Bivy Style Opinions: Drawcord, Chest zip, Side Zip?

Anyone? :)

Any information would be helpful.

The easiest bivvies to get into are side zip, assuming the zip goes down far enough. The draw string top entry bivvies are the most difficult to get into but are also the lightest and least complicated. If you are going with a WP bivy, a zipper means that things can leak.

A drawstring will not keep out bugs unless the bivvy has bug netting.

I've had a few bivies of various styles but have ended up using the draw cord top entry style because it is light and could be repaired or rigged to work on long trips ( we typically go for 8-15 days on kayak trips). A number of years ago a musher from Tanana admired my anorak and remarked that having something to pull over you in the winter is safer than something to zip.

The Oware draw cord bivy keeps bugs out and it really isn't that hard to get and out of in the night. We just came off a very wet 6 day trip using tarps and the draw cord bivies. We stayed dry and slept well.

I have both types, in Integral Designs make and use them for different situations. If, I had only one to choose, it would be the side zip and I did have drawcord only bivies, years ago, but, they just did not feel comfortable to me.

I have gear over 20 years old and have never broken a zipper, but, if I did, I would jury rig the bivy with my duct tape and U/L cord until I got home, each to his own.

The toughest part of multi-day trips for me is housekeeping; keeping the day to day debris, boot fodder, and moisture out of my tent or bivy.
Being a slob by nature the side zip option just works better for me especially during bad weather.
This was driven home to me last year while climbing in the Olympics, by the third day with no way to dry anything out in the constant rain all my equipment took on a consistent level of wetness and muddy hue.
My opinion would change if I was tripping in a drier clime but I still would be pigpen's older brother.

Hi guys,

Thanks much for the information. I'm now the proud owner of an MLD Superlight (sidezip). Can't wait to recieve it!