 I've been weighing up the pros/cons between a bivi bag and a solo tent. I've decided to go for a bivi bag but it needs to be lightweight and very breathable to minimise condensation with my down sleeping bag. So far my favourite is the Terra Nova Jupiter but I'm struggling to find any opinions on good bivi bags
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 I'm pretty sure Event is considered the most breathable, I think goretex is as good or not far behind.Any other fabric will be a trade off between waterproofness and breathability. Have a serious think about it before you buy, bivvying is a different experience to sleeping in a tent, there are some comparatively huge tents for a similar weight to a bivvy, and if you add a tarp, even a tiny one you are up to the weight of a tent again. I have enjoyed the few occasions I have bivvied and slept rough, but I am mindfull that a night in the pissing down rain in an enclosed bivvy is a world apart from sitting up and cooking in a tent when it's pissing down.
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 Bought an Alpkit Hunka last week (£30 inc next day free postage) purely on the strength of its reviews. It's basically a very nice and very waterproof sleeping bag cover. Haven't used it yet, but will do soon with a tarp.
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 I use the ID All eVent bag - had it for several years and used a fair bit and never any condensation. I think that bivvy bags with waterproof floors are prone to condensation so prefer all-breathable materials.
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 Have a look at mountain Laurel Bivy bags- you pay a premium but they're top notch and probably the lightest you'll find. They can be combined with one of their small cuben tarps to go over your head and you'll still knock a considerable amount of weight off a small tent.
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 I've been using the TN Saturn for a couple of years, I've found the FL02 goretex works really well, it keeps the rain out whilst still breathing and not leaving me with soggy down. At a smidge over 1kg I think it's a tidy package. I'm currently on week 12 of waiting for my MLD order  Once/if that arrives I'll hopefully have some good words to say about the Trailstar and Superlight Bivvy.
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 I'm the same as Shewie but couldn't afford the extra pole so ended up with the TN Jupiter instead  The Jupiter's a great bivi which I use for about 80% of the time I'm biv'ing. If I know its gonna be a really crap pitch then I have a ID Salathe which is MUCH more rugged though less breathable. For star gazing on hot summer nights with no chance of rain I use a Marmot Alpinist Bivi. I also have an MSR AC-Bivi hiding somewhere but haven't used it as of yet. Would like to second what Simo said about thinking hard before you take the leap if only because a decent Goretex'eVent bivi i.e. TN is going to cost in the order of £300 which gets you some serious choice in the tent market.
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Have a look at mountain Laurel Bivy bags- you pay a premium but they're top notch and probably the lightest you'll find. They can be combined with one of their small cuben tarps to go over your head and you'll still knock a considerable amount of weight off a small tent. I'm not sure if by 'a small cuben tarp to go over your head' Simon meant over your head only, i.e. not full body length. For clarity to the OP. This will work fine with a Mountain Laurel Designs bivy, or other bivy made from event, as event is a waterproof fabric. Best to be aware though that the vast majority of the MLD range is made with momentum as the top fabric. Momentum fabric is only splash proof, not waterproof and therefore designed only to be used under a full length tarp if rain is a possibility.
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All this is good advice and background to bivvying, as recommended by impy Dave. clicky clicky As I said Bivvying is an experience, if you are the type of person that thinks an adverse experience can be remembered with fondness,go for it. If you expect to be warm,comfortable,get a good sleep,and do all the duties you normally would. You might want to reconsider. As lucky Jim says, a lot of bivvys are water repellent which means 100% weather is needed or a full tarp, and it's then turning in to something different.I've bought a Rab ranger, and I'm working on a micro-tarp, for cooking and a minimal shelter similar to that shown on the links. The beauty for me is that tent pitches are hard to find, or you think there must always be somewhere better. With a bivvy, boulders and little hollows all start to look like a great place to get your head down.
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bloody quoting system!
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| Edited: 16/06/11 22:01 |
As I said Bivvying is an experience. If you expect to be warm,comfortable,get a good sleep,and do all the duties you normally would. You might want to reconsider. This seems to be a very VERY popular misconception about Biving.... that your somehow slumming it, that being uncomfortable is a requirement. Yet with a bt of planning and fore thought it needn't be! If you bady pitch your tent its going to be un-comfortable. By the same token using a suitable sleep system in your bivi your going to get as good a nights sleep as you would in a tent. For me the one advantage that the tent has over a Bivi is livability. If I'm expecting the need for shelter then sitting in a tent for 24hrs is going to be hugely preferable to laying in a Bivi.
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I have both bivvied and camp. Bedders has hit the nail on the head - if you are in conditions where breathability is an issue for a bivvy bag I warrant you will be more comfortable in a tent. That said - one of the most memorable nights I have ever had was in a bivvy bag high in the Lake district, counting shooting stars whilst waiting for the kettle to boil
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