Thinking about a bug bivy…

I would suggest contacting John @ Borah Gear.

Haha, how'd I know you were gonna say that? ;) I've been thinking about doing that a lot. His prices are so good and I've loved my down jacket he custom made for me. Every time I think I'm gonna do it, I start second guessing it and end up back at the computer pouring over every little detail of all my options again.

I have one of John's bug bivys and I'm happy with it. He will make it in your size and do so within your budget as his custom charges are very inexpensive. It is probably the only bug bivy on the market to meet both of those two requirements. Easy decision if you ask me :)

Take a look at Mountain Laurel Designs bug bivy. It is a bit more than you want to spend ($125) but I think the quality of MLD is worth the price. For 6 oz., It's got a true bathtub floor and being able to sit up in it is pretty nice. I'm sure if you wanted, Ron could make a custom shorter lighter version for you no problem.

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=55

Nothing against Borah, I own one of their cuben floored side zip bivies, and while I think for the price it's a great piece of gear, it honestly doesn't compare to the quality of the MLD bivy I also own.

The TiGoat Bug Bivy has a pretty good bathtub floor, is high quality, and reasonably priced.
http://titaniumgoat.com/Bug-Bivy.html

Thanks everyone. I'll be looking into those options!

Great Ralph now I'm thinking I need to upgrade my borah bivy so thanks a lot ;)

In seriousness, having had experience with both, how would you rate the top entry of the MLD vs the side entry of the borah? I've been hesitant about the top entry up to this point and would love to hear some first hand experience. Thanks!

I have had the MLD bug bivy and the top entry was the best feature. I know it seems a little counter intuitive. The important benefit it provides is being able to unzip a bit and sit up fully. Having said that I ultimately sold it because I change positions a lot during the night and just found it too confining over all. I ended up getting the Bug shelter 1.0 from Yama Mountain Gear because it provided more interior space which I ultimately found to be a good match for me. Now after saying all that I did just purchase a Borah Gear Bug Bivy during their recent sale because I needed something under my new Solomid.

That is my main concern about the MLD. While I am small compared to most of the guys, I toss and turn. I'd be happy with a net tent, but my tarp is too small for most of them and honestly I don't get in my shelter until bed and once I'm up, I'm up so sitting up is,t really something on my want list, but having the toss and turn factor is…

I don't have the Borah bug bivy, but have one of his regular bivies, and had a MLD bug bivy. Saying that, the MLD bug bivy has loads more room inside it than the Borah bivies. It can be suspended easily which keeps the bivy off of you while lying inside. I could even lie on my side and propped up so that I could read, and the bivy still didn't touch me. However, this is about it… if I wanted to sit up, I could just unzip the top and sit up just fine, but then I wouldn't be inside a bug bivy… If you are wanting to sit up inside it, I don't think a bivy is what you want though… you should look at inner net tents in this case. However, when it comes to AFrame net tents, it is still tough to be able to sit up in them without touching the top… IMO, the MLD bug bivy is the best compromise between a regular bivy like the ones from Borah, and a full on net tent.

Here is a photo of just how much room is inside the MLD Bug Bivy:

I am lying on a ProLite pad in the photo. I am 5'10" tall, and at this time was about 220 lbs…

Chad, which would you say has more room horizontally? I'm not so picky about the vertical space, but I gotta have more than 20 inches of width. From the pictures I've seen, when it is lifted so the floor is as up as possible, there is only the space of your sleeping pad.

Joslyn, I would say the (standard size) Borah bivy might have a slightly wider floor, but I don’t have the MLD bivy to actually compare it too any longer. With a 20″ wide pad, there were a few inches on either side of the pad in the MLD bivy. In the photo above, I have all 4 corners staked down loosely with shock cord to help keep the A-Framed shape/structure.

Here is a link to some more photos I have of the bivy that may help you.

Wow, that is a lot wider than it looks on the website. It is definitely down to the MLD or the Borah. If I go with the MLD, I will probably have to add 2 of The stick on loops to my tarp. Lots,to co,spider…

And let me state at the get-go ymmv hyoh and etc.

When I did the A.T. I had a tarp and a bug bivy. It was fairly cutting edge at the time, at least I thought so. I laid there in my bug bivy, though, and thought "wouldn't it be great if the netting to this bivy were sewn to the edges of my tarp? It would give me a lot more room AND probably be lighter than the combo."

Other people had that idea too. For me, a Tarptent/Lunar Solo/Hexamid is totally the way to go.

