to bivy or not to bivy

If, you are caught in a real Pacific coastal rainstorm, you will be wet within moments, anyway. If, you use a good synthetic bag, my choice is the ID combo for serious trips and hunting, you will soon dry out inside your bivy. Then, you will be warm and safe and not expire from hypothermia in mid-July, which happens here every so often.

I can use my ID Silponcho plus EVENT South Col and keep pretty dry and warm by setting it up on my hiking poles, but, my Silwing works better and is easier to pitch taut against high winds.

I realize this is pretty "borderline" for actual U/L backpacking, it is merely what I have found effective in what I choose to engage in.

Jeff,
5 minutes to setup and takedown is great but 15 secs is even better. My quilt stays in the bivy. Pull it out and climb in. Glad you like your setup. Mine works great for me.

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

Sure. And I will race you to change clothes in your bivy when it is raining and I am under a tarp.

; )

Dewey – given that you continue to mention using a bivy WITH a tarp in the worst weather that BC can throw, I would encourage you to try one of the current silnylon UL shelters available. I bet a bunch of cash that a Sublite would easily out perform one of your tarp set ups with your 24oz ID bivy (!!) in really bad weather.

Ok, ok…

So I guess I need to point out what I said specifically! :)

And David, I'm pretty quick still!

Even if you're in a downpour though, a bivy has to be good. My preference would be to set up my tarp while wearing my poncho & getting dry before jumping in the bag & bivy!

Although it is 10:30pm where I am, I am now hungry for a Burger and Fries. Thanks….

Dug – PM'd you back.

David, while these shelters certainly have their place and among my tarps is an ID Silshelter, I do not find them as easy to erect as an ID Mega Sola or Unishelter, especially if one has sustained a leg fracture. My gear is very carefully chosen and then tested to perform in any harsh weather I will encounter in BC and in any season, as well as to be easy to use in an emergency due to an injury when solo.

The Sublite will not do well in heavy snowfall and would not handle severe winds as well as what I am now using, so, for me, there is no reason to change and I do not want to spend more money on gear as I have more than enough now.

Very simply, to me, a bivy is really best for emergency uses and I prefer those which will handle snow, wind, torrential rains and erect quickly. I can cope with getting wet from rain as I get into it as body heat will dry me, but, if I do not have it and cannot erect a shelter, hypothermia will kill me. As always, YMMV.

nm

I've used both. The advantage of the bivy is simplicity and the fact you don't need to set-up a shelter. You can throw them down anywhere and crawl in and go to sleep. I've done it right on a trail.

There are really two categories in my opinion. You have the bivy as a shelter and the bivy as a rain-spray/condensation protection device. The second is designed to be used as part of a system with a tarp or inside a snow cave or some other wet environment where the sleeping bag may get wet. The first is a survival/mountaineering use that requires a robust solution and is best combined with a synthetic bag.

In the military I used a bivy/bag that was wonderful to climb into for my few treasured hours of sleep and I slept right in the rain and elements. You climbed into those things wet and with several hours of use would dry out some of your clothing and that thing was good as gold. But…. it was a pretty miserable way of living in the outdoors to begin with. I don't do that for recreational backpacking and there are true shelters that are comparable in weight that give you much more comfortable accommodations. In exchange you have to spend a few minutes setting them up and often you have to look a little more for a suitable location. A small price to pay for the added comfort.

You can also use a tarp as a bivy.
You can throw it over your bag or quilt and tuck the sides and possibly the bottom in, or if it's big enough roll up in it like a burrito
Cases where I or friends have done this are:

Cowboy camping and it started to rain in the middle of the night.

Electrical storm in flat open area and you want to get as low as possible.

Strong wind would make the tarp difficult to pitch and it would be too noisy in such a wind.

You are tired or injured.

and more…

the problem with using a tarp as a wrap is that it isnt breathable … not a huge deal for synth bags, not the best for down bags … but you gotta do what you need to do

the REAL advantage with a bivy tarp system IMO is the flexibility … you can use either on its own, it provides enough protection for most of what people do, and it provides some redundancy

i guess its pretty light too if you go cuban since you can get as low as 7-10 oz for a full setup

as to a bivy alone … unless you are in a snow cave or a rock ledge … use a tarp, it makes life easier

Sorry, David, but I would not even consider a MLD Mid as an emergency shelter in snow and my point in my last post was that shelters of this type are not as functional in such conditions as the ID Mega Sola, among others.

My longest camps in snow and this is alone were about four weeks, usually a 5-7 day solo and in the very high and heavy, wet snowfalls of the Kootenays, where the largest snowfalls in Canada occur. I have had pyramid type shelters and found a tensioned dome or tunnel much superior overall.

I have only bivied for 4-5 nights and in all seasons, crossing Earl Grey Pass alone and in a solo trek through the Valhallas. Again, using both light tarp shelters and bivies I came to prefer the bivies.

I don't know who proved your assertion, I only post based on my actual experience and if someone prefers a MLD Mid, fine, I gave my opinion and that is that.