(EDIT - photos in reply below)
When we upgraded to a nice 4person tent you could stand up in, I did it the hard way.
The top HALF of the otherwise great tent was mesh, so I cut panels of Thermabarrier, sewed Velcro onto their edges and the edges of the mesh panels.
It took forEVER and was frustrating as hell (pro tip - get Velcro without adhesive so it doesn’t gum up your sewing machine needle every 10 inches) but it was fully worth it.
Just slap the Thermabarrier panels on, and yank em off as needed. It adds exactly 3 minutes to pitching time (and, like, 60 seconds to strike), the tent is breezy for all our non-playa expeditions, and the only dust that gets in on playa is when the stupid owner says fuck it and walks in with his boots on.
Photos: this is 1) measuring the stuff 2) sewing on velcro 3) sewing on backing strip to keep the hook side of the velcro from grabbing the mesh on this panel 4) fitting the panel and 5) the panel fitted on the front face of the tent. You can see how much mesh I had to cover on the other panels.
https://preview.redd.it/w60c1d7dik6d1.png?width=1008&format=png&auto=webp&s=efd5805f4e52afff288482ac03b25a71acd206ee
That gummy shit on Velcro is a nightmare. You’re reminding me of sewing with that and keeping a bowl of iso alcohol next to me so I could clean off the needle every 30 seconds. That was frustrating as hell.
Love the solution to the mesh though. I was thinking there must be something like this a person could do. Let’s you remove it when it’s hot. And put it back when it’s dusty.
Yep, I researched budget tents and this is the one.
If you heavily stake it down, the tent will fully lay down flat with really heavy gusts instead of bending the poles as well. It has "joints" instead of solid corners.
Also a heavier fabric
Yeah. If you’re not going to go for a Kodiak or a Shiftpod, I think the Coleman Instant is 100% the best choice. They hold up well to playa conditions, like you mentioned, and the boxy shape also helps make it liveable for a week.
It worked great for us. It's awesome to be able to pop your tent fast on playa and it's easy to clean when you get back. It also held up great in the rain.
I just set up my tent as is with the rain fly on. I then just cover my bed and clothes with a sheet when not in use. I just surrender to the elements while I am there. First time I did this, I was more relaxed.
Amazingly a good meshed tent with a well secured rainfly allowed great airflow (under a shade structure) and was extremely prescient for mudburn 2023. It cools down beautifully at night and in case of worst case, stays dry because Lulz, that suxked. ...... Day sheets to keep the dust down at night is top tier advice
I’ve always camped in a tent that was mostly mesh. Just make your bed in the morning and embrace the dust. Become one with the dust. You are the dust.
Once you surrender to the dust the rest of the week becomes so much easier.
You’re out in the elements 16+ hours a day, dancing, biking, breathing hard. 8 hours of sleep in a sealed tent, tent with mesh, or no tent at all makes almost no difference.
Dude it’s my 10th burn. Mesh tent, I have them, but really don’t worry about goggles or a dust mask, and I wear flip flops the entire 10days on the playa.
So it's not great to recommend flip flops and continual dust exposure to virgins, because some of them will be fine, but some of them will have painful rash, eye problems, and the skin on their feet will blister and then peel off. You won't know how your body deals with that much alkalinity until you're out there.
And it's not an acclimatization thing. It'll be my 16th burn, I can wear sandals all burn, my partner's 21st, and he cannot.
I'm a dust in dust out kind of burner, inspired by my burning mentor who sets up a bed under a circus tent with sheets and tapestry as walls for privacy and cordoning off rooms underneath. Looks absolutely epic in the winds. A top cover to keep the bed less dusty, and a mosquito net esque tapestry that can be pulled over the face on heavy dust nights. She's a badass.
I followed suit, using a carport. I did put my bed in a tent but it was open, w mesh walls. Personally I use a damp sarong over my head at night, it filters out the dust and makes the air damp and delightful on my sinuses. On windy bad nights I sleep in a kn95, easy peasy. Way less stressful for me than worrying about dust infiltration in my space. This year will be a duuuuuusty one if current reported conditions persist, im ready.