Hey Logan, Top entry is nice because like Randy says you can unzip it and sit up, which I think is a great feature.

Joslyn, In general, if you toss and turn a lot than bivies arent the greatest option. They're definitley a compromise when it comes to space to move around. That being said, I think as shown in the picture Chad posted, the MLD bug bivy is way more spacious than your regular style bivy. It's pretty wide too, 34" at the head and 30" at the foot.

>>>"wouldn't it be great if the netting to this bivy were sewn to the edges of my tarp? It would give me a lot more room AND probably be lighter than the combo."

I agree… to some extent, which is why I finally decided to part with my MLD Bug Bivy. However, instead of going with a single wall shelter as you are alluding to, I went with a tarp and inner net tent (a ZPacks Hexamid Tarp & Hexanet), however, it is slightly heavier than the MLD Bug Net (7.6 vs 9.5 oz). But, with this set-up, I have tons more room in the inner net tent/Hexanet (more than enough to sit up in, change clothes in, actually move around and breath in…), a true double wall shelter and the versatility to set up the Hexanet, the tarp, or both. At 2 oz more, it was worth it for me, however, if weight is the answer we are searching for, then this isn't the option to go with…

Just a thought, John does great custom work at very reasonable rates. He is super helpful in working through a need/issue. I'd email him with your request and see what he has to say.

So my plan is to pick up a Zpacks solplex at some point. I got to use one for two nights and fell in love with it, but the $500+ is a lot for me for this year and I'm thinking about the bivy for the trips at shelters and no tarp needed nights, which is most of my summer. The tarp and bivy with the Solplex will pretty much cover my entire year outside of big snow times.

I think I will send an email to both Borah and MLD and see what I get back before I decide.

Chad,

Thanks for posting up the photos of yourself in the MLD Bug Bivy.

Question for you about the bug bivy that confuses me:

"If you have your tarp setup over the bug bivy, isn't a top entry difficult, if not impossible if the tarp is pitched low in a rain/wind storm?"

Seems that the underside of the tarp would only be a few inches above the bug bivy and therefore getting in and out would be difficult.

Am I missing something?

Tony

Tony,

I can't speak for Chad's experience, but for me the MLD bug bivy's entrance is EASIER than other designs.

The reason is that you can easily remove it from the head-end pole and let the whole thing lay on the ground. You crawl in and literally "sit down" inside the bivy, re-attach the head end to the pole strap or pole (and adjust tension), zip up and sleep.

I can't comfortably crawl into MLD's Serenity and similar nets because of my knees, but side-entry and MLD's bug bivy work well for me.

Overall I'd rate it 8/10 – the only reason it isn't a 10/10 is I'd like it to have a tad more foot room to allow my toes not to press my quilt against the net (thus decreasing loft over my toes when on my back). I'm nearly 6'2" for reference.

Go getcha one!

Todd

I am not Chad, but: you unclip the bug bivy, slip inside it, and then reach up through the top opening and re-clip the bivy to the tarp. You can do this while sitting in the bivy. Then lay down, and zip up.

Todd & Duane,

Duh, OKAY!

Completely makes sense to my limited brain power.

Sounds like there is plenty of bath tub wall on the floor to prevent water from getting into it in a rain storm too.

Hummm, now I get it and can consider this for the future.

Anyone know if this bug bivy would work in a SoloMid?

Thanks guys.

Love the BPL community!

Tony

Tony, it looks like others beat me to it! Yes, as others mentioned, getting in and out is quite easy, easier than regular bivies IMO. No slithering… Just unclip the head end from the tarp, sit down inside the netting and reattach it… When you're ready to zip it up, just lay back and zip!

As for using them in mids, I tried it under my ZPacks Heaxmid Solo Plus tarp a few times, but found that it wasn't exactly right for me… Probably just me, but the shapes didn't match up… I would have preferred using the MLD bug bivy under an A frame tarp more than a mid…

Chat,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Great to get your perspective on things.

Yeah, I agree with you….the bug bivy really is meant for a tarp.

I just have this fascination with the SoloMid for the 360 protection in bad weather with the ability to sit upright for prolonged periods of time, if needed vs. laying on my back under a tarp.

I current use a 2008 MLD eVent Soul Side Zip and a "stupid light" MLD Cuben Tarp…solo that is not made any more. (Probably too small and did not sell well).

Ah, gear porno….the sweetest addiction. :)

Tony