to bivy or not to bivy

Are you thinking of going out with just a bivy? Is this to be used inside of another shelter?

Dennis,

Unless you have the ability to borrow a bivy for a night to see if it will work for you, this is going to pretty much be a leap of faith for you to see if it will work out.

That said, go for the full bivy experience because if it works out for you….then you have the bivy that you need vs. buying a mesh one and then spending more money to a solid one.

If it does not work out for you…sure that you can find someone here who would be glad to take it off your hands.

Also, as you also live in the Bay Area, if you attend the BPLer's Gathering in February, there is supposed to be a gear swap taking place, which could be an opportunity to sell an unwanted bivy to a fellow BPLer.

My transitioning to a MLD Soul Side Zip and MLD Poncho tarp was just that….leap of faith to go "all the way" as light as I could.

I had never pitched or used a tarp before, nor had I used a bivy.

So glad that I did.

Fun to be able to look at a tiny spot with a great view and just say, "I can sleep here for the night!"

On nights where there is little to no chance of rain, I love that I can just pull out my bivy and setup camp in just a few minutes with out touching a tent stake or guy line.

Perhaps the best way for you to have some sense of if a bivy would work for you is for you to ask yourself if you are claustrophobic at all. Can your mind adjust to sleeping in a confined space. Are you a super restless sleeper that can toss and turn within the confines of your bivy?

Hope this helps.

-Tony

Jack, I would also get a tarp.

Tony, thanks for your input. I'll consider the confined space but I'm pretty sure that it'll be ok. Can the Bay weather get too hot for a bivy? Also I've read that condensation can occur with colder nights. What's it like in a bivy on warm nights?

Also Tony, am I to assume that there is an advantage of the solid over the mesh bivies?

Dennis,

The advantage of a solid bivy is that it will have the ability to protect you from rain that might blow under the edges of your tarp.

I think that it is safe to say that the majority of people using a bivy will pair it up with a tarp of some sort.

A bivy by itself, even if it is waterproof (mine is eVent), still would need a tarp to give you some above protection for when you need to exit in the morning or in the middle of the night for a bathroom break.

As for condensation, yes, it can be an issue but to some extent you have little control over that….more of an issue of dew point.

All that you can do with condensation is to make sure that your head, nose, and mouth are directly below your mesh to allow for moisture to pass through the mesh.

The top fabric choice can make a different….with MLD bivys, the Momentum fabric is more breathable then eVent, but is not completely waterproof.

Again, like anything else UL, an issue of trade offs.

Having used my bivy for a few years now, I would recommend passing on the eVent top and making sure you have a good tarp to give you plenty of coverage over your bivy.

I chose the eVent top because I was paranoid about getting my down bag wet (I have slept in a wet down bag before) and not having any confidence/experience in pitching a tarp.

As for a bivy being too hot….don't think that the bivy will make it too hot as much as your choice of sleeping bag/quilt.

Frankly, in really warm/mild weather I have taken to sleeping with my bivy unzipped and pulled back so that I can enjoy the open air feeling.

I have woken up with a few bugs in my bed, but have not suffered bites nor have I been carried away by a pack of rabbit marmots. :)

As for mesh bivies….I have never used one, but when I was on the TRT last year, Jay took his MLD Serenity Shelter with him and slept out nicely with no problems.

Again, having a bug bivy is just a further specialization for you to tailor your gear for the exact conditions that you might face…trade off is that you get more interior space than a solid bivy (in the case of the serenity shelter), but no protection from rain.

If you were only to own one bivy and intend to use it year round, I would have to say you would have to go with a solid bivy.

Nothing wrong with having two bivies….sure Ron at MLD would appreciate that. :)

-Tony

Dennis –

I got a bivy/tarp set-up last year and I like it. The only catch is after more than a few nights out I get tired of sliding in and out of the bivy and would like more space.

But for a few nights the minimal bulk and weight is great.

If you want to attend the BPL trip in February, you can borrow my set-up.

I have a Katabatic Pinon bivy and an Alpinlite Stratiform I tarp.