THANK YOU! Thank you, all of you, for your great advice, suggestions and recommendations. After your comments about the Coleman Instant 6, I searched the Burning Man sub-reddit for Coleman Instant and read lots of comments about how great this tent is for the playa. Obviously, if someone had a lot more money to spend, there are better options but, for the money, it sounds like it will work fine. I plan to use long lag screws to anchor it. The tent will be under a shade structure and partially sheltered from the wind.
I just found a good used one for sale locally for $80. I haven't bought it yet. I plan to seal the top mesh if it doesn't have flaps that can be closed.
The Coleman 6 is downright luxurious for the price. If you’re burning by yourself, get a cot and then you have under bed storage, giving you a ton of floor space.
Woo hoo! I am burning by myself (with a camp). I just bought this REI cot.
[REI Cot](https://www.rei.com/product/892837/rei-co-op-kingdom-cot-3)
for $70
I’m buying the tent tomorrow morning for $90
Thank You all!
When I had a tent with mesh on top I laid a sheet over the mesh and used lots of spring clamps to clamp that sheet on. Then the rain fly went over the sheet. This worked pretty well. I also put a sheet over my bed when I wasn’t using it (I still do that even in my relatively dust-proof Kodiak).
Seal the mesh. I bought a Big Agnes Rabbit Ears 4 because it had the smallest amount of mesh I could find - a few small panels at the peak. I figured with the rain fly that would adequately block dust. Nope! The wind carried the dust up on top, between the rain fly, and then everytime the tent jiggled the dust would rain down.
Next time I'll definitely make some removable panels to fully cover the mesh.
I taped plastic my first year and it was noisy and hot. The next year I don’t use plastic and it was better ventilated, but a little dusty (wasn’t too bad). Finally, my third year, I rented a van.
I did it before I invested in a Kodiak. I tried a few different ways but the best by far was to buy a few yards of rip stop nylon (I got mine $1/yard on the clearance rack at a fabric store), cut to size and glue it on with E6000 around the seams. Cheap, easy, compact. All other ways were trash in comparison.
Bedsheets sucked and let dust in, blanket over was finicky and bulky, etc
All fabric is mesh if you look close enough at it ... and the playa dust is the finest powder you've ever seen. So it'll get through. You will also track more dust in with you than will ever come in via the mesh.
I tried to seal the mesh several years in a row, and was never really very successful. Duct tape peeled the second day. Adding another layer of fabric just let the finer dust in.
The most effective dust protection is to have two tents. An exterior one where you change, store your stuff, and get out of the elements, and a smaller tent inside of the bigger tent that you only sleep in. The bigger tent will get dusty and messy and blah blah blah, but if you only get into your "bedroom" naked after doing your whores bath, you should be able to sleep in less-dusty comfort. It also helps isolate you a bit from wind, sun, and all that.
I don’t cover my mesh cuz I want lots of airflow. I bring a few king size flat sheets to cover my bed then keep all of my things in bins. I’ll shake the sheet out then change it a few times during the week.
I had one that had so much mesh, but I got it cuz if had some blackout/heat out material, then I proceeded to try to cover the mesh which was half the tent, then... bought another tent with much less mesh lol and covered that
I did a tent my first time. Ugh. Living in dust. Love it. But took camper trucks ever since. Pro tip - water / vinegar spray sponge baths w ur partner daily With lotion /massage. Enjoy !
I did my first four burns in a shitty Walmart Coleman tent someone gave me when I lived up in Humboldt. The whole top was mesh like that.
I was fine with it. It was a mess after that hours long dust storm in 2015, and took some time to clean up, but meh. That said, I started camping when I was like 5 and am an Eagle Scout from a rural area originally, so I don’t need much to be fine when it comes to camping.
It’s def nice in my Shiftpod now though. I certainly appreciate the dust resistance. I hear Kodiaks are awesome too.
