Most beautiful locations in Arabia depend on proximity to water – that’s where people used to live before piped municipality water, where crops could be grown, goats fed and watered, and permanent villages could be built: in the many oases.

However, water also means insects, and if you’ve spent a night out in the open, you know it was sleepless as you served as buffet for clouds of bloodthirsty flying bugs.

And those are the nice ones! The really nasty ones are those that crawl… scorpions, camel spiders, and all sorts.

Sure, you can close yourself in a tent, and swelter the night away; or sleep all bunched up the car, and enjoy a nighttime sauna – or… this product by Outdoor Research caught my eye.

It is lightweight (454 g) and provides complete insect protection through the night while allowing for ventilation.

A waterproof floor keeps the moist ground from soaking through your bivy bag as you sleep, or you can do as I do and use a foldable camping cot.

A single pole holds the mesh away from your face, keeping the bugs at a distance, and the zipper opening seals out mosquitoes and other small insects.

The pole is inserted after pulling open the velcro, and it seems built to last.

It’s airy enough not to feel closed in, and the pole does a great job of keeping the mesh high up off the face.

Well, there’s only one way to find out if it works!

In case you’re wondering… that’s not me.

Nor did I just call in one of the many fashion models I frequent…

That’s my daughter, who will now play Sleeping Beauty for us.

And, yes, we have a keeper! The Bug Bivy allows for sleeping out in the open yet fully protected from hungry creepie-crawlies.

The Bug Bivy is made by Outdoor Research and can be ordered online.