Episode 130 | Bivy Sack Camping

I have done that – put my tent directly over me when it started raining.  For a few hours there wasn’t a lot of condensation.  All night there would be a lot of condensation.

Another thing I’ll do is stake one side of the tent and fold it over itself to my side.  Then, if it starts raining I can quickly erect the tent.

Or, if there’s only a small chance of rain I’ll just leave the tent and pole ready.  And rain jacket.  Then, when it starts raining, I can quickly throw the tent over my sleeping bag, then erect it, then go back to sleep.

I am wondering if one can just use their tent as a Bivy?

I did that once, when at 2am a large branch fell on the tent and broke the pole at the head-end.  Propped my pack up next to my head to keep the fabric off my face. Worked just fine…but not well enough that I’d want to do it again :)

I started backpacking in the ‘90s using a WPB OR bivy with the alligator mouth (2 poles which anchored next to each other .. that could be opened in various ways along with the inner bug net door), and still I stopped before rain (summer Colorado mountains) to enter with a synthetic sleeping bag. That and a few mixed group trips when wriggling around inside to change

Then there’s physiology.  I sold said bivy after a trip where the night was cool instead of cold, and the bivy’s inside felt stifling (had rain threatening so did a bit of zip up).  Having btdt, think I’d like a WPB bivy more for actual cold nights, but the simplicity is undeniable for dry nights.  Maybe the new synthetics could help (synthetic parka, and saw an MLD quilt that could use said parka).   Even a few thru hikers use a store-brand WPB bivy for a few thousand miles, albeit smaller hikers and at least one had a DIY tyvek hood she’d use to keep just the bug net open.  Read about some lighter DCF set ups (UK built).

Tempting.

So, since my last post, I have bought a bivy…. OR alpine ascent shell. Not as much fun as making one like dueurt, but I wanted really good fabric, and fabric+shipping was going to cost close to the OR bivy anyway.

I did make the tarp 😊. 1.8m x 2.2m.

And just got back from my first walk testing them out. Rain the first and third night, snow the second. Only the slightest bit of condensation at the foot on the snowy night. Sort of wierd having warm feet and legs but covered in snow.

1st time tarp camping too.

I had a great time.

This was a ‘training’ run for an off-track ridge walk im planning for. Can be hard to find tent sites and wind can be extreme (leave the fly down).

Id wondered about using my tent as a bivy if the wind was bad….would work as an emergency, but decided the condensation would be pretty bad….and extra extra miserable if I was stuck in it for a couple of days.

Cheers

2nd campsite. You can see the bivy sticking out the left side of the fly.

Day after the snow, it rained off and on all day – so i lazed around and stayed in bed. Flicked a couple of leeches off the bivy – none got in 😊. Bivy dries SO fast given half a chance.

Looks fantastic 😊