Help with bivy

My vote would be yes for those conditions. I have had (manageable) condensation in my MLD Superlight Bivy in the Sierras with dew and/or condensation from nearby water. I don’t think you’d give up much warmth with a panel going down the center but you’d dump more moisture.

John is a great guy and he makes awesome bivies and tarps. If you ask him to make the zipper go down both sides, he can do that for you too. I had him do it for my eVent Snowyside bivy and my bug bivy. It makes it much easier to get in and out.. accross chest and down both sides.  I personally would not get it with the mesh strip down the center as the full mesh head section has always been plenty enough for me. Personal preference though..

If a zip down to hip-level is enough, Katabatic has two bivys; one with a mesh window and the other with mesh down to about the hip.

@ Robert.

IMO if you really need to dump moisture, you have a zipper to open

I have the MLD Superlight with the standard mesh area.   I have found that it works great in the Sierras and in the Coastal Range when cowboy camping or under a MLD Grace tarp.

In summer if I only expect mosquitos, I take the MLD mosquito net bivy. During warm August nights in the Sierras I often start inside the net bivy when the mosquitos are out, once they go to sleep, I am sleeping on top of the bivy, then the hour before dawn I might zip it around me again to get an extra bit of warmth.

The advantage of having as little bug netting as possible in your bivy is when you are cowboy camping and expect winds.

Thank you all for the feedback.  It looks like a couple of you have similar use profile.  I don’t sleep especially hot, so I’ll probably go without the mesh down the center.  Dustin, I looked at the katabatic bristlecone bivy, but I just need a zipper that is longer – they would not modify one for me.

John at Borah will do it. Also, like i said.. he can do zipper down both sides.. makes it really nice to enter and exit.. especially during the night for p breaks.

John is very helpful. He’ll make the zipper longer for sure.  I’ll ask for the zipper down both sides as you suggest. He also mentioned an end cap on the head end  it goes to where the tie up attaches  Still trying to decide on that

I used a Borah bivy (regular, not bug bivy) in the High Sierra late September this year. No bugs, so I kept the mesh part open. No rain, either. It got down to the high teens, so I used it for added warmth, block wind and as a ground sheet.

I had 1 campsite where I should have gone up higher to avoid some condensation. All other nights condensation was minimal.

I bought it barely used for this specific use case and glad I did.

Any more talk on this one?

I loved seeing this post as I just got home from 4 days on the Condor Trail running thought the costal mountains of CA.  The mornings were cold with a ton of moisture which condensed to ice the entire National Forest over each morning.  I’ve owned just about every shelter system possible with the exception of a bivy.  And I’m IN the market.  I want to combine it with my ZPacks Pocket Tarp on nights with possible rain, but cowboy camp 90% of the time.  Looking to keep the bag dry from dew/ice while at the same time providing a tiny bit more warmth.  I own and love my A16 Bug bivy at at 5.3 oz and am wondering three things:

I’m seeing a lot of Borah and MLD mentioned…are there other super light brands I should look at?

Is it better to use my A16 or find a good net system built into a bivy?

In thinking about looking for a solid bivy (like one of the two mentioned above) I didn’t think condensation would be an issue and that the bivy would reliably keep me dry.  Is there a train of thinking I should understand in terms of how condensation affects different kinds of top level bivys?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

Scrap question #2 above about the A16 as I see that all the setups would negate the need/weight of that piece of equipment.

Also, in terms of me saying “solid” bivy, I meant strong and reliable…not completely solid like the MLD Event.  Sorry to confuse.

Over the years I have used my Katabatic Gear Bristlecone bivy many nights and have never had any condensation concerns. I have also used my Borah Gear Snowyside eVent bivy many nights and have never had any condensation at all. I recently picked up an MLD eVent bivy and so far I have not had any condensation at all, though in all fairness it only has a few nights out, but I can bet in the long run it will be just fine for me with no worries. I also use a Borah Gear bug bivy in warmer months… definitely no condensation there, lol.

Now last year I tried the Katabatic Gear Piñon bivy and the 2 nights I had it out in trail, for some reason I woke up with condensation on my quilt. It was not horrible or anything that scared me, i just hung my quilt and bivy in the morning sunlight and it all dried quickly. However,  this was the first time in all my years using a bivy that I woke up and actually felt the wetness on my quilt and inside the bivy. Its possible the conditions were perfect to create it.. well whatever it was.. it was not a game changer for me and I will continue to use my bivies as much as possible. I do have the MLD Superlight bivy also but have not used it out of my backyard yet.  I would like to use it this year as much as I can and see how it compares to the Bristlecone bivy.  Keep in mind, I am in the NorthEast and primarily hike/camp in the Catskills NY and Pennsylvania areas.

Yama Mountain Gear has an interesting bivy option with a Y-shaped zipper and the option of a wind-resistant nylon mesh upper. I have one in DCF with the standard mesh. It is wider than my Superlight bivy with a considerably deeper bathtub shape that can protect really well against rainsplash when suspended a little higher towards my tarp. I will say that it’s so roomy in width that it almost wish I’d gone with their inner net and had the ability to sit up in it.

It’s another option to consider.

I have used a Borah bivy with DCF bottom and the large mesh window near the head for 25 nights in the Washington section of the PCT. 3 nights without the tarp and the rest under a Altaplex tarp. I did not have any condensation even though it rained a lot for 4 to 5 days.

I usually do not like to pull the net away from my face. I keep it on my face – though never touching my bare skin as there is a beanie, puffy etc. I also cover my nose/mouth with a neck gaiter. So, pretty much I am breathing into the gaiter. Maybe that prevents the moisture from escaping into the bivy and also if it does escape, it will pass through the net. I feel if you pull the net away from your face….the probability of your breath going into the bivy is high.

Of course, everybody is different. Best is to try it yourself.

I have a now old Borah cuben bivy with a side zip and Argon top. I’ve not had bad condensation with it, with a tarp overhead in the Sierra.  Do treat the zipper with gear aid, I think it is the one weak point in the system. I had it stick and had to “Fix” it a couple of times. I have experienced some condensation with it while camping in Pt Reyes.  But overall I’ve been very satisfied with it.