Bivy system – roll all in one or separately?

I have separate my bivy when packing in order to keep clean and dry stuff separated from dirty or moist stuff. My system is different than yours. I’m using

• a breathable splash bivy (MLD superlight, YMG mesh bivy)
• inflatable pad inside the bivy
• No groundsheet

It takes literally a few seconds to stuff the bivy into a loose stuff sack that gets thrown into the nylofume bag my quilt is in. If things were really soaked I might choose to place that outside the nylofume bag but I haven’t gotten more than some condensation/dew on my bivy up to this point

Honest question: Why are you using a WPB bivy rather than a splash bivy in the summer?

Sometimes i roll my xlite pad inside the bivy and pack them together. My quilt I usually always pack it seperate.. doesnt require much effort when packing and unpacking.

@matthewk – WPB because when I looked at the bivy category, reviews for the Helium made an impression on me.

It is still gathering dust because I have this Duplex that has a few more nights in it.

If I could change the past, I’d probably get a UL bug bivy and systematically pitch a tarp. For now, I figure that I’ll test my kit (and “expertise”) next fall and advise.

[How do we get the proper handle on this forum? Replace the space with underscore?]

Expected 45% precip in the summer.  Are you biking in Ireland?

If this is a multi-day trip, it seems to me you would want to pack everything up so you could dry the MLD quilt at each and every opportunity when the sun comes out a bit. This is after all the main advantage of the MLD synthetic quilt.  I use mine most of the time in all weather when I expect nightime temps above the mid 30s. So I would forego the burrito and pack the quilt on the top of the pannier or the top of the frame bag.

When backpacking, I have a nylofume pack liner, the quilt goes in the bottom, then the water resistant bivy, then the NeoAir pad (plus two Exped pillows!).  If I expect stars at night, I will sometimes not even set up the tarp and sleep under the stars.  If I think I might be camping in muddy places or on sharp things, I use an mylar emergency blanket under the bivy.

I am not really understanding your system of reactor liner plus quilt plus waterproof [relative breathable] bivy but here I am going beyond the scope of your question.  With the waterproof breathable bivy and the reactore liner, I would think in not very cold conditions you might start getting too warm.  I tried an eVent bivy a few times in our relatively mild Sierra Nevada winters when snow camping and found myself climbing out of it and sleeping on top of it.

:) Labrador. So I prepare for cold rain and lots of mozzies.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>The idea behind the kit is (1) thermolite reactor alone if temperatures are above 15C / 65F or so, (2) quilt if colder, (3) clothes on if temperatures get close to freezing.</p>
 

Thanks for your feedback. I was starting to question the need for synthetic bag (if packed separately, down is more compact).

The scenario is want to prepare for is ongoing cold rain, as there are very very few settlements and very little traffic over the 2000kms I want to cover.

Thanks again for your input

“lots of mozzies.” Ugh. hate them.  Is a mosquito net part of your sleep system?

Like Matt above, I alternate between a water resistant bivy (MLD Superlite) and a mosquito net bivy during the late spring and summer depending on the expected conditions

On the Arizona trail this spring I sometimes woke to condensation on the outside of my bivy or perhaps with a bit of dirt or dust on the bottom of my bivy. I preferred to pack my sleeping bag separately from the bivy because I wanted to shake the dirt, frost or water off the bivy as much as I could. Later in the day I usually spent part of an hour laying everything out to dry. It was all going to get separated at some point in the day so it made no sense to roll it all together. Rolling it all together would have made it harder to fit inside my small pack too. But there’s no reason you can’t pack your stuff however you want.

plan on using an Helium bivy (for presumably dry nights) with an MLD Spirit 38 Apex quilt and a reactor liner.

WPB bivies have a stiffer feel vs the water-resistant splash bivies favored here.  So packability into a pack is an issue. Even when using the old (now defunct) OR GoreTex advanced bivy and synthetic bag (over 20 years back), I wouldn’t roll them together as I’d want to at least see if there’s any condensation to dry.  With lighter packs rolled volume should be considered too.
Been thinking of getting an updated waterproof breathable bivy system (“simplicity”) … and think the OR Helium bivy (Pertex Diamond something) or MLD eVent soul bivy are really the only multiday options out there.   That brings up an eVent vs Pertex debate.  Read an old 1994 Backpacker article on one of their writers (think he wrote for Outside, etc.. too including books) about the options a WPB bivy can give in backpacking/general travel having a shelter anywhere .. this when the Kelty Cloud pack was a new thing.  In any case, a FKT seeking PCTer last year used the Helium.   May want to seek her advice.   Of course bikepacking gives more load option than UL backpacking.

Think for simple, potentially “stealth” camping .. I’d go MLD with a dark down EE quilt w/water resistant feathers, and self-inflator pad (Prolite series, I believe).   One reason I quit the bivy was changing, especially in pouring rain, but there’s a UK company selling a DCF mini-tarp in 0.33 DCF.