Starting out?

I bought a cheap tarp and bivvy bag via Ebay to give tarping a try:

They do pack significantly smaller and lighter than even my lightest tent however so far I've bottled out of actually using it and taken a tent instead - mainly because I live in Scotland where the chances of midges and bad weather are pretty high. I must get around to trying it in anger sometime though, perhaps up in the local hills where I can get home quickly if it doesn't work out.

Parky Again wrote (see)

or bite the bullet and take your tent too as a standby.

I've been looking at tarp and bivvy and with my budget I seem to come up with over 1kg in weight, possibly even 1.5kg. This is the weight of my single skin tent. Although I am going to get at least a bag cover style of bivvy for use in my tent for really wet weather, so I could discount that if I do the tarp thing.

BTW what would you recommend for sub £100 tarp and bivvy combination (preferably well below that mark). I've yet to buy off the internet so I won't be getting anything from overseas (don't trust those bloody foreigners ).

I was thinking of this

 http://www.sasskit.co.uk/products/foulweathershelters/odbasha.htm

with this.

 http://www.sasskit.co.uk/products/sleepingbags/ppsbivvibag.htm

What do you think? Especially since it is a local shop to me.

Stephen,

you have done well if your kit is 0.5kg and was 'cheap' on ebay. I'd suggest trying progressively more adventurous outings - a night in the garden would give you some idea of what it feels like (and whether you like it). Don't forget that some of the weight saving is countered by the fact that you need warmer sleep gear (clothing + sleeping bag) when bivvying as you don't get the insulation of a closed tent.

PaulB,

I've used the army issue basha a few times (though I don't own one myself) and they are exactly as you'd expect - not the lightest out there but robust and good value. I don't know what the bivvy bag that you found is like. The standard army goretex bivvy bag is heavy (around 800g) but spacious and very robust materials. There's a few ways to go about it; get a tarp with good coverage and use an ultralight bivvy; get a microtarp to cover your head and a tougher bivvy or any variation you fancy trying.

The bivvy you linked looks to me to be very close in spec to the Rab survival zone. A little lighter (if their numbers are accurate). But the Rab Survival Zone is extremely popular for good reason and is also less expensive than what you found. Opt for the Solo Tarp from (the reputedly excellent) Backpackinglight and you have a total of £99.98 (including mainland UK deliver) and a total weight (not including guy lines and pegs) of about 650g.  (compared to the 950g of the options you linked above). That would probably be my choice for that weight and budget requirement. Though personally I'd be happy to look across the pond for alternative options...

John Burley wrote (see)

Stephen,

you have done well if your kit is 0.5kg and was 'cheap' on ebay. I'd suggest trying progressively more adventurous outings - a night in the garden would give you some idea of what it feels like (and whether you like it). Don't forget that some of the weight saving is countered by the fact that you need warmer sleep gear (clothing + sleeping bag) when bivvying as you don't get the insulation of a closed tent.

I've just checked the weights and it'll be more like 0.7kg than 0.5kg (the tarp is about 300g including guylines and the bivvy bag is supposