Blizzard Bag Compressability once used?

Williswall over at NWHikers has used them extensively:
http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7996340

I think they need to be vacuum packed again to get close to the original VHS size shape.

Blizzard bag looks pretty neat. Never looked into it before

My setup includes an MLD eVent bivy and a light down quilt or bag for similar activities. The eVent bivy easily packs up a little smaller than the unopened blizzard bag (one user said VHS sized before opened) but the additional down bag is about double that size.

My system weighs about 8-10oz more but is probably more versatile and durable. Certainly my system is quite a bit more expensive though. The packed volume advantage looks to sway in favor of bivy+down bag though once that blizzard bag is unpacked. I can squeeze my overnight kit with food, water, down jacket, and raincoat into my 12L running hydration pack… barely.

An extra half of a pound and a few hundred dollars in my kit has me keeping an eye on this thread now though.

@Nathan

I thought about going the bivy/down bag route but since I don't own a bivy that means I have to research and buy one. Then hope I like it. If the BB doesn't work out I'm not out a lot. My main reason for wanting the BB to work is that the other day I was doing a run in the rain and after a couple hours of being soaked to the bone I thought that I would hate to have to set up a tent/tarp shelter then try to dry off before getting in my down bag. I figure I could hop in the BB wet and "hopefully" stay warm enough to get some sleep without worrying about getting the bag wet.

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7993279&highlight=

I bought a blizzard bag as an emergency bivy for long Done in a Day style hikes and runs. So i don't plan on opening it. My logic was it is cheap, light, small and fully weather proof.

As far as repacking I don't know how big it would be but Blizzard as a pouch for carrying it that is about 7.75" wide x 17.5" long. So that works out to produce a cylinder about 5" is diameter and 15 inches long which would have a volume of 300 in^3 or about 5L

I won't know unless I have to try it.

At 13 ounces it is definately the lightest full weatherproof shelter in existance.

"At 13 ounces it is definately the lightest full weatherproof shelter in existance."

I don't think that is necessarily true. I don't have a blizzard bag, and it does sound like they can work, but I do have a bothy bag and I think they are better emergency shelters and they are clearly lighter.

A two person bothy can be as light as 8 oz (terra nova or brooks range); the 4 person is under 16 oz. They are really tight, so that is more like 1.5 person and 3 person, but in any case, very light, 4-8 oz per person. The 2 person would provide plenty of room for one.

For an emergency, I would much rather have the room and ability to cook, or change, or dry out, or tend to injuries to myself or others, or repair gear like my ski bindings, full protected and warm in the bothy, then laying on the ground stuffed inside the blizzard bag.

the bothy is not rated to 8 togs … ie 40F men comfort rating …

"My system weighs about 8-10oz more but is probably more versatile and durable. Certainly my system is quite a bit more expensive though. The packed volume advantage looks to sway in favor of bivy+down bag though once that blizzard bag is unpacked. I can squeeze my overnight kit with food, water, down jacket, and raincoat into my 12L running hydration pack… barely."

Nathan, I am looking to put a similar kit together for the upcoming spring/summer. As such, I would be interested in learning more about what gear you have in your kit. Do you have a gear list that you would be willing to share?

"Nathan, I am looking to put a similar kit together for the upcoming spring/summer. As such, I would be interested in learning more about what gear you have in your kit."

Right now major items include (off top of my head):
MLD Event bivy
WM Summerlite bag (might switch to WM Highlite* that a member here converted to a quilt)
MB ExLight Down Jacket
Salomon WPB jacket* (previous was nicer but bulkier ID eVent jacket)
MB wind shirt (will use Arc Squamish if it'll fit in the pack, but MB packs much smaller)
NeoAir small mattress
Steripen Freedom* (previous was pre-opti adventure size steripen. I think Defender model)
Salomon Skin12 pack* (previous was MLD burn which had more volume)
Zebralight Headlamp
Beanie or wool balaclava/running gloves/bug net
Running Tights or rain pants for camp (I wear shorts on the move)
Bandaids/tape/blade/bodyglide/ibuprofen
Maybe z-poles depending on terrain

*indicates new or upgraded gear that hasn't been used yet.

Food will consist of a lot of snickers and gels with cold food for dinner. Water will be carried in bladder in the pack, and treated in same. Gatorade mix goes right into the bladder (something I don't like to do but don't think i'll have room to carry extra mixing bottle on this pack (bottle pockets used for snickers and such).

Definitely looking to avoid rain in the forecast, but somewhat expect some overnight showers with good probability. I'm in new england. This is only really for summer conditions, but could be pushed to spring/fall depending on where camp is(if you can call a spot big enough for a bivy camp).

Everything fits in the new salomon running pack….barely. The pack expands and compresses very nicely. Looks like a balloon though with this kit. We'll see how comfortable the carry is.

If water sources are spaced close enough together I have toyed with the idea of carrying a hipbelt water bottle holder along with the pack and removing the bladder from the pack to possibly bring a stove. Love hot food and coffee. Never tried the hip belt/running pack combo though. Might not work at all.

If the pack doesn't work out (too bouncey or whatever) I'll switch to a larger volume pack and most likely include a stove and 1/8" foam pad used for a ground sheet.

