Integral Designs Unishelter (Event)

[David Stenberg]

Does anyone have experience with this shelter? I have read a few places in the forums about it, but no real review or test. What do people think about it? How does it work in the field? I am living in MA and will be hiking on the AT and trails around it. I want to use the shelter for 3 season use. Is the Unishelter a good choice?

[paul johnson]

I’m going to display my ignorance here. I read some posts where people use 3-season to speak of Fall-thru-Spring, omitting Summer. Other posts use 3-season to speak of Spring-thru-Summer, omitting Winter. Is there a standard way to understand this, or is it more of a regional thing – depending upon winter and summer temps relative to spring and autumn.

So, I’m not sure what you mean by 3-season in this case.

Since we’re essentially neighbors…

in New England, i speak of Spring and Fall – the rainiest seasons; Summer which is hot, humid, and may also rain a bit at times; and Winter when it is cold – generally drier, but we can get cold or freezing rain and snow in Southern New England or very cold (i’ve seen -24deg F on the mercury, i.e. w/o wind chill) and literally 4 or more feet of snow on the ground in Northern New England (yeah…i know four feet…not exactly Bozeman). So, i find different gear is best in each of these three “seasons”.

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ok. to your question. I simply love this bivy shelter. Sometimes have virtually no condensation, sometimes condensation is present. Don’t usually get “lakes” forming in the bottom however. Don’t find condensation a big deal, but that’s just me. I don’t sweat much and i make sure that as much as possible, my exhaled breathe has a fair chance of exiting the bivy. In some ways the 25″ peak height makes this a bit harder since the opening is further from my nose. It definitely accumulates less condensation than most of my other bivies.

My main gripe with the eVENT Uni for use in Connecticut and NewEngland is Summer use. It has minimal bug netting so, on a muggy or rainy night with no breeze, using the eVENT Uni alone, you can’t unzip very much. That 30″ bug netting is NOT 30″ from head-to-waist, it’s 30″ of perimeter which has an irregular shape to it. So, it’s NOT much larger than a “porthole”.

If i’m intent on using the eVENT Uni in summer, i also carry the GossamerGear BugCanopy – weighs only 3oz. It’s overkill, but i don’t want to cut it smaller so that it can still be used with a tarp. I simply unzip the eVENT Uni and drape it over me. This means that there is not much distance between me and the netting as it gets closer to my waist. If it begins to rain, i can simply pull it into the bivy and zip-up. I’ve also tried the 4.5oz Equinox Mantis for this purpose. Oh…and a simple bug headnet (you might want earplugs to silence the skeeters – not an issue for me).

Breaking camp is easy too. I just remove the poles, pull up the stake, take the sleeping pad out, and roll up the bivy with the sleeping bag in it (like i said, i don’t sweat much and my treks are shorter durations 1-3nights, sometimes 5-7 nights), stuff them into a tall kitchen trash bag already positioned in my G5 pack. Place the hooped pole, broken down into sections, between the pad folds of the sleeping pad which goes in the external pad pocket. So, the poles acts sorta’ like a poor man’s internal frame and increases slightly the stiffness of the pad/v-frame. If i think i need to “air” out the bag and bivy, then i can do this in the sun (once the sun comes up – i generally, when alone, break camp in the dark) later on in the day. yes, in that case i need to unpack again and repack. it works for me. The G5 is my usual pack choice when using this bivy for more than an overnight, due to the larger packed volume of this bivy compared to some smaller, shorter lighter bivy “sacks” made from Epic fabric (or other non-laminant fabric) that are used with a tarp.

I enjoy the “simplicity” of making bivouac using this bivy shelter. However, other things to consider, unless you pitch your poncho-tarp over it, or eat a lot of G.O.R.P. (like i usually do), when it rains you have to find a nice tree or a rock overhang to cook/heat water under. I’ve been considering buying some silNylon and making a “head” awning for it to function sorta’ like a vestibule to be used only when it’s raining. This would involve more pitching effort however than just the bivy alone. Also, in the winter, you’ll be melting snow (if no rivers/streams are near by to collect water – IME, there usually is) out in the open – hope that there is not a lot of wind.

Hope this info helps.

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