Tarp and Bivy Users (Past and Present)

Tents got lighter.
The rest of our gear got light enough that a lightweight good quality tent became a more attractive option.
A lot of folks are hanging in hammocks now and don't participate in ground-dwellers' forums.
Bivys are kinda extreme… minimal advantages and some big negatives.
I would use one in certain circumstances, but I already have a sweet SD tent.
I do rock a tarp and no bivy whenever possible.

I mainly just use a waterproof bivy these days. It's quicker to setup and doesn't require as much space as a tarp. If I think there will be rain, I take a tarp and a water resistant bivy. I still do not use a tent.

I think the demographic of people pushing the limits of backpacking with smaller base weights has decreased significantly. For what reason I don't know, but you don't see it very often any more.

Personally I found even with a small tarp (grace solo) a bivy is not needed if you're an experienced tarp user.

I still use a bivy/tarp/poncho combo. I can't beat the price. It's what I could afford when I came back to backpacking a few years ago.

Now I'm looking at getting a larger tarp, ditching the bivy and using an umbrella/kilt for rain. I won't lose much weight but I like the idea better air flow. It's quite expensive (for me) so I'm just contemplating the idea for now.

I switched from a standard cat tarp and bivy to a mid style tarp/shelter and bivy or bug inner. I consider it the same concept. I switched from cat to mid style because a mid is easier to setup, more storm resistant and smaller (I throw down in some pretty limited sites.). Also, bivies work great out west or in shoulder or winter seasons in the east. in general I wouldn't reco a bivy in the summer in the east or anywhere that doesn't get cooler at night.

I still use my Golite Hut 1 'shaped tarp' in all seasons up high with a parcel-tape 'n' tyvek bathtub groundsheet. I've never felt the need for a bivy. For valley camping in skeeter season I use my GG 'One' tarptent when solo or our Golite Hex 3 with MYOG bugtent insert when the missus comes along.

I love my diy bivy. 7.5ounces with enough room for a full ridgerest solar large inside it. I find the extra wiggle room and air space on either sides helps with airflow and comfort to wiggle. With a 5oz climaquilt it got me to 15f and cozy. made of 1.5cuben floor with 4" tub walls and m90 top with 4'zipperside and mesh hood.

downsides are it seems to keep you wet if you got wet. And I hate the idea of ruining cuben.

I think the main reason is that some tents have got not heavier than “tarp + bivy”.
But I still usually use tarp or pyramid shelter with bivy since I only tent I have is TT double rainbow which is not very light.

Some more reasons I tend not to go with a tent is that
1. I usually go hiking in areas with few bug problem
2. I use a bivy as my waterproof pack liner
3. I like the freedom under a tarp.

The only time I like a bivy is as a stand alone shelter.

Sometimes I carry the MB Breeze Dry-Tec WPB sleeping bag cover (Size XL) on long just in case day hikes. Not so much close to civilization, but more for when I'm trekking through the backcountry. Weighs 8.3 oz.

A UL waterproof breathable bivy also fits well into an SUL setup. For example I can pair it up with a lighter sleeping bag because it adds about 8 degrees to the temp rating. Along with the bivy I carry a 51" square ZPacks tarp (2.2 oz) that I can set up over the head end. Also include six .2 oz ti shepherd hooks and 1.25 mm spectra cord. Takes a little doing to set the mini tarp up, but it makes things far better if I get caught out in rains of any duration. Doesn't make the bivy a true "stand alone" shelter, but the tarp and stakes only adds 3 oz of weight.

The small tarp can also be used as a rain kilt. MLD makes a similar silny square tarp it calls the "Dog Tarp".

Different mosquitos nets can be used. Without the tarp, an S2S Nano Solo net (3 oz) works great. With the tarp it's more challenging, but it's still much better than no protection at all on mosquito filled nights.

I've joined the ranks of the tree dwellers. Much more comfortable than the typical rocks and roots you need to sleep on out east. Used a tarp/bug net combination a few years ago in Colorado, and sorely (literally) missed the hammock.

I use a cuben Grace Duo tarp even when I go solo. It weighs 8 oz and is the size of a carport! Don't need a bivy.

I like my bivy a lot, but I like my hammock more.

When would I not use the hammock? One case is above treeline, in which case I'd like the 360 degree protection on a mid (if I need to pitch anything).

Though I haven't sprung for that, just use my hex tarp with bivy for now.

Bivy+ tarp is nice for desert/arid settings.

Bivy is very tucked in. Tarp is very open. I like that combination. But it is a weird mix.

