bivysack without any tarp

[Patrick Miron]

I just want to know if anyone use only bivysack without any tarp.

How do you manage them when it rain.

Thank
Pat
(sorry for my english)

[ian wright]

Good question, I have no answer but interested. I have a good quality gortex bivvy but have not used it in rain. I am confident it will do the job but wonder if I will feel the rain hitting and if it is noisy.

[David Bonn]

The big problems are (1) how you get in or out of the bivysack while it is raining, and (2) like any waterproof/breathable material, a bivysack is a lot less breathable (or not at all) when covered with water droplets.

I did the bivysack-only thing in bad weather a couple of times and it is a pretty good way to get yourself very cold and wet. Of course, whether it will work for you depends on your definition of “bad” weather.

[JW]

What about a 4X4 foot tarp just over your upper torso extending beyond your head about 1 1/2 feet. That way you can get in and out of the waterproof bivy, stay dry and have some head room. eVent is supposed to breath when wet.

[Ron Bell / MLD]

Hi, I used to list a 5X5 silnylon tarp( about 5oz) for that purpose but got no interest. I tried it myself some and would sleep under it along the diagonal and it just covered head to toe. Still, it would have to be a waterproof bivy. Note that the totally waterproof bivy started as a climbers alpine tool for colder weather, more snow than rain, and emergencies. I concur with the issue of using one in rain with no tarp- impossible to get in and out without getting everything inside all wet. I recall that some maker, maybe ID made a bivy with an integrated mini tarp that pulled out the side and covered the head. Always wondered if that sold much as it seems a bit less functional than a (mini) tarp and bivy combo. With the ligher fabrics now maybe no real up side to a short tarp since a full length long one is only 1-2oz more.

[Einstein X]

I have a Gore-Tex Exchange bivibag, complete with two poles to keep it out of my face. The first night i slept in it, I had rain and yes, you feel the rain falling. Hence I thought it was leaking but it didn’t and I was perfectly dry. I than slept sooooo comfortable, being warm and dry without the rain being able to do anything :D.

I almost never take it with me though. Firstly the 2 lbs 11 oz wieght is just too much and secondly it doesn’t work when you have to get in or out in the rain. That goes something like this: first build up bivibag; than get my downbag out of my pack and its waterproof bag; by the time i have put sleepingbag in bivibag it’ll be wet; than undress (now i’m wet as well) and get into both my bags, being wet. It just doesn’t work.

Only time i do use it is on solo winter trips (don’t worry, i go hiking very moderately, no avalanch risks or other possibly live threathening situations). It’s perfect for those trips. It upgrades the temp. rating of my sleepingbag with atleast 10 degrees and there’s no rain in winter so i don’t have to worry about me or my sleepingbag getting wet.

Gore-Tex Exchange is a gas permeable fabric. While normal GTX only lets watervapour permeate, GTX Exchange also lets poisonous gasses like CO out so i don’t suffocate in my bivi. I had one night where the outerfabric of my sleepingbag got quit wet, but i found out a week later that i should keep it completely zipped closed and than it does a good job in breathing, besides i also get condensation on my sleepingbag sleeping underneath a tarp in early spring when there’s a big temperature difference between daytime highs and night time lows so you’re never completly save from condensation.

Eins

[ian wright]

I have what sounds like the same bivvy design. Goretex with the 2 poles. I like it a lot. But I also know that the Six Moon Design Luna Solo weighs about the same even with a pole and pegs. So next time I go off overseas that’s probably what I’ll buy, my last tent died last year so I need a replacement. So I could travel with the bivvy and risk suffering in the rain, or have the luxury of the tent for the same weight.

[david chan]

Listen to the Podcast “Ronald Turnbull – life in a bivvybag” at http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page73.asp > . It will either fire you with enthusiasm for bivvy bags without a tarp or warn you off for life. In either case it is a very entertaining listen.

[Einstein X]

Look this is my bivi:

It’s an Outdoor Designs Solo Raider. And like i said it workd very well for solo winterhikes, camping at around 5 degrees in my 23 degree rated sleeping bag.

Eins

[ian wright]

Very nice. Mine is a little different. It’s an REI brand/design which I bought about 10 years ago now. The upper pole does not sit so high as yours. I haven’t used it very much but was great when I did though only in good weather.

[Rod Edelman]

Five years ago one of my sons and I each purchased bibler tripod bivy sacks. We thought we were the coolest hikers on the trail. However, over the years we have gotten away from the bivy sacks and now use a black diamond betamid or megamid. We found the bivy sacks to be to confining and really didn’t save that much weight.

[larry savage]

Bivy is of course derived from the word bivouac, a temporary open camp without a tent. Bivouacs, whether they are planned or unplanned are usually barely tolerable affairs.
As long as you don’t have any weather to try to cook in or need to stow your gear out of they can be some what pleasant. I haven’t found the right combination of material that keeps condesation onto your bag at bay…so if you can dry your stuff the next day or so they’re fine, if you can’t they are a weekend at best application here in the northwest.

[Miguel Marcos]

About 5 years ago a friend and I did a biking trip through Alsace in France. We took some light camping equipment to stay at campgrounds along the way. I had (and still have) an Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy. Our first camping night, it rained, not hard but it lasted a while. I was fine, though, and warm in the bivy. There was a bit of condensation the following morning and the sleeping bag I had was down but everything turned out OK. I love that bivy bag.

[Jason Brinkman]

I have an ID Bugaboo Bivy in eVENT. It is designed to be stormproof, and I've used it successfully as such in light to moderate rain. Getting in/out in rain will get something a little wet (maybe you, maybe your bag), but carefully and quickly done the problem is minimal where I sleep.

Still, I've recently acquired and began using a poncho-tarp that I pitch over the head end of the bivy. This allows me to leave the bivy open for venting in almost any weather. Plus, it's a really great place to lay out or pack my other gear. So, it's dual (triple?) use. I highly recommend it.

I have been VERY impressed with the eVENT. I can zip that baby all the way up, snap shut the mesh porthole, and still stay mostly condensation free in cool rainy weather (even from my breath!). I would have really questioned that until I proved it to myself.

[Miguel Marcos]

Jason, I'm going down that route, too. I'm awaiting an ID Siltarp which I'll use for my tarp when solo and a substitute vestibule for my tent when hiking with a partner, too.

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