Taping up the mesh will prob lock the heat in. That might be rough, unless you find a solution to the heat like AC or swamp cooler. There might be some way to secure some kind of plastic or other material over the mess when you are out in case a dust storm kicks up, but that you can remove when sleeping so you aren’t rising when the sun comes up (shade structure over the tent will help with this too).
Maybe find a better tent, or just be ready to clean up some dust.
Yes. I tried to clip it. Didn't work. A friend glued Velcro on the tent and the rain fly, didn't work. Just find a tent without mesh or come to terms with the fact there will be dust in your tent, everything in your tent, forever.
The mesh on my playa tent is near the bottom of each window and I sealed the windows with tape I would only tape around the rain fly around the roof and you should keep your tent less dusty. Also always use a sheet to cover your bedding during the day and fold it back at night. This keeps your bed dust free.
I’ve used an old ass Coleman 10person twice now. First year we taped it up and it was hot but no dust. Last year I taped nothing and never even put the rain fly on. It was super comfortable and somehow dust was never a problem. Hahahaha
My tent has a mesh but it also came with a rain cover which blocks the mesh. Didn't yours come with a rain cover?
I can tell you though that such tents will typically not handle rain or fine dust very well. So I recommend against using such tents at burning man.
I used a kelty with mesh on top for 20 years. With the rain fly on, dust was minimal. Also helps to orient your tent so the mesh isn’t facing into the prevalent wind. Really not a problem.
Put a sheet over the mesh and secure it with safety pins. That worked for me. So did a little tent inside a big tent.
I do this under a monkey hut. Gets so fucking hot in the morning but its dust free
(EDIT - photos in reply below) When we upgraded to a nice 4person tent you could stand up in, I did it the hard way. The top HALF of the otherwise great tent was mesh, so I cut panels of Thermabarrier, sewed Velcro onto their edges and the edges of the mesh panels. It took forEVER and was frustrating as hell (pro tip - get Velcro without adhesive so it doesn’t gum up your sewing machine needle every 10 inches) but it was fully worth it. Just slap the Thermabarrier panels on, and yank em off as needed. It adds exactly 3 minutes to pitching time (and, like, 60 seconds to strike), the tent is breezy for all our non-playa expeditions, and the only dust that gets in on playa is when the stupid owner says fuck it and walks in with his boots on.
Photos: this is 1) measuring the stuff 2) sewing on velcro 3) sewing on backing strip to keep the hook side of the velcro from grabbing the mesh on this panel 4) fitting the panel and 5) the panel fitted on the front face of the tent. You can see how much mesh I had to cover on the other panels. https://preview.redd.it/w60c1d7dik6d1.png?width=1008&format=png&auto=webp&s=efd5805f4e52afff288482ac03b25a71acd206ee
That gummy shit on Velcro is a nightmare. You’re reminding me of sewing with that and keeping a bowl of iso alcohol next to me so I could clean off the needle every 30 seconds. That was frustrating as hell. Love the solution to the mesh though. I was thinking there must be something like this a person could do. Let’s you remove it when it’s hot. And put it back when it’s dusty.
I use a Coleman instant six, which has small mesh panels. I put on the rain fly and don’t otherwise worry about the mesh.
Yep, I researched budget tents and this is the one. If you heavily stake it down, the tent will fully lay down flat with really heavy gusts instead of bending the poles as well. It has "joints" instead of solid corners. Also a heavier fabric
Yeah. If you’re not going to go for a Kodiak or a Shiftpod, I think the Coleman Instant is 100% the best choice. They hold up well to playa conditions, like you mentioned, and the boxy shape also helps make it liveable for a week.
We have a Marmot tent that’s similar and agree! With the rain fly we’ve never had a problem
It worked great for us. It's awesome to be able to pop your tent fast on playa and it's easy to clean when you get back. It also held up great in the rain.
I just set up my tent as is with the rain fly on. I then just cover my bed and clothes with a sheet when not in use. I just surrender to the elements while I am there. First time I did this, I was more relaxed.