I still use a small tarp/bivy. The MLD cuben fiber tarp is the same one I bought in early 2008. It's been on the PCT and AT.

I'm a cowboy camper unless it's raining (and I really push my luck) so the bivy sack makes the most sense for my style of csmping. I stay with the tarp as it matches well with the bivy. I tried a hexamid last summer but I don't think the dimensions matched up well with the bivy which I refused to give up. I was paranoid that if I moved much, I kick the edge of the bivy outside so I sold the hexamid and went back to the MLD tarp.

Same here, I cowboy camp when possible, about 50% of the time. Bivy good for that.

Occasionally I have to quickly get up at night and put my tarp up.

I use an 8×10 tarp and no bivy. If the weather is bad enough that water is hitting my sleeping bag under my tarp then a mid is more appropriate.

With a flat tarp I can get into my bag with damp clothes and wake up dry. Lots of ventilation and usually a slight breeze running under the tarp. If I get a little splatter or blasted rain it dries out fine. I have only used a bivy a couple times but I suspect the moisture accumulated in a sleeping bag in the morning because of a little splatter and blown rain is usually less than the moisture accumulated from perspiration trapped in a bivy.

That said most of the rainy weather I deal with isn't foggy/misty and super humid.

Tents like Zpacks' Hexamid and their newer models are much lighter – so they're easier and more spacious than a bivy.

I was never able to get a bivy to consistently be condensation-free in the SE US.

I do still like a tarp w/ bugnet/bug bivy like the Patrol w/Bug bivy. And the SMD Wild Oasis is my favorite non-tent shelter.

I mostly use a WPB bivy and only set up the tarp if I suspect rain. While I cowboy camp when possible, the bivy is pretty much just for a ground sheet and bug protection and I find it quite comfortable sleeping inside it. It also takes very little time to set up and repack, which is nice when moving fast.

I still use a tarp/bivy combo. It's a pyramid tarp, though, and I think of the lightweight bivy mostly as bug protection and a replacement for a groundsheet. Not uncommonly I don't even zip it.

An MLD DuoMid with MLD SuperLight bivy is about perfect for me as a solo setup, though I do cowboy camp most of the time, for which the bivy is damned handy. I'm still carrying the shelter, though.

And I do admit that I'm now flirting with hammocks. Or, well, more accurately I'll resume flirting with hammocks when I get home from this gawdforsaken country, again. What can I say- I'm getting old.

I am in the cowboy camp group. I have a myog bivy and love it. Ease of setup is the best part. I have a tarp and rarely set it up and most the time when I do, its as a wind block, not a rain shelter.

I loathe the idea of going back to a tent and having to set it up every night for bug protection as the primary function. Ill stuck to the tarp/bivy combo as long as I can

"I loathe the idea of going back to a tent and having to set it up every night for bug protection as the primary function."

The Hex 3 with toggled-in bugtent/groundsheet takes around 90 seconds to pull out of the pack and pitch. Great for sudden downpours during the day too. Western European weather is pretty unpredictable…

Do you mean the golite hex 3? At 30 plus ounces just for the tent, the floor is another 20 and its big enough for 3 people, Ill pass on that one. My tarp is 11oz and my bivy is 8. I could save weight going cuban but dont want to spend the money.

I use a silnylon Solomid with bivy. I almost always bring the bivy for bugs or wind mitigation, plus it substitutes for a ground cloth. Total packed weight for my whole system is 28.1 ounces. That's tarp, bivy, stakes, lines, and pole jacks (1.5 oz total) for my fixed length poles.

I've been tempted to try a TT Notch or similar and probably will soon. The Notch's spec weight is only 27 ounces including stakes. The ProTrail is spec'd at 26 ounces.

I want to have similar bug and element protection as a tent, but I don't want to spend the cash on cuben. So it seems that a tarp/bivy combo just doesn't cut it for me anymore.

I use borah gear bug bivy for 3 season. If it rains, I pitch my MLD grace solo tarp. I also use my Bristlecone bivy in "colder" seasons and in winter I have the snowyside event bivy if needed. Again, I bring my tarp for overhead protection and have the option to pitch that if I need to or would like the extra protection. I have really come to love my setup because it is so simple and leaves me any option I want/need with as much or as little protection as I want/need. It's super fast to make/break camp and I can sleep pretty much wherever I want/need. It is also lightweight and packs down to nothing in my pack. I have been using my shelter system like this for past 2 and 1/2 years now (tweaking between bivys and tarps), and I really do enjoy it because it works perfectly for me every time.

I appreciate all the replies.