Which bivy?

[Richard Hanson]

I have an MLD bug bivy and it is very spacious and will easily accommodate a neoair. Some breeze does get through the mesh, but in a Texas summer it is still almost as stifling as a tent. I will often zip the bivy only part way up and then arrange the netting so that my head is sticking out for the fresh air. When it turns a bit colder, I have found that the bug bivy helps keep my quilt arranged around my torso and I just skip the quilt straps. The bivy also blocks some of the wind… perhaps about half but this is much more noticeable in a light breeze than in a heavy blow which is just the reverse of what would be desirable. The bug bivy has two points to hook the netting to the tarp, at the ends of the top entry zipper, but I only use the one at the head. As I am thinking about this I am going to go remove the other.

That said, I am looking for another bivy to use in the colder months. It is not that I don't like the bug bivy, but a lot of times I would just like to skip setting up the tarp so I am looking for a bit more protection from my bivy and a hassle free method of achieving some head room without having to clip netting to the underside of my tarp. Right now, most of my shelter comes from the tarp with my bivy providing bug protection, a ground cloth, and a bit of extra protection from spray and blown dirt. I think I want to reverse that and get a more robust bivy, especially for the colder months, and a minimal tarp that will only be set up when I have a rational expectation of bad weather. Total grams should be similar but the second options will let me enjoy that stars more often and save camp setup and breakdown time especially when the weather is good.

I will be watching this thread for quality products to check out.

[William Zila]

The ravin omni by ti goat with the mesh face panel looks like the best thing to fill the void in my gear anyone have one ? If so do You like it ? How does it do in rain showers if the weather looked nice I would just use the bivy how does it do in light rain showers for maybe a couple hours in the night? How does it breath I understand it's a bivy and zipped up condensation is pretty much unavoidable but how does the breathability compare to something like a marmot Alpinist or a montbell bag cover? How much head room do you have with the mess suspended ? I don't want to spend a good chunk of cash on a bug bivy that isn't very adaptable I also like the fact that the raven would block the wind more then mesh and add a good amount of warmth on a windy night I would rather deal with some condensation then a night shivering because the wind is pulling the warmth out of my bag

[Elizabeth Camp]

I don't have the Raven but I have the Ptarmigan and use it year around. In winter I put the pads outside the bivy but the footbox is a little small for this application on the Ptarmigan. If I were a larger person then my setup wouldn't work (hence the existence of the the Raven)…

Since the Ptarmigan and the Raven have the same fabrics my experience applies to your question regarding condensation. Note that I have the full net hood version of the Ptarmigan. I really have very few problems with condensation but have experienced light condensation on the following conditions:

–cold (30's & low 40's) and rainy/damp conditions
(I have experienced slight dampness on the Intrepid fabric just where it meets the zipper across the chest. The dampness probably originates from my breath. On a few occasions I've also had slight dampness on the inside of the intrepid in the foot area under these conditions)

–cold (20's & low 30's) winter conditions
(I often put the hood up in such conditions but not zipped up. It's hard to avoid breathing into the hood for some portion of the night as I roll around a lot. On occasions where I have apparently been breathing into the hood for a good portion of the night, I have experienced dampness on the inside of the hood.

I really like the full net hood as it provides a lot of ventilation which helps to keep me cool in the summer and probably cuts down on condensation too. I never zip up the Interpid portion of the hood and really only put the Intrepid hood over me in winter conditions. So most of the time the Intrepid portion of the hood is tucked away which is perfect for me.

Hope that helps. Good luck on your search!

[William Zila]

I use Medium neoair and want it in the bivy ti goat states that the raven accommodates this but the ptarmigan doesn't ?

[Elizabeth Camp]

I've never tried putting a pad as thick as the neoair inside the ptarmigan. I use a BPL Torsolight and some 3/8 in CCF for the rest of my body. I'm certain that having a torso or 2/3 length thick pad w/ a 3 season bag in the Ptarmigan would be fine for me since I've got some room to spare in the ptarmigan but I wouldn't want to put a full length 2.5 in pad in (b/c the foot box on the ptarmigan is a bit small for that). However, I'm a 5'9" 130 lb female and so things might be different for other people.

It seems that the Raven was built to accommodate users who are bigger than I am and also want to use thicker pads like the Neoair. I know there have been some posts about the ptarmigan vs. the raven so you may want to do a search. I'll see if I can find any of those posts.

It would be helpful if you could provide some information about your size. Someone on here will have tried out both the Ptarmigan and Raven. I'm sure they will eventually chime in.

[William Zila]

I am 5.8 and 130lbs so I'm a pretty small guy and my neoair is 66 inches by 20 I'm thinking I should be able to get but with the ptargem anyone similar size used a neoair and a 30degree bag in it ?

[Elizabeth Camp]

here's a link to an old thread regarding the neoair in the Ptarmigan:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=21172

It seems that it works for some but not those who use the full length Neoair. Looks like a raven would be a better option though.

Here's a member who has commented that they have a Raven on a couple of threads…perhaps you can send him a PM and get some more info.:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/profile.html?u=adamf

[William Zila]

After reading the threads and looking at specs I think I will go with the raven just to air on the side of comfort the general view just make that seem like the best choice for me thank you everyone you made it alot easier to find what I needed like usual

[Ben Barlin]

I have one and it is roomy. Fit my full size neo medium and quilt and jacket with no compression. I have the fullheadnet and have not had a problem with the loop for suspending the mesh, but I use small shock cording so that I don't put alot of stress on it. Some condensation on cold nights but no big deal compared to the benefits, warmth, bugs etc. Great price, superior workmanship, quick shipping (if in stock).

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