Question: Which is better for a tent, 30 denier bug mesh or 40 denier?

Answer:

Denier is a unit of measure that denotes the relative thickness of the fiber used in a fabric. The smaller the denier, the thinner the fabric. You will want your bug mesh to keep out no-see-ums, sandflies, gnats, black flies, and other biting or stinging insects. Particularly no-see-ums, because these are the smallest pests.


To accomplish this, you will want the openings in the mesh to be as small as possible so as to prevent even no-see-ums from coming through. Consequently, the smaller the denier, the closer the fibers are together, the smaller the gaps in the fabric, and the better the bug protection.

Now, this is all theoretical, because the effectiveness of a fabric to keep bugs out would also depend on the tightness of the weave. So, a 40 denier fabric could be woven tighter than a 30 denier fabric and thus have smaller gaps between fibers. However, let's be practical and assume that both the 30 denier fabric and the 40 denier fabric are woven with the same tension, or tightness. If given a choice, I would prefer bug netting that used the smaller denier fabric.

Not many manufacturers refer to the denier of the netting used in camping gear. Rather you may find bug mesh referred to as either mosquito netting or no-see-um netting. There is a big difference. For optimum insect protection, use no-see-um netting.