Yeah, I saw that pack on gearjunkie.com. I am always keen on new innovative ideas. And I wanted to share the gear to see if the community had constructive criticism about it. I have noticed that most people on this site like to bash people’s idea in trying to make new gears for the community. Whether it is someone making a tarp, a lightweight tent, a hammock or in this case a bivy as part of a backpack. I just got an email from the creator here is what he told me as he couldn’t post a message. Try to provide positive critism. It is christmas after all.
Kenny F sent you a new message:
Subject: Freestyle BivyPack
“Hey there, googling around I found this post, I’m the creator of this pack. I couldn’t respond in the forum, so I figured I’d send you a message, you can pass it on to the others if you’d like.
I’ve been using this pack and previous versions of this pack since February exclusively, traveling and hiking this entire time (I don’t have a home base, so this pack is literally it for me). I’ll try to answer everyone’s critiques:
I’ve used it extensively in the rain in wind, particularly in Ireland I went stretches of several days with non-stop rain. Since I use my jacket as a fly I have several options to pitch, it wasn’t long before I dialed in a way to get really nice airflow and because the bug netting area is pretty big around my head, condensation was not much of an issue, especially being a side sleeper (breathing directly out of the tent).
Full sized pads do not fit well. I designed this mostly for myself and others like me who travel light, so the assumption is 3/4 length pads. While eventually we will make a larger version, this one’s for the ultralight crowd. The footbox is however plenty big for a sleeping bag and comfort (a previous version not so much, compressed the down and heat was lost, we fixed that quick).
It’s basically a dry bag with straps in terms of being waterproof, so a pack cover would be redundant. I have my laptop in there and have walked miles through the rain without worrying.
You can set up the bivy without taking anything out initially. Once you get inside things will be as cluttered or neat as you make it, with a little organization things work great, here’s how I pack:
My main compartment has just three items: A stuff sack with sleeping bag that I’m inside. Second is a bag of clothes which becomes my pillow. Last is a fitted dry bag for my food, cookset and odds and ends. This can sit next to me outside the bivy or hung up in a tree if bears are at play.
Lastly I have my rain jacket in the exterior stretchy pocket it’s pockets usually have my water filter or other things in there. I keep that outside the tent or I’m using it as my fly.
With the right packing the “what do I do with my stuff?” question is easily answered, but again this pack is just for people packing light and may require a change in packing philosophy.
The material drys pretty quick in general, and the foot bed / backpack bottom is double layered to prevent holes from being an issue like KT mentioned. We’re also updating the design so the straps side will be towards the ground with a flap ground cover, so it’ll be staying dry and clean so at least you won’t be putting a cold and wet panel against your back come morning.
Hope that’s somewhat helpful! Again, the pack isn’t for everyone, but packing light and in a certain way it works great and has been saving me weight, clutter, setup time and volume.
Happy Holidays! Kenny KenFlannery@gmail.com“