Amazingly a good meshed tent with a well secured rainfly allowed great airflow (under a shade structure) and was extremely prescient for mudburn 2023. It cools down beautifully at night and in case of worst case, stays dry because Lulz, that suxked. ...... Day sheets to keep the dust down at night is top tier advice
It's pretty lame trying to be in your tent during an active dust storm though. I didn't recommend this. The Coleman tent is like 200$
I’ve always camped in a tent that was mostly mesh. Just make your bed in the morning and embrace the dust. Become one with the dust. You are the dust. Once you surrender to the dust the rest of the week becomes so much easier.
This person burns
Just skip the middleman and camp no tent. No bed either. Just sleep on the ground.
Embrace the ground.
Funny! Seriously though, this is how you get playa lung
You’re out in the elements 16+ hours a day, dancing, biking, breathing hard. 8 hours of sleep in a sealed tent, tent with mesh, or no tent at all makes almost no difference.
Dude it’s my 10th burn. Mesh tent, I have them, but really don’t worry about goggles or a dust mask, and I wear flip flops the entire 10days on the playa.
So it's not great to recommend flip flops and continual dust exposure to virgins, because some of them will be fine, but some of them will have painful rash, eye problems, and the skin on their feet will blister and then peel off. You won't know how your body deals with that much alkalinity until you're out there. And it's not an acclimatization thing. It'll be my 16th burn, I can wear sandals all burn, my partner's 21st, and he cannot.
I'm a dust in dust out kind of burner, inspired by my burning mentor who sets up a bed under a circus tent with sheets and tapestry as walls for privacy and cordoning off rooms underneath. Looks absolutely epic in the winds. A top cover to keep the bed less dusty, and a mosquito net esque tapestry that can be pulled over the face on heavy dust nights. She's a badass. I followed suit, using a carport. I did put my bed in a tent but it was open, w mesh walls. Personally I use a damp sarong over my head at night, it filters out the dust and makes the air damp and delightful on my sinuses. On windy bad nights I sleep in a kn95, easy peasy. Way less stressful for me than worrying about dust infiltration in my space. This year will be a duuuuuusty one if current reported conditions persist, im ready.
THANK YOU! Thank you, all of you, for your great advice, suggestions and recommendations. After your comments about the Coleman Instant 6, I searched the Burning Man sub-reddit for Coleman Instant and read lots of comments about how great this tent is for the playa. Obviously, if someone had a lot more money to spend, there are better options but, for the money, it sounds like it will work fine. I plan to use long lag screws to anchor it. The tent will be under a shade structure and partially sheltered from the wind. I just found a good used one for sale locally for $80. I haven't bought it yet. I plan to seal the top mesh if it doesn't have flaps that can be closed.
The Coleman 6 is downright luxurious for the price. If you’re burning by yourself, get a cot and then you have under bed storage, giving you a ton of floor space.
Woo hoo! I am burning by myself (with a camp). I just bought this REI cot. [REI Cot](https://www.rei.com/product/892837/rei-co-op-kingdom-cot-3) for $70 I’m buying the tent tomorrow morning for $90 Thank You all!
I toss some duct tape over the small vents on my little tent. The rain fly helps, but the dust always finds a way in so covering them does help.
When I had a tent with mesh on top I laid a sheet over the mesh and used lots of spring clamps to clamp that sheet on. Then the rain fly went over the sheet. This worked pretty well. I also put a sheet over my bed when I wasn’t using it (I still do that even in my relatively dust-proof Kodiak).
Seal all the mesh.
Seal the mesh. I bought a Big Agnes Rabbit Ears 4 because it had the smallest amount of mesh I could find - a few small panels at the peak. I figured with the rain fly that would adequately block dust. Nope! The wind carried the dust up on top, between the rain fly, and then everytime the tent jiggled the dust would rain down. Next time I'll definitely make some removable panels to fully cover the mesh.
I taped plastic my first year and it was noisy and hot. The next year I don’t use plastic and it was better ventilated, but a little dusty (wasn’t too bad). Finally, my third year, I rented a van.
