Best stand-alone bivy?

"My apologies. I admit my response was crappy and I owe you a beverage."

Bottoms up! No problem, everyone is entitled to their oppinion, some people just do it nicer than others. I might come off as not nice sometimes but im working on it.

"Heat vapor etc rises to the top, an Event bottom I think is completley a waste. Where is it going to vent, the dirt?"

Michael,

If it proves to be more durable to a point that you don't need to use a ground sheet and it extends the life of the gear, then there might be some value. I'd never get that option for venting purposes for the reasons you stated. I don't think silnylon would necessarily be a bad option in conjunction with a ground sheet either.

It'd be interesting to hear the manufacturer's take on why they offer it as an option.

"I might come off as not nice sometimes but im working on it."

Nah I came over guns blazing from the wind shirt thread so that was completely me.

"….Personally im against bivys, its an old school thing people used when the lightest tents they could find were 2-3 pounds."

That puts an interesting perspective on the use of bivies vs simpler covers. I never considered the historical perspective. It flows with the wall climber and military use too I think.

As ususal, no free lunch! I do like the no strings, no poles elemental cowboy throw down your bedroll appeal, but that might not work in the land of moss and slugs :)

The BD Twilight Bivy has a SilNylon Bottom and I never use a ground sheet with it… 3 years, mostly above tree line camped on gravels… no leaks… and MUCH lighter weight than Gortex or Event… I also believe that the Gortex and Event have issues if they get dirty, no?

For the weight and waterproofness the BD Twilight has served me well.

As far as Bivys being 'old school' or outdated… If you think climbing and sleeping on ledges they are still state of the art. And the 10oz BD Twilight competes with the weight of tarps… And.. Bivys require no stake out and you only need a flat spot of about 2 feet wide by 6 feet long… And Bivys are not going to blow over in any amount of wind, the weakness of tarps…. very handy in rough terrain. Many advantages Bivys have, indeed.

Bill D.

Dale,

I have a goretex USGI bivy that weighs in at 2.5lbs. It's the same exact one I used in the military and I found it to be bomber. If interested, I can mail it over for you to test run a couple nights to see if the investment into a lighter but more expensive bivy would be worth the investment to you.

From my experience, the benefits and liabilities of a true sans tarp stand alone bivy have been covered well in the BPL forums. Certainly convenient by not having to stack rocks over stakes in rocky/alpine country, smallest foot print I know of, etc. Cons, when it's dumping, you're stuck in a goretex coffin.

"The BD Twilight Bivy has a SilNylon Bottom and I never use a ground sheet with it… 3 years, mostly above tree line camped on gravels… no leaks… and MUCH lighter weight than Gortex or Event… I also believe that the Gortex and Event have issues if they get dirty, no?"

Valuable insight on silnylon; thanks for sharing. How well does the nanoshield breathe and how is the condensation? Is this an eVent variant?

" How well does the nanoshield breathe and how is the condensation? Is this an eVent variant?"

I really can't say how well it breaths. I have not scientific instruments to give you a quantitative answer. I camp mostly at high elevation in the Sierra. There is condensation, but not enough to be a significant problem in the summer in the Sierra. Most of the condensation will come from the moisture in your exhaled breath. If you orient your mouth and nose to exhale to the outside there is little condensation.. I do not believe this material is related to eVent at all. It is a very thin single layer. All of these supposedly breathable fabrics will have condensation in certain conditions, it's just a matter of degree.

Bill D.

Not the bivy the OP is looking for but I'll throw in my 2 cents on bivys.

My un-UL secret love for 14k and up ridge/summit sleeps is the ID Event Wedge. Thanks to BPL the rest of my gear is light so I don't really feel it. It has pros and cons. First of all it has condensation but that comes with sleeping in paramo weather. Storms just bounce off or go around it though.

The best part of it is the worst part of it. When the stars are bright and right on top of you the odd zipper that opens the top is a thing of wonder. You can zip half way up and block the wind and star gaze all night. But when it rains if you don't have the vestibule on, it's hard to get in and out with out getting a lot of water inside. You can worm your way out of a zip hole but that's not always convenient on a mountainside. Above 14k I don't carry my vestibule because I feel it might not be up to those type of winds but it's wonderful add on down lower. My love of the stargazing capability far outweighs the cons of when it rains.

I'm 6'2 and my wife fits in with me comfortably. I'd like to say that means the weight gets divided but well you know how that works.

And no I wouldn't consider hauling it around for days on end. Not a long trail option.

I appreciate the thought, but 2.5 pounds is a little too far across the weight vs function line for me.

Of course I drool over the SUL bivies, but I haven't seen one yet that wasn't really a sleeping bag cover and meant for use with a small tarp or poncho.

I'm liking specs of the BD Twilight and Bill's description of the use of a bivy is really what it is about for me: a weatherproof haven that only needs a 2×6 flat spot. And i understand the compromises.

I have a solo tarp tent that is 11oz, a ponchmo that is 7oz, plus a bivy that needs a tarp and weighs 15oz.

The whole appeal is having this small light shelter to take on short trips that you can throw down next to the campfire like an anscestor did with a mastodon hide, roll up in it and go to sleep. You rise at dawn, make your breakfast at your elbow and break camp in 5 minutes. No poles, strings or stakes to fuss over and no worries about it hooking the wind and sailing off at 3 am.

So, a romantic notion of simple camping, but it still needs to work. A wet cold night isn't good! I have plenty of sticks and strings if I want more guaranteed comfort.

Thanks for the input!

