PJ – Perspective on ID Crysallis

I have a Unishelter and love it too. It is my favorite bivy, and I have yet to have condensation problems here in Georgia.
Don

Not to rain on anyone's parade but my Stephenson 2R and my BD Firstlight weigh within a lb. of these these bivy systems with the added advantage of being able to get in and out while keeping the contents dry and having space to move around in during a prolonged bout of bad weather and the ability to entertain :-). My bivy/tarp combo weigh less than a lb. altogether and provide a near condensation free environment which can be rigged to be comfortable from warm humid conditions to light winter use. What's the rationale for the use of a nearly 2 lb. bivy compared to these systems, I ask in the spirit of all due respect and conversation.

We haven't heard from PJ in some time and hope he comes out to play on this thread. ;-)

I think the advantages of standalone bivy shelters are in speed, simplicity, stealth, and the feeling of being "outside" all the time. Ryan did an article awhile back on it.

Definitely not a weight-saver or a way to simplify "camp life", but it's a way to simplify making/breaking camp and a way to never have to "go indoors" during the entire trip.

On topic, I too was hoping PJ would post his impressions of his eVent Crysallis. (Either that or sell it to me if he hates it!)

Brian

Yeah, what happened to PJ? Haven't seen any of his posts lately!?!

Per a recent BPL.com article, eVENT is more breathable than Epic.

David: I think I am the authority when it comes to 'space hog'. :)

There is a recent review of the BD One Shot (Epic) . In that you can see the One Shot next to a Rainbow. The reviewer made a strong point about the amount of condensation inside the BD.( BTW It turns out that the Rainbow had less condensation on those same nights. Of course size and ventilation comes into play). From my somewhat brief use of the Lighthouse, I would suggest that eVent does breathe better.

Yesterday I realized that PJ has not posted for a couple of months. Today you guys bring that up. Weird

PJ WHERE ARE YOU ?

Franco

Must be a Southern hemisphere phenomena, Franco, like the direction water goes down drains in your upside-down land. Up here Epic breathes much better— water vapor goes out. :-P hee hee.

Anyway, more to the point is tent/tarptent vs. tarp/bivy vs. stand alone bivy and the reasons we favor these configurations over each other.
Probably even more to the point is the original poster's inquiry but until PJ makes an appearance…..

David, where do you backpack that requires more "weatherproofness". I use my set ups, including the bivy and tarp combo in the Sierra, the Cascades and BC—so quite a range of conditions. Granted, I'm focused on higher elevation journeys and don't pretend to say this is the best way to go in say, the Hoh River Valley or some BC coastal rain forest. I have used W/B bivys as a primary shelter for some alpine mtneering but am relishing a little more pro these days— one very exposed bivy in high winds and sleet and snow for a very long day and night chastened me somehat. C'est la vie.

FYI, the Stephenson as I use it handles condensation just fine, thank you. :-)>
You heavy breathers…

PJ is still around – he recently sent me a very nice note about one of my reports on backpackgeartest. hope he weighs in soon, as he always has good information.

I also hope PJ returns to the forums; his posts were meticulously researched and very informative.

Yes, absolutely, David. There is a learning curve. But it is learnable if one is interested. Plenty of people on the boards here to share the wealth. :-)>

If a bivy or a yurt or the warm, steaming, stinking inside of some freshly killed snow beast is what feels most comfortable/useful/aesthetic for one as a shelter, so be it. So long as we actually get out into the wilderness, eh?

PJ phone home.