comes...or have you felt the need to use the 'snoot' to provide additional camouflage for camera lenses / scope?

 

[griffin]

Do you use the basic dome hide as it comes...or have you felt the need to use the 'snoot' to provide additional camouflage for camera lenses / scope?

I have considered the snoot and think it possibly may make a difference with some birds - but as I understand it is designed to keep out wet/windy weather.

Best tip I can give is leave the hide up for as long as you can and leave something sticking out of the window when you are not in it - it really works.

There is a couple of crossbill drinking pools I will be staking out when we get some better, drier weather. Got great results with it in the garden over the winter.

Linz

 

[Neil]

Cheap hide

The cheapest hide I've seen is mosquito netting dyed or sprayed with paint. It can be hung from branches with clothes pegs or string. If you need it to be waterproof tie some plastic sheeting to it. You can also use a big unmbrella (beach style ) that can be screwed into the ground and throw the mosquito netting over it. This photo was taken yesterday. A small forked branch was propped up against a low wall, an umbrella was wedged into it and the mosquito netting thrown over the top ( the weight of the netting holds the umbrella in place ). The only problem was the rain wet the netting which was touching my back ( the umbrella was too small ) and I got wet on my back and arm. I will get some rocks to hold the netting further away next time. Neil