MLD Superlight bivy vs ZP Splash bivy, help me choose.

If all things being equal, the I say pick the lightest one.  That said, I’ve been using a MLD Superbivy since 2009.  I carry a Grace Solo Tarp that gets rare use because if it isn’t raining, I’m too lazy to set it up.  The bivy gets used most of the time for cowboy camping with a 40f or 20f quilt.  It helps hold warmth and block wind, though campsite selection also helps.  I do most of my trips in the Southwest and the Sierra Nevada.  The above combo worked for me on a PCT thruhike among others.

Other bivys you can look at are Borah gear which I also own (nice,cheaper, but the details aren’t as good as MLDs) and Titanium Goat (cheaper and was my first bivy in 2007 but didn’t breathe as well as my MLD. Better for warmth in wind but bad for condensation. Info is obviously old).

With its 6″ high bathtub floor and WPB material on each end, the Splash is much more storm worthy than the Superlight. But of course that means it doesn’t breathe as well either. The Splash also features a 1.0 cuben floor whereas the Superlight cuben is .74. I’d personally go with the silnylon bottom Superlight because even though it’s a few oz heavier, it’s also much more durable against abrasion (and cheaper). I’m a big fan boy of ZPacks, but the Splash Bivy just doesn’t seem to have caught on very well.

A lot of people rave on about the Katabatic Bristlecone Bivy.

The real bomb would be the new MLD FKT 2 layer E-Vent Bivy. At $375 you’d sure hope for it to be awesome.

Sean,

Do you have the cuben or sinylon Superlight and why?

Monte,

The Katabatic Bristlecone does look good.  The price is much better as well.  I was concerned about a silnylon floor, that it would be too slippery.  How are people combating the slip and slide effect?  Do you recommend  using a polycryo ground cloth with a bivy?

I would NEVER get a cuben bivy, not ever.  Cuben and abrasion does not go together.  Made the mistake of make a cuben floor on a net inner and it. Quickly got a couple of holes.

I place a 32″ X 84″ piece of Polycro under everything (1.3 oz). I know a lot of people will say it’s not necessary, and that’s cool, at least with silnylon. But with cuben I’d certainly go with a Polycro underneath. It’s amazing how tough that stuff is for its weight.

Of course with a WPB bivy that’s exposed to rain I pull the Polcro away so as to not pool up water.

The MLD Pro silnylon is supreme. Finished weight is a little heavier than other 30d ripstops, but it doesn’t mist and it remains waterproof.

My superbivy is from early 2009 before cuben fiber floor was offered. That said, the silnylon floor has held up well. The zipper is finally starting to give me trouble, but otherwise the bivy is in excellent shape after hundreds of nights of use. The silnylon hasn’t been too slippery in my use.

As my superbivy has the half moon opening, I picked up a cuben fiber floor Borah Gear bivy with the all net head in 2012 for warmer weather use. Went with Borah over MLD because it was lighter weight at the time.

The cuben fiber floor has held up for me. But I’m good at policing the ground for sharp objects where I sleep as its also a comfort issue since my foam sleep pad isn’t that thick. I also normally use a polycro sheet under it. I got tired of getting pine SAP on things since most forests out west are full of pines.

Cuben floors are effortless to repair and not nearly as slippery as silnylon, so I’d still go cuben. I have the Zpacks and the top pertex material does not breath well at all, and I got a lot of condensation inside. I ended up zipping it as wide open as possible and basically using it as a groundsheet. They erred too much on the storm proofing to the point where there is no exchange allowing moisture in, but also not out.