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After 100 +/- nights in this MYOG bivy I was ready for some design changes:

The bivy was originally designed with a full ‘storm hood’ in addition to the netting. The bottom is silnylon and the top is M90 DWR from Thru-hiker.

Original design:

The storm hood didn’t last long before I removed it:
1. For mostly fair weather backpacking, it wasn’t necessary.
2. It added weight, especially the extra 83” of zipper.
3. Fully enclosed, oxygen level inside dipped to 19%.

After many nights use, the following shortcomings were evident:
1. The perimeter zipper required a lot of body contortion to fully unzip from the inside.
2. When not needed, the netting was annoying. (I should have added ties to hold the rolled down netting.)
3. On a number of mornings, there was condensation in the footbox.
4. On many warm, buggy nights, I could have used more netting and less M90.
5. Inserting my pad and quilt into the bivy was a pain.

So after some brainstorming, here’s what I came up with.
1. Long center zip.
2. Center netting strip similar to Cesar’s and Stick’s
3. Shorter cone. 9” tall vs 18’ tall.
4. Wider girth.
5. A little more style.

Initial impressions:

1. Much easier to zip/unzip from inside.
2. Much easier to insert pad and quilt.
3. When unzipped, netting can be pushed out of the way and stays there.
4. More elbow room.
5. 6 ounces in silnylon/M90/nano-seeum and 68” #3 zipper.

-Lance