Bag Hides????

anyone got one or used one of the WWS bag hides??? are they compact??? any good???, i have some scrim would it be easier to use that???

Not specifically used a WWS bag hide but another option which may be of interest is a British Army poncho.I used one for the first time a couple of days ago to photograph a Common Sandpiper and it worked a treat.
It will easily cover photographer and lens or can be used,as I did,to form a very low level tent shaped hide.
They come in a nice inconspicuous green colour,are waterproof,and have the added advantage of keeping you dry should you get caught in a downpour.They would also serve as an excellent shelter should you embark on a bit of lightweight camping,without a tent.
They can often be found at car boot sales for next to nothing,or failing that any good army surplus store should stock them.

I too would be interested in hearing any views on these, I'm seriously thinking of ordering one instead of a more expencive tent type hide that WWS also sell.

I've got one but I find it very stuffy to be inside of so I rarely use it. I think scrim works just as well.



Paul

Hi Andy,

I got my bag hide as I couldn't afford one with poles! In that respect it's worked well, in that if I think a hide will be necessary, I'll take it with me. I do find it a bit heavy just to carry 'in case'. Saying that, it is extremely tough, and I keep it in the boot of my car, if nothing else, to use as a groundsheet when lying on wet or muddy ground.

I have some scrim netting which I do carry around with me, but I don't find it as effective. I guess in the end it's a bit of a trade-off between portability and function!

HTH,
Pete

think the army poncho sounds a good idea to me

Andy,

I ordered one a few days ago and sent it back because of its shape. When you have your head in the special compartment, your camera pokes out of the slit at the front and I found that there was too much movement when I tried to put my eye to the camera. I was just going to order some camo net from army surplus and then it has multiple uses.

HTH
Regards Chris
www.c-m-l.com

i have one and it works well for hide work although i hardly use the head slot. I've gotten closer to grebes and kingfishers using it. The poncho sounds good though. Its not that heavy really at 1+kg for the non-waterproof ones.

I use one all the time and it's fantastic. Takes a bit of getting used to, but now it's fine. I have the non-waterproof version and it's lightweight (as opposed to the waterproof version) and you can see all around you. One of my best buys I reckon, but I don't see why some scrim wouldn't be just as effective...I just haven't got time to do any sewing

I had one of the original WWS baghides quite a few years ago, but it was the standard British forces camo version - ie man proof not nature proof, I see Kevin now makes real tree camo verisons which is definately the type to get.

I subsequently made my own reversable version using light and dark advantage tree leaf pattern cut leaf material sourced from a hunting store - Cabelas - in America ( makes me look a bit like a giant green hedgehog in use...........) I included a few personal tweaks such as on the open face panel I included a rigid green scrimnet to reduce face visibility and to help keep the opening open and a greater lens opening secured by green velcro to hug different lenses better. To be honest I haven't used it as much as I thought I would, but it was fun making it!

+ves - light and quick to use when in more open public areas where hides get trashed

-ves - not waterproof, you have to remain pretty motionless for long periods and difficult to retrieve objects from camera bag etc. - but as you don't change film now this is less important - having to reload every 36th frame was a pain! Can get very hot in warmer weather, but that depends on the material used

When I used mine I developed a few procedures - use a small tripod stool for comfort and stability. Wear a long peaked baseball cap set to maximum head band size - this prevents the baghide material flopping between face and camera back when scanning for subjects and allows you to move from scanning to eyepiece without too much obvious movement. However visability is retricted as you cannot swing your head too far without creating obvious movement, but a loose base ball cap helps as you can spin your head inside the cap to a certain extent. Where possible take everything out of your bag you are going to use and use a tray or similar between the stool legs- arm movement is restricted and you cannot look down easily, but again a long peaked cap helps in this respect

Would a big sheet of simple scrim net be better - I'm not sure it would, the cut panel shape and stitching of bag hides does give "more" rigidity over a draped piece of scrim net allowing a certain amount of more movement inside the baghide without causing obvious movement - but compared to a traditional hide it is all relative!

I've been using the Advantage camo waterproof one for my dipper shots this year and I ahve to say i couldn't have got them without it - I didn't want a permanent hide as I didn't want to draw undue attention to the nest, an though uncomfortable at times I wouldn't swop it for anything!

Hello Andy,

I bought a WWS bag hide a few months ago {shadow grass }, and am extremely happy with it.

I think Mike summed up my method of using it ie: with a baseball cap {which makes all the difference}.

I tweaked the design slightly, by sowing the material to a snug fit at the back of where the baseball cap touches the cloth, which makes the positoning of the hide's viewing scrim simple to replicate each time i throw it over my head/body/tripod etc.

After you have finished your day's shooting, it is important to reverse the position of your baseball cap, so you look nice and trendy on your way back home .

Alan

I bought a white one for the winter just gone-But had no snow

good tip about the baseball cap