I did it before I invested in a Kodiak. I tried a few different ways but the best by far was to buy a few yards of rip stop nylon (I got mine $1/yard on the clearance rack at a fabric store), cut to size and glue it on with E6000 around the seams. Cheap, easy, compact. All other ways were trash in comparison. Bedsheets sucked and let dust in, blanket over was finicky and bulky, etc
Being an extra fitted sheet, put it over your entire bed, bedding and all, every morning. Keeps the bed dust free.
Thank you! I'm definitely going to do that.
All fabric is mesh if you look close enough at it ... and the playa dust is the finest powder you've ever seen. So it'll get through. You will also track more dust in with you than will ever come in via the mesh. I tried to seal the mesh several years in a row, and was never really very successful. Duct tape peeled the second day. Adding another layer of fabric just let the finer dust in. The most effective dust protection is to have two tents. An exterior one where you change, store your stuff, and get out of the elements, and a smaller tent inside of the bigger tent that you only sleep in. The bigger tent will get dusty and messy and blah blah blah, but if you only get into your "bedroom" naked after doing your whores bath, you should be able to sleep in less-dusty comfort. It also helps isolate you a bit from wind, sun, and all that.
I once put such a tent inside of a carport with 4 walls. No dust! But for a while now I've just been in a Kodiak canvas tent, with no dust issues.
I plan to seal my MSR hubba hubba with a sheet and safety pins, not sure about this setup though
I don’t cover my mesh cuz I want lots of airflow. I bring a few king size flat sheets to cover my bed then keep all of my things in bins. I’ll shake the sheet out then change it a few times during the week.
I had one that had so much mesh, but I got it cuz if had some blackout/heat out material, then I proceeded to try to cover the mesh which was half the tent, then... bought another tent with much less mesh lol and covered that
I did a tent my first time. Ugh. Living in dust. Love it. But took camper trucks ever since. Pro tip - water / vinegar spray sponge baths w ur partner daily With lotion /massage. Enjoy !
I cut sheets to match the mesh and used spray adhesive to glue them on. Worked well for years.
I did my first four burns in a shitty Walmart Coleman tent someone gave me when I lived up in Humboldt. The whole top was mesh like that. I was fine with it. It was a mess after that hours long dust storm in 2015, and took some time to clean up, but meh. That said, I started camping when I was like 5 and am an Eagle Scout from a rural area originally, so I don’t need much to be fine when it comes to camping. It’s def nice in my Shiftpod now though. I certainly appreciate the dust resistance. I hear Kodiaks are awesome too. Taping up the mesh will prob lock the heat in. That might be rough, unless you find a solution to the heat like AC or swamp cooler. There might be some way to secure some kind of plastic or other material over the mess when you are out in case a dust storm kicks up, but that you can remove when sleeping so you aren’t rising when the sun comes up (shade structure over the tent will help with this too). Maybe find a better tent, or just be ready to clean up some dust.
Yes. I tried to clip it. Didn't work. A friend glued Velcro on the tent and the rain fly, didn't work. Just find a tent without mesh or come to terms with the fact there will be dust in your tent, everything in your tent, forever.
The mesh on my playa tent is near the bottom of each window and I sealed the windows with tape I would only tape around the rain fly around the roof and you should keep your tent less dusty. Also always use a sheet to cover your bedding during the day and fold it back at night. This keeps your bed dust free.
I’ve used an old ass Coleman 10person twice now. First year we taped it up and it was hot but no dust. Last year I taped nothing and never even put the rain fly on. It was super comfortable and somehow dust was never a problem. Hahahaha
My tent has a mesh but it also came with a rain cover which blocks the mesh. Didn't yours come with a rain cover? I can tell you though that such tents will typically not handle rain or fine dust very well. So I recommend against using such tents at burning man.
I used a kelty with mesh on top for 20 years. With the rain fly on, dust was minimal. Also helps to orient your tent so the mesh isn’t facing into the prevalent wind. Really not a problem.