You could get one of the cheap emergency type bivy's and try it. These are good for a couple trips and cost very little. They do add some heat, (about 10F) and some moisture, since they are not designed from UL Breathable cloth. But they will give you a good flavour for it.

jdm

If I have good coverage in my tarp or don't expect a lot of blowing rain/snow, the SMD Meteor is my choice.
Less protection than a full on bivy, but far more livable, especially in warm weather.
Ground cloth and bug net, but only half your bag/quilt is covered. The mesh does repel a good amount of spray though.

I'm going to buy some of the Tyvek 1443R which is 1.25oz/yd and make a cheap inexpensive breathable bivy to just protect my lower bag. You can make it whatever length you need. It won't be fully waterproof but it should keep you from wetting the bottom of the bag with condensation. You don't need to sew it as it can be taped or glued with a PVA type of glue.

For the Sierras, my bivy worked great under a tarp to add extra warmth. Or just sleeping under the stars in Yosemite last August. Bivy is homemade with silnylon bottom and Momentum 90 top (from Thru-hiker.com) Lightweight breathable. Wether in or out of the bivy it acts as a ground cover, too. Also use it in the fall and spring along in the east. On a day trip/hike it is part of my emergency gear since it hardly adds any weight. Yes, add a bivy to your gear supply.

I have the same bivy that Frank does — homemade sil bottom, Momentum 90 top, with a HUGE mesh panel over the head and upper chest for breathability and comfort. My lovely wife made it for me with materials from thru-hiker.com. I love the versatility of a tarp/bivy combo — use the bivy out under the stars, or in an A.T. shelter, and add a small tarp if the weather gets bad.

Now I go back-and-forth between my tarp/bivy combo and a Moment tarptent, depending on my mood, and the particular hike.

I fail to see how anyone can complain about claustrophobia in a bivy when the majority of backpackers sleep in mummy bags anyway.

Check out Tigoat as well. There are reports of issues with the tieout on the mesh or something but if you aren't wanting the mesh face it's pretty good bang for the buck.

My biggest concern when going to a bivy was getting into one without a side zip. This turned out to be a non-issue for me.

nm

I just picked up a used BPL Vapr bivy, & really like it. Has a custom side zip, and I don't think I'd want to bivy much w/out the zip! :)

Also, I'm a touch on the claustrophobic side, and while I'm trying out quilting for the first time, a bivy has seemed different to me. I can wrap my head around being in a bivy, and since a phobias playground is the mind, that was my biggest concern. I'm stoked to have my bivy, & excited to team it w/ my Alpinlite tarp!

(was actually going to pitch & camp in the front yard tonight, but the inevitable cold hit me. I work with and around a lot of kids – imagine a life sized Petrie dish – and no one at my job gets through the holiday season without getting socked hard with some kind of germ. I've been in bed sleeping most of today!)

Anyway, Merry Christmas & a bivy New Year!

Dug
http://thf2.wordpress.com

nm

The only shelter I can find that would make it about even is the Fly Creek UL 1, am I missing something? When I look at the sq. footage of the FC UL1 vs. what I can have with a 10×12 tarp and bivy….kind of makes the choice a bit more difficult. I currently use an ID eVENT Unishelter bivy and really like it. Trouble is when you add a tarp, it takes me up to 47 oz

The biggest reason I use a bivy is the speed that I setup and tear down 90% of the time. If it's not raining the bivy alone is the quickest option out there. Also I love the open air feeling when sleeping under the stars. As far as feeling trapped in the bivy, I normally have my face outside of any fabric or mesh unless the skitters force me to use the netting. I have a TiGoat raven with the sidezip and I get less clausterphobic than in my tarptent. And getting out is no harder than my tarptent.

Also,
1) My combination of tarp and bivy is just under a lb. so it is one of the lightest options out there.
2) A bivy will cut down on the wind going under a quilt better than many tents. My bivy has also allowed me the stretch a UL-20 quilt in the winter much lower than without.

For me the flexibility and speed of setup and tear down makes a tarp/bivy a no brainer. I HATE tearing down a tent covered with frost on a nice cold Sierra morning.

I will not leave my vehicle, horse, boat or aircraft without a light emergency camp and a major component of that is a bivy. I have three ID bivies, an older Unishelter, an eVent South Col and an eVent Bugaboo plus an ID Mega Sola. I have specific uses for each, but, for serious all-around wilderness use, I would choose an ID eVent Unishelter plus my ID Silwing and call it good anywhere in Canada I am ever likely to go.

The Mega Sola, is a "shelter" and it is bombproof, very low wind resistance and fast and simple to erect and that is important to me on autumn high country hunts. It is not as comfortable as a light tent, but, it is better for short emergency camps and that is what I got it for….wish ID would do them in an earth tone eVent.

Greg: um, I use the Fly Creek and love it. I can even sit up in it. Also, no real condensation problems. Five minute set up/break down. 2 lbs. What's not to like over a bivy?

nm

I think they are a good match for a minimal tarp, like a poncho tarp, so you get the multiple-use discount of rain gear against the weight of the bivy. They make perfect sense to me as a day hiking shelter backup. The one place I can see them as a must is in a setup like a snow cave.

On the other hand, there are many tarp shelters that provide 360 degree coverage for similar weight and cost. The idea of throwing a bag on the ground and crawling in is appealing until you try to deal with hours of rain, snow, bugs and other outdoor pleasantries. With some sort of tarp overhead you can dress and stretch a bit if it isn't blowing hard and/or a total downpour.

I'm surprised that someone hasn't made a coordinated system with bivy, quilt and sleeping pad pocket.

Another interesting bivy option would be a large diameter UL umbrella with a bug net.

Hello

This may not be relevent to this post. I am looking for feedback on the new BPL bivi. I am 5'8" and am thinkng about the short version. It appears all sizes have the same width? . I thought I saw a spec for head and foot depth increasing as length increased?

jfdrauckerj@juno.com
Thanks Jim

I may have missed it, but I'll add a couple quick thoughts:

— there are several quality bivys out there under 9 ounces. Teamed w/an Alpinlite Gear Terraform tarp, GoLite Poncho Tarp, or one of Lawson Klines' cubeb tarps, you're looking at 15-20 ounces.

— a great reason in favor of a bivy is your choice of sleeping equipment. If you'll be encountering wet weather, and you have a down bag/quilt, it not just a good idea, in my opinion it's a no brainer to bring.

— If you're quilting it, it's nice to have to eliminate drafts & retain heat.

And I will personally buy a burger for anyone who can pitch a tarp faster than someone can throw down a bivy. :).

I like both, and I'm new to both. Used as a system they give you so many options for different and changing weather conditions.

Dug

Some here seem to think that bivies are outmoded and light shelters are a better way to go; my feeling is that the real deciding factor is where, when and for how long one camps/packs or is stuck in harsh weather.

For summer recreational backpacking, largely on established trails and staying in defined campsites as in national parks and other such reserves, the light shelters may well be a superior choice in respect of size-weight and relatively simple setup. For true emergency conditions, especially solo in actual wilderness, such as northern BC, they are not as effective as a good bivy…in my long and intense experience, living solo in wilderness.

So, I would choose depending on what you intend to do and where you will do it; obviously, backpacking in a park on trails is less demanding in respect of emergency gear than solo hunting and exploration in trackless wilderness scores of miles from the nearest human habitation. I use what my experience has taught me will work well in the worst situations I will encounter and this also works just fine in more moderate situations.

For my suburban training hikes, in the North Shore Mountains just north of Vancouver, BC, I usually carry just a Hilleberg Bivanorak and an Exped Primaloft Wallcreeper plus an old Ridgerest that all fits into my pack, yet, will allow me to survive for several cold nights in reasonable comfort to well below freezing. Severl, often "experienced" recreational hikers die in these mmountains every year due to over-confidence in their skills and inadequate gear…and, I have no intention of becoming one of their number.

Dug offered, "And I will personally buy a burger for anyone who can pitch a tarp faster than someone can throw down a bivy."

I'll throw in the fries and a shake for someone who can get in the bivy in a downpour without getting everything inside wet. ;)