bivy blizzards

Joe, I have no direct experience with that, however the stuff I quoted/linked from the other thread did indeed influence my decision to get the silnylon Duomid instead of the Cuben.

Maybe warranted, maybe not.

For the time being, I think the stuff you've got would suffice.

Just bring a shovel. I have a couple of the Voile aluminum ones for serious snowscaping.

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Ohhh..that's a great picture. My kind of camping. Yes I will bring my shovel indeed. I have a voile XLM.

So, after much debate and plenty of research I finaly made up my mind and decided what setup I will test/use this coming winter here in the North East, NY/NJ/PA area. Going with the Borah Gear all event snowy side bivy and MLD cuben Super tarp. I will definitely test this system out a few nights in my yard in all conditions possible. I will also do a couple of overnighters or weekenders close by. If I find the super tarp to be too big, I can always invest in a smaller flat tarp. I will not be doing any extended, (4+ nights) trips or any serious above treeline trips, except for a 2/3 nighter in the Cats, and I think this will work for that.. (I will find out). Weather permitting my first choice of bivy will most surely be my Bristlecone bivy. Of course the option to use the snowy side bivy will be available for me. I think this set up is going to be the most useful and versatile system I could use. I think (For me), it will also be most comfortable. No, it may not be the lightest option, but my pack weight is at the point where I can afford the extra weight for simplicity and comfort. It will be (hopefully) an easy and fast set up and break down..Thanks everyone who posted for advice info and opinions. I will surely post on here updates on how it fares as I use it.

Looks like a great setup, Joe. Now we just need some snow!

Going to be shaking down my own winter kit in Harriman as soon as the weather obliges. Or in the Catskills if snow doesn't come quickly enough down here.

It'd be great to go out and test our three systems (tarp/bivy vs. Duomid vs. Akto) together and get some back-to-back feedback in different weathers. I think we all know what the conventional wisdom will hold, but fun to see if it's true.

What do you think conventional wisdom will hold?

That would be fun. Let me know when you guys have some open dates in December.

Should be adequate snow cover *somewhere* in the Catskills. I can find conditions on one or more of the Catskill websites.

December no good for me. I am still looking very good for January 23-25 in the Cats.

I think the conventional wisdom holds that I'll be cramped and uncomfortable (and have a sore back from all that weight), Bob'll be wet and uncomfortable from the condensation of his single-wall shelter, and you'll be fine until a real storm kicks up, at which point you'll retreat to Bob's mid! :)

Gotta admit, the most comfortable ever was while using a MH Trango 2, but boy was that sucker heavy… although truly bomber. Handled a snow load like no other tent I've ever used.

However, the single-wall Bibler Eldorado worked great and was much lighter and much, much quicker to pitch. In my experience, that fuzzy stuff on the inside of the tent material really helped reduce condensation.

Also used a BD Megamid (the old heavy maroon/grey one, not the Megalight) a few times and it was fine. However, it was never subjected to any heavy snow loads. On group trips it was sometimes our kitchen. Super spacious, especially when pitched using the apex loop.

Haaaa..lol. we gotta do this..

Hey Joe- how'd your tarp and Bristlecone/eVent setup fare this past winter? Planning to change anything for the upcoming winter? I'm looking at a similar sleep system, though with an MLD Grace tarp. At the moment, I'm torn between Borah's eVent bivy and a custom Borah bivy (adding a wide strip of bug net along the top to help with ventilation/condensation), so it would be great to hear about the conditions you faced in each and why you would pick one over the other for certain trips.

I ended up going with MLD cuben grace solo tarp and the Borah gear all e vent bivy with full net hood option. Only thing is I didn't need to use it really last winter. My 2 trips we stayed in a lean to. So I did use the bivy and it worked just fine. Snow storm overnight and woke up in morning to the lean to and everyone covered in snow, lol. I will continue to use this system because for me..it's simple and fast, lightweight, packs small and will keep me safe if needed.

It used this set up when I finally got back to winter camping…it is not the lightest…but the bag is super warm. If I know I'll get tons of snow I'll use the Mountain Harwear tent. I love winter camping!!

This is the Mountain Harwear EV2 tent I mentioned for when I know it will snow.

It's something I've never considered, and makes me happier I went with silnylon supermid over a cf one. I've only got into the winter camping thing in the last three years, but one thing I've decided is taking a dump in a blizard sucks. As soon as you drop your pants, spindrift hits your backside and melts, which causes more to stick and melt, meanwhile you've taken your gloves off because getting shit on your gloves would be awkward and you need the dexterity to use TP effectively. However now your hands are wet from spindrift, and just like your ass, more spindrift is now sticking, so the TP gets wet and hard to use, after a short time your hands go numb. Why wasn't it a 50 second job? Well, because you don't normally eat a such a high fat diet, with all that salami, dark chocolate, re-hydrated food , the pipes aren't flowing the best. Add to that you don't have a spare pair of underwear, you're out here for 4 days, and its a 6 hour drive back in a full car before you can make it to running water, you're keen on doing a good job. Yip, after that I bought a mid with enough room that I could sleep, eat, and take a dump, without ever leaving.