Bivy vs. Tarptent

When I was using the Contrail I recommended a bivy to a friend of mine.

Unless you just want to get to camp and throw down a bivy in a small spot, no.

Advantages would be that you could save weight, you could camp in a smaller site where it might be challenging to pitch a tent, and most likely less fiddle factor wherever you do set up.

I am not into using a bivy as a stand alone backpacking shelter. It will provide the bare minimums to survive should things go awry, but little beyond that.

Edit: add a tarp and things look a little brighter, but not sure if that’s the OP’s intent.

Joe, I’ve been experimenting with bivies since last spring. In the past I’ve used a Contrail and a Notch (as well as a ZPacks Duplex).

MLD’s bug bivy has room inside for my pack and extra clothing. I really like this setup when it’s nice out and I don’t need a tarp. I’ve combined it with an SMD Deschutes for weather protection but there’s no great way to suspend the bivy off of your face at night with this setup.

I’ve spent one night in a recently acquired MLD Superlight bivy and that one does not have room for any gear inside. I’m undecided on whether I like this setup yet.

The advantages of a bivy + tarp setup are, in my opinion: 1) the ability to have bug protection and a groundcloth but otherwise be out in the open when the weather is pleasant. 2) pack size is much smaller and more flexible than a Contrail. 3) weight.

Reasons #2 & 3 are why I made the switch but #1 has become much more important to me than I could have anticipated.

I’ve heard many people report great success with stand alone bivies, but many of those reports seem to exclude actual experience with really bad rain.

I don’t know your region, but stop for a moment and consider the logistics of using a stand alone bivy and having to get up in the night to use the restroom during a downpour and then getting back into your bivy/sleeping bag without getting everything soaked.  Consider the logistics of setting up a bivy in a downpour, getting your pad/sleeping bag inside of it, and somehow taking of your wet clothing and getting inside without getting everything completely soaked again…

I’ve had experience with this and it was awful.

For sub-freezing temps, snow, wind, and/or cold and dry weather- in either desert or alpine conditions, bivies can be awesome.  They’re typically all I carry in the Mojave desert between now and Spring.  But as soon as rain is involved, in my opinion, they’re a nightmare.

Is a rainy night with a bivy survivable?  Absolutely.  But is it enjoyable?  I’m not merely out to survive, but to enjoy myself.  For nearly the same weight you can carry an actually shelter with room to remove wet clothes, the ability to wipe down wet walls, and most importantly, the ability to set up in a downpour and then get inside and sort and deal with wet gear comfortably.  I’ve had a Contrail and while it worked, I prefer roomy, floorless mids in this regard.

Joe,

I started out with an early version of the Contrail, which I still own, and then moved to a Tarp & Bivy combination for the past 6-7 years.

The move to a bivy and tarp combo really was a “leap of faith” for me as I had never used a tarp in my life.

(I would say that a Bivy should be paired with a Tarp for adequate rain protection)

The Contrail has much more room for storing gear and room to sit up and just move around vs. the confined space of my MLD eVent Soul Side Zip in Wide.

I do find that the Bivy is warmer to sleep in as the Tarptent requires lots of ventilation to avoid condensation.

Here are what I feel are the advantages of using a Tarp & Bivy:

• Weight….let’s face it, if you are thinking about going Tarp & Bivy, it is to save weight
• Small footprint allowing campsites not possible with a Tarptent/Tent
• Easy of setup & breakdown in good weather: Unroll Bivy, sleeping pad, and quilt…get in and sleep. In good weather, I have not bothered to setup my tarp. Almost like cowboy camping.
• Storm worthiness….a properly pitched A Frame Tarp and Bivy can handle a lot of high winds.
• Subjective point: I find that with a Tarp & Bivy, I have a “better” view and “feel” more connected with my surround environment with almost 360 degree views around me. Laying on my back and looking at the full moon through my mesh screen or unzipping my bivy and pulling back the top to almost be cowboy camping.

One point that I will make about the Bivy and having space to store your gear.

I am actually able to fit all my gear inside my bivy when I sleep or if it is raining, simply because I don’t have a lot of gear/I have a low base weight of 10.5 to 9.0 lbs,

I place my frameless backpack/GoLite Jam2 under my legs to supplement the 1/4″ closed cell foam pad and 1/2″ torso pad.

I wear the same clothing that I hike to sleep and layer up my other closing to supplement the warmth of my quilt.

I find that my 2008 MLD Soul Side Zip has a generous amount of storage space above my head (I am 5’6″ and have 6 ft long bivy) to allow me to store my gear without a problem. I will leave my hydration system outside my bivy as well as my MSR Titan Kettle, as I am not worried if it gets wet. If I had to literally put all of my stuff in my bivy, I could….with the exception of my Bear Vault, which would be stored a good distance from my actual campsite.

One trick that I use to help increase the “head space” of my Bivy is that I use my poles to form an “X” above the head of my bivy, using rocks around the tips of my poles to keep them both standing up. I use a loop of bungie like cord that Ron included with the bivy to clip onto the top of the mesh part of the bivy to pull it off my face by attaching the cord to handles of my poles.

Anyway, hope this helps….like anything UL, there are trade offs with each solution to a problem.

Tony

Need to hear from Joe if he’s talking about a stand alone, all weather bivy, which I guess he is.

I’ll finish what I started last night.
My mate was going for a bike* ride in the middle of winter in Alaska. Temps of -40 were expected and did happen.
(3″ plus wide tyres on a Pugsley)
So he needed a very compact relatively light “shelter” that could be deployed fast and that kept the wind out of it.
An eVent bivy was the solution.
After that episode he used a TT Moment in less challenging situations.

My point was that I see those two as completely different.
There is no way I would want to be stuck inside a bivy (even a hooped bivy) unless I had too.
Apart from the obvious problems with rain there isn’t room in there to do pretty much anything except sleep. You even need to unzip or get out (depending on the design) to get dressed or undressed .
The bivy originated as an emergency/survival solution and as far as I am concerned , it still is.

Thanks for all of the input. In response to a few points:

1. The Contrail weighs 1.8 pounds, including the 4 pegs. It packs down to 3″ X 14″ and fits perfectly in my pack. A bivy wouldn’t have a big advantage here.
2. I have been to sites where I couldn’t put the tent up because there was no space big enough to put the tent and stretch out it’s pegs. In those cases, I slept on top of the tent, pulling the mesh over my face to keep the bugs out. I tried once sleeping inside the tent without any pole or pegs and quickly found out how single-wall tents don’t breathe. That’s when a bivy would have an advantage.
3. I like to sit up to get dressed, or stretch my legs, or just gaze outside. Can’t do that in a bivy.

So, other than the once-in-a-while that I land on a spot that’s not big enough for the tent, the Contrail wins out.

Not trying to argue or convince you but my bivy + Deschutes absolutely packs smaller than my Contrail did and it can be packed more easily because it’s two small pieces.