Rab eVent “bivies” on sale

Why wouldn't you call those tents instead of bivies?

–B.G.–

eVent can't be used in "tents" so Rab renamed them.

Hi Bob – because they are made out of eVENT and GE does not permit eVENT in tents. These are lower profile mountaineering tents and RAB has somehow got around the issue by calling them bivi's.

Bizarre, I know.

Let me see if I understand. The products are tents, but Rab made them with eVent fabric, so just to make it legal, they called them bivies. ?

But, really, they are tents.

On the web page, Rab called them shelters.

I couldn't figure out how a bivy could have a price tag of nearly $400.

–B.G.–

Hence the scare quotes.

If you tried to sit up inside of one and sip some tea, you may also understand another reason why they are referred to as bivies. Bivies have a maximum height allowed before they are called tents.

I don't drink tea. Strictly coffee. My lack of understanding is my bliss.

…

Okay, joking aside, the height of the Summit Mountain is a hair over 39 inches, which is about three inches less than a BD Firstlight. That's why I bought that one, and not the smaller one. I'll take the weight penalty, especially given that I'll only be using this in fairly much the conditions for which it was designed: alpine winter travel/climbing.