Buteo Photo Gear Drijfent Floating Hide Grebe

The Drijftent Grebe was developed by nature and wildlife photographers: extensively tested and, where necessary, adjusted before he came on the market. This floating shelter is our latest project to make our series of professional wildlife and photo tents even more complete!

The floating tent is easy to set up: pump both air chambers full, then place the mounting plate (or both plates) for your tripod head, place the 2 storage bags, mount the frame for the tent and attach the tent cloth to the frame with the loops and Velcro. Your driving hut is ready for use!

Perfect camouflage

Birds and mammals are generally very shy for people. By camouflage yourself and your equipment with this floating photo tent you can approach animals on the water surface or the edges of it without disturbing them. Because they no longer see you as a person, they see no danger in it and you can often take beautiful pictures from very close by.

Easy, fast and mobile

The advantage of your own mobile, floating shelter is that you can take it with you anytime and anywhere and use it when an opportunity occurs. The floating photo cabin is light and compact in size and can easily be taken to your favorite local pool, pond or more, if you go further away from home or even travel by plane.

Prepare well

Make sure you are well prepared before you enter the water;

• Keep it safe, make sure you know the depths of the water.
• What is your goal: which birds or mammals do you want to photograph.
• Can you go into the water at that location? Ask the owner.
• What are the lighting conditions there?
• Of course it is advisable and wise to first visit a nature reserve or pond and prepare yourself well, so that you can get started very focused and safely with nature photography on the water.

Water

If possible, look for a place that is not visible to people or wild animals, so that you do not scare mammals or birds before you start. Prepare your floating tent for the dry; Place your camera and lens on the tripod from the side to keep it safe. Preferably go into the water by using vegetation or a cove. A reed field or other bank vegetation can be very useful to go into the water unseen.

The camouflage pattern of the tent itself is our well -known reed pattern, and extra camouflage can be attached, such as branches, reeds and so on. These extras can be confirmed using the strings. If you do this well, your shelter will merge even more in the area. The tent cloth itself is made of a strong material (polyester 150d) that lasts a long time. In rain/showers you will stay dry due to the hydrostatic head of 2,500 mm.

Imagine: you wait in your floating tent, perfectly quiet, well prepared and ready for action! Suddenly a grebe, heron or beaver appears as you had hoped. It is wonderful if you are successful and your target type appears just in front of you. For nature photographers, nothing goes beyond the feeling of beautiful recordings of birds and mammals, which makes the waiting worthwhile. At that moment it is nice to be able to rely on your equipment!

Photographing from the Drijfent

If you go into the tent, you will see the black coating on the inside, to make it as dark as possible. The viewing windows with an insect network give you sufficient view on all sides to oversee your environment. One snoot/lens cover is included, so you have an extra viewing window (above the snoot). This snoot camouflages your lens extra and protects it against water droplets (same substance as the tent), and is the same that is used in our Buteo Mark II, Aquila Mark II and Falco Series. The snoot is therefore interchangeable with these tents. An extra snoot can also be attached to the rear (can be ordered separately).

The tent is also supplied with 2 small bags for accessories, these can be taken away if desired. Two mounting plates are supplied (for your tripod head), you can mount and use them both at the same time. The photo level on the back of the shelter is even lower, so that you literally photograph at water level with your lens. At the front is a safety net that prevents something from falling into the water.

The use of a floating shelter is completely different from all other 'normal' shelters that we offer. You are in the water, and you have the option to move yourself to approach birds and mammals. However, it is advisable not to move too much, it is best to let birds or mammals come to you.

Patience and practice is everything!

Experiences of our specialists 

• Light weight therefore easy to wear (6.1 kg in total).
• Compact format for transport.
• Safe (2 air chambers with valves) + strong materials.
• Sturdy, high -quality PVC, 1.7 mm thick.
• Strong tent cloth waterproof (150d), reed pattern.
• Many extras, very complete.