Posted by Oscar Dewhurst on September 11, 2010 at 4:24 PM
I am interested in setting up a garden feeding station and so was thinking about buying one of those chair hide from ultimatenaturegear. I read somewhere that the 2-man is far more comfortable, but would be interested to see if anyone has any experience with them.
Also, as I live in London, setting up a feeding station is a challenge, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for me to try?
Thanks
Oscar
Posted by John Robinson on September 11, 2010 at 9:00 PM
Hi Oscar
Stick up four posts or sticks and buy some camo material or sacking and wrap it around . Will be a lot cheaper !
JR
Posted by Graham Goddard on September 12, 2010 at 3:42 AM
I think Calum D has one of the hides you mention - when he see's this I am sure he'll comment.
Sensible advice from JR.
My own thoughts on the hide you mention is that is won't allow an all round view, only what's happening in front of you..
Posted by Oscar Dewhurst on September 12, 2010 at 4:20 AM
Having seen what you said Graham, I checked on their website and it appears that they do have 360 degree view.
Oscar
Posted by Graham Goddard on September 12, 2010 at 12:03 PM
Thanks Oscar - what I meant was that I think that the seats inside are part of the frame of the hide, and as such don't allow you to move your tripod around inside the hide as say a dome hide would. I guess you could move the whoile thing though
Posted by Oscar Dewhurst on September 12, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Oh, yes I see what you mean now - thanks
Posted by Calum Dickson on September 13, 2010 at 4:32 AM
Hi Oscar,
Just seen this post. I have the hide you are talking about and bought it from the store you mention. I wouldn’t recommend this hide to you, it doesn’t have 360 deg vision, there is no way to see what is behind you and the side windows are useless for anything other than looking out of. Only the front two holes are any use if you are going to use a tripod which can be frustrating because lots of stuff does appear at the side windows. Also all the windows are all at eye level so it is no use for low level shots.
In terms of quality it is typical Chinese manufacturing standards, the riveting is extremely poor……. mine failed within a few months, I replaced all the rivets with nuts and bolts.
If it’s just for garden use then Johns suggestion would be the best. If you want something that you are going to travel with I would personally go for a dome hide or one of the square pop up hides and then buy a camping chair and a ground mat from Asda for about £10. That way you can do eye level and ground level shots.
Cheers
Calum
Posted by Derek Bonsall on September 14, 2010 at 5:45 AM
Oscar
I have been using hides for far longer than I would like to admit, and I thought that I didn’t have much to learn but I was wrong. As you are in London I can’t recommend strongly enough that you try and visit Kempton Park nature reserve, just off the M3/316.
At the moment one of the volunteer wardens is building a combined feeding station and pool. Once it is finished, I think few will realize the decisions that were taken and why, which is exactly why I am helping, as I come away each time, I realize that I have learnt far more than I ever did from any workshop that I attended.
I asked about setting up a hide in a garden, and I was told the following.
1. First position your perch, from this you can position both your feeders and hide.
2. Place the perch near to cover.
3. Place your hide at the shortest focusing distance of you’re the lens you intend to use, and add a little.
Once you have the hide roughly positioned, you can then decide its design. Consider free standing as against guy roping it down. He also said not to worry too much about colour if you only ever intend to use it in your garden, and when deciding on a hide look to see if water can collect on the roof.
He did say, however, is that by far the best way when starting out, is to see if it is possible to shoot from either one of your house windows or from a shed, either through a window or even a doorway. That way you get to appreciate what is involved and how to go forward.
Finally, I would strongly suggest you do try and get to Kempton, you can’t help but learn. I think it will be one of the best educational locations for hide work in the south east, if not further afield, and its free, well not quite, membership of Kempton is £5.00 for three years.
Just remembered, an offer was made to loan you a DVD on how to shoot from your lounge.
Oscar, if you are interested then send me an email and I’ll get things organised for you.
Good luck
Derek.
Posted by Derek Bonsall on September 15, 2010 at 5:56 AM
Apologies, but I had a senior moment and typed in a full stop, instead of an underscore, in my e-mail address, it has now been corrected.
So if anyone was interested in Kempton, please try the amended e-mail address.
Discussion
8 repliesAlso, as I live in London, setting up a feeding station is a challenge, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for me to try?
Thanks
Oscar
Stick up four posts or sticks and buy some camo material or sacking and wrap it around . Will be a lot cheaper !
JR
Sensible advice from JR.
My own thoughts on the hide you mention is that is won't allow an all round view, only what's happening in front of you..
Oscar
Just seen this post. I have the hide you are talking about and bought it from the store you mention. I wouldn’t recommend this hide to you, it doesn’t have 360 deg vision, there is no way to see what is behind you and the side windows are useless for anything other than looking out of. Only the front two holes are any use if you are going to use a tripod which can be frustrating because lots of stuff does appear at the side windows. Also all the windows are all at eye level so it is no use for low level shots.
In terms of quality it is typical Chinese manufacturing standards, the riveting is extremely poor……. mine failed within a few months, I replaced all the rivets with nuts and bolts.
If it’s just for garden use then Johns suggestion would be the best. If you want something that you are going to travel with I would personally go for a dome hide or one of the square pop up hides and then buy a camping chair and a ground mat from Asda for about £10. That way you can do eye level and ground level shots.
Cheers
Calum
I have been using hides for far longer than I would like to admit, and I thought that I didn’t have much to learn but I was wrong. As you are in London I can’t recommend strongly enough that you try and visit Kempton Park nature reserve, just off the M3/316.
At the moment one of the volunteer wardens is building a combined feeding station and pool. Once it is finished, I think few will realize the decisions that were taken and why, which is exactly why I am helping, as I come away each time, I realize that I have learnt far more than I ever did from any workshop that I attended.
I asked about setting up a hide in a garden, and I was told the following.
1. First position your perch, from this you can position both your feeders and hide.
2. Place the perch near to cover.
3. Place your hide at the shortest focusing distance of you’re the lens you intend to use, and add a little.
Once you have the hide roughly positioned, you can then decide its design. Consider free standing as against guy roping it down. He also said not to worry too much about colour if you only ever intend to use it in your garden, and when deciding on a hide look to see if water can collect on the roof.
He did say, however, is that by far the best way when starting out, is to see if it is possible to shoot from either one of your house windows or from a shed, either through a window or even a doorway. That way you get to appreciate what is involved and how to go forward.
Finally, I would strongly suggest you do try and get to Kempton, you can’t help but learn. I think it will be one of the best educational locations for hide work in the south east, if not further afield, and its free, well not quite, membership of Kempton is £5.00 for three years.
Just remembered, an offer was made to loan you a DVD on how to shoot from your lounge.
Oscar, if you are interested then send me an email and I’ll get things organised for you.
Good luck
Derek.
So if anyone was interested in Kempton, please try the amended e-mail address.
Derek.