Why & How to Wear a Face Net

Let’s admit it, face nets are not flattering. But it you got to wear one, you should at least understand the why and the how of ‘em.

Why Wear a Face Net? Bugs.

We’re talking serious bugs. Malaria causing, Dengue-fever inducing, moth size mosquitoes. I actually bought my face net years ago for my second Africa trip, but never used it. Until now.

While on a 3-day kayaking / camping trip in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park, I was almost eaten alive. No really. At one point, I had blood streaming down my legs after a particularly vicious morning attack.

Who was my tormentor? The lowly sand fly. In the billions. New Zealand had a prison once at a spot at the end of the Milford Trek called Sand Fly Point. The government ended up shutting the place down because they thought that the sand flies caused cruel and unusual punishment for the prisoners. True story.

How to wear a Face Net? With Aplomb.

If you have to wear a face net, I say you go for it. Mine was extra special since it had a thin metal ring in the center that kept the net away from my face. This is a good idea in theory, but in practice the net kept falling forward so I couldn’t see at all.

I found my net particularly difficult to manage while:

• · Eating (you needed to be pretty quick with the hand up and under the net)
• · Brushing my teeth (I tried spitting under the net – that didn’t work so well)
• · Sleeping (at one point I nearly suffocated as I breathed in a little too sharply)

Still I was better off than my kayaking buddies, neither of which had nets. Those sand fly buggers savaged their lips and ears, so I was very lucky indeed.

Now I have such an affinity for my face net that I upgraded once I returned to TeAnau. This new net is less fancy then the first (note: no metal ring), but compacts even smaller – to about the size of my thumb. This means I can carry it with me always. And I mean always.

p.s. I’m still smiling even in my misery. This is more due to sheer shock then true happiness.

Tags: face nets, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 and is filed under Shopping & Fashion.