I've toyed with using a poncho-tarp in the past to forego the bivy and raincoat, but it's a risky proposition and I don't like wearing a poncho.

some pics I snapped back in December when I got the pack

How comfortable is it running in. Part of my decision to go witht he blizzard bag was to reduce bulk. Especially the depth of the bag. The closer in hugs the body the easier it is to run in.

What's the rough estimate of your total base weight of your system?

I haven't run with that setup yet. My primary reason for purchasing the skin 12 pack was for longer day run/hike scenarios (25-55 miles). I have a 5 liter version from a few years back that is just an outstanding running pack, but lacks enough volume to carry an insulating layer or even a real rain coat for that matter. So I bought the 12 liter to give me the extra room. I was presently surprised at how much the 12 liter can expand and how much can actually be stuffed into it, hence my idea for using it for an overnighter as I've described. For anyone familiar with the 5 liter version of that pack, the 12 liter compresses down to similar size but has multiple sections that can be expanded to accomodate more bulky gear. The chest straps are much wider/sturdier than the 5L to help with the additional load.

As for stability, I think you are on the right track in keeping things low profile (close to your back). Starting from scratch with the primary goal to accomodate overnight gear I'd probably consider a longer pack with some sort of waist strap to keep things from shifting, but it's a tough call. If you've never run in one of these salomon packs you owe it to yourself to try one out – absolutely the best running packs I've come across and nothing like a traditional backpack. Perhaps not the ideal overnight gear bag though. We shall see.

As for total base weight, it's probably in the 6-7lb range. The pack makes up a large chunk of that, but I feel it performs better than your typical UL style pack for moving fast (but this again remains to be seen at this level of gear volume)

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for posting your Gear List, as well as the pics. Some follow-up questions (hope you don't mind):

Why the Arc Squamish hoody as opposed to the Celeris jacket? Do you use the hood? I think there is a 20 gram difference between the two products (the Celeris is lighter).

Do you use the MB down jacket as part of your sleep system (i.e., sleep in it), or do you use it primarily for in camp/rest stops?

Are you stuffing the sleeping bag into the backpack "as is," or are you using a stuff sack of some sort?

After having researched the compressability of the Blizzard Bag here and there, I think you may be hard-pressed (no pun intended) at stuffing it into your bag after having opened it. If you're doing a planned overnight, where you definitely will be using a bag, then that could be the challenge you face. Otherwise, if you're just carrying the Blizzard Bag as an unplanned overnight/emergency bag, then you could probably improvise something (e.g., lashing it to the outside of your bag) to get you home.

Hey Chris. I'll try to answer a few of your questions.

Squamish hoody over Celeris mostly because I already had a MontBell UL wind shirt with no hood. So the celeris would be slightly redundant. And I will use it in colder winter conditions too where I wouldn't bother with the MB before and where I will appreciate having a hood. The MB will come with me on more runs because it can pack down so small and fits into the rear pocket on some of my running shirts for easy carry (they're actually bicycle shirts I think). But the Arc jackets have their place for sure. If I'm planning on wearing the jacket as opposed to bringing it as a backup or "just in case" situation, I think the squamish will be my choice over the MB – though it's still new to me to know this for sure.

The down jacket is not part of my intended sleep system. Sometimes I will wear it to bed initially until I warm up, but I usually take it off pretty quickly. I'm a warm sleeper and the summerlite is plenty of bag for my trips without needing the jacket as well. The Highlite quilt is cut rather narrow though so perhaps I will use the jacket as part of a sleep system with it.

For the pictures shown, I think I just stuffed it and the jacket in there as-is without stuff sacks. This is also the approach I took in the past albeit with a trash bag liner in a more traditional top loading backpack. I will want to protect them from moisture for sure, so some sort of pack liner or stuff sack will be necessary. A compression sack can be nice but at the same time can be awkward to pack. This is a TBD right now until I play around packing the pack up again and adding all my food etc. and playing around with what goes best where. Maybe I'll go for a test run tomorrow to see how this thing actually carries on the trail.

I have been thinking about those blizzard bags a bit since stumbling across this thread. I think I could deal with strapping to the outside of my pack for day #2 if and only if the thing could be packed back down to original or similar size once I got home to be reused. Could a compression sack work in the field to get its volume down?

Nathan thanks for contribution to this thread! I've been thinking a lot about the BB and it's size after it's been used. Dale W. A while ago posted about the AMK Escape Bivy and I have been looking heavily at that as well. AMK says it's good to 50* by itself and with a down jacket on it's good to 40*. it packs down really small after every use and is also waterproof and it's marketed as being breathable. I saw it at REI yesterday and with the 20% off coupon plus my dividend it's rather tempting. The other big plus to the AMK bivy is that it isn't noisy to sleep in like the BB.

Hi Dan,

I ahve two Blizzard bags, one in original packaging and one that was used, the used one packs down to about 3 times the size of the unused one.

I did have to sleep in one for a couple of hours once and I was fine with a synthetic jacket and ear plugs.

Cheers,

Stephen

Stephen thanks for chiming in. Do you need a sleeping pad with one of these for warmth reasons (ignoring comfort)?

Also is it possible to compress more than 3X original size with some sort of compression sack?

Hi Nathan,

Hard to say and I am away at the moment so cannt check.

I would say before opening it the was the size of a VHS Video cassette and compressed about the size of a one pound down sleeping bag.

Using a compression sack you could probaly get it fairly small.