I own a ID microbivi

Its not a good choice if it rains alot as the head doesnt zip up

However thats the onlu opening and you can flip over on ur side/back is it really starts coming down

WPB bivies are for sleeping on ledges, and honestly if it gets that wet yr bailing anyways

Condension can be a real issue, in the winter it freezes and you can whack it off, but in warmer temps i can soak back into ur bag

;)

I have not found a bivy that is good without a tarp.
I have not found a bivy that is good without a tarp.
I have not found a bivy that is good without a tarp.
tried quite a few.

I'm taking a bivy to keep my bag dry both from groundwater and condensation but I use it in combination with mld solomid.

I don't trust cuben floors, I could be wrong here, I expect they are not as durable and will leak. Don't like silnylon because it seems to be a condensation magnet.

The best for my purposes is the 6oz Montbell dri tec breeze bivy.
The tarp keeps the rain off my head and the bivy has taped seams
and can handle puddles and spray. I even tried it in my bathtub with 2 inches of water for an hour and it was fine. It's lighter than event and breathes well so no condesation problem.

I have an Integral Event Wedge Bivy that I use in winter to handle wind and snow.
It's no good in the rain but a very warm winter shelter.

I also have a tyvek bivy made of kite grade tyvek. I like it because it keeps my bag clean and then I don't need a groundcloth but then I camp in the Sierra's so it's dry most of the time.

I've been eye-ing the 10oz event bivy from Locus Gear but so far the Montbell Dri Tec wins out. I had a zipper installed in mine by the lady at the local dry cleaners.

I don't see having eVent as a floor of a bivy as making much sense.

Any warm moisture coming off you should rise and vent out through the top eVent fabric or your but netting.

Having it under you is a poor use of an expensive fabric, in my opinion, and it would stand to reason that your body weight on the eVent fabric is just inviting moisture to get pushed through an eVent floor into your bivy

My understanding is that Cuben is waterproof….my MLD eVent Soul Side Zip has a discontinued 2.0 silnylon floor….pretty waterproof, but I have had some wet/damp spots from the weight of my body on some damp, wet ground.

Nothing that would have gotten me wet, but it did push through.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the lack of value of having an eVent floor.

Tony

From what I have been told/read of by other users, an all eVent bivvy is overall better breathability all round. But like other lightweight types with breathable floors, benefits from careful protection underneath = – i.e. ok on grass/soft duff, but otherwise best with an external mat/GS (Which I disllike for the reasons already stated). IME of eVent it wouldn't last too well with the degree of physical pressure and dirt that a bivi floor generally gets. The Event bivis I've used myself have a 70D pu nylon floor.

The all goretex military bivis have a heavier bomber face fabric and seem pretty tough.

I wonder, did John Abela read the OP before making irrelevant posts?!! (I guess not)

OH
and I forgot to add
that I prefer a hood which will offer protection to the top of your head whilst open at face e..g drawstring or zip across chest/chin area.,

The type which zip around the top perimeter are a PITA IME –

e.g. if open the floor can roll under your head if you wriggle leaving your head in the dirt. and if you sit up in it, the back falls down leaving you exposed

If the zipper is closed up somewhat, you can't see up and out – just sideways.

I guess the advantage is simplicity of construction/ reliability against rain ingress

I do have a 1.0/sq yd cuben fiber ground sheet which I've owned for less than a year so not long enough to do a long term review. It's surprisingly rugged and seems to be well suited for the job. Even if you damage it, field repair would be pretty straight forward. I think with minimal care in site selection and in rocky conditions, a small polycryo ground sheet, a cuben bottom bivy would be a great lightweight option.

See this review for why an eVent floor is nice: https://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/process#.UokI2F_n_IU You need a membership to view the article. The summary is that an all-WPB bivy doesn't have the same condensation issues that a non-breathable fabric would. Part of the floor will virtually always be exposed to the air inside the bivy. The use of a WPB fabric minimizes the buildup of condensation on the portion of the floor exposed to the air.

I've used the USGI bivy. I love that you can through it down and crawl in and be done. Saved my skin on a couple of winter forays. It condensates its heavy.

Does anybody have experience with the Miles Gear Uber Bivy http://www.milesgear.com/UberBivy.html? It makes some big claims… bordering on unbelievable.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one yet:

http://www.milesgear.com/PicoBivy.html

No need for a tarp, and only 23oz with the tyvek groundsheet

Dave,

Thanks for sharing Miles' new bivy. I looked at his Uber bivy before but wrote it off due to the weight. 19oz and $160 is hard to beat.

"My un-UL secret love for 14k and up ridge/summit sleeps is the ID Event Wedge."

A possible alternative:

http://www.integraldesigns.com/product_detail.cfm?id=888

$360 and 35oz with poles and stakes to fiddle with. It it isn't dead simpIe, I would rather have a full blown tent.

"•Waterproof 2" bathtub floor (Tyvek HomeWrap)"

It seems the floor is made out of Tyvek.
I don't think that would hold up for very long.

Bill D.

Bill,

He's mentioned with his other bivys that you must use a ground sheet. He provides a 4 oz tyvek one with the purchase.

"$360 and 35oz with poles and stakes to fiddle with. It it isn't dead simpIe, I would rather have a full blown tent."

So would I for most situations, but when you're travelling in country where you are liable to need a small foot print, something like this is a good alternative. It looks to be the successor to the old Pocket Hotel, which I used for years for just that reason. For me the downside is the weight, but then, everything ID makes is on the heavy side and designed to handle tough conditions. Tradeoffs. Anyway, I just thought I'd put it out there for your consideration.