Katabatic Wren Bivy

Excited to hear how you like it, considering the same model myself. I like the idea of the mesh opening most of the time but having the solid opening in case it gets colder or possibly for a light rain even.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread, too. I love my old Bristlecone, but it would be great to ventilate it more during the afternoon nap, and then close it more overnight. Interested to see how noticeable a difference it makes in warmth.

I just setup in the backyard with the corner tie-outs staked in place. One thing I noticed is that the corners of the floor probably should be seam sealed to keep water out. You might not need it, but for me I think it’s a good idea.

The photo below is one of the inside corners with the tie out in place. The stitching itself seems good, but there is just enough material stretch that you can see some light passing through where the stitching is placed. Interestingly, the rest of the stitching has a hem-type stitch (not sure the exact name though) which probably will mitigates this somewhat for the rest of the bivy. I do wonder if these corners would benefit from a stitch which would have overlapping material, but only time in the field will really tell me the answer.

you probably mean flat felled seam

You fold it over twice so there are 5 layers of fabric with the raw edges hidden inside.

Since there are 2 rows of stitches sharing the load, it’s pretty strong

I’d personally seam seal that.

edit: having looked at the bivy, I see that it’s designed for under tarp use in rainy weather. I imagine it would hold up fine as is.

I like the generous opening above the face and body of the design. That surely must help with condensation. I like how easy it would be to zip back the fly and star gaze at night. And this is great!

I hate insects in my sleeping area, so good netting is necessary. The Wren provides this.

However, given the weight of a tarp, which would be necessary for the west coast, as well as the bivy…I just go with a tent. A tent is far easier to set up than a bivy plus a tent. It’s still possible to fold back the fly on a tent on clear nights before going to bed, and then unzip the fly to star gaze. At altitude, it’s always too cold to stay out at 3 a.m. in my underwear to star gaze for more than a few minutes.

@FlyingAvocado Let us know how this bivy works with your wide pad and quilt/bag. I have a standard-width Bristlecone and a wide pad is too tight.

I ended up buying a Wren Bivy a few weeks ago, and have slept in it two nights so far (backyard and at a campground). Going on a backcountry trip this weekend.

It’s my first time ever using a bivy at all, and I’ve got to say… I like it way more than I expected to. I mostly got it to decrease my tent footprint, and expected to feel claustrophobic but haven’t at all.

I do use a wide pad (77.6″ long by 25.6″ wide) and a sleeping quilt and it’s plenty big. For reference I got the Wide 6’6″ version to have some extra headroom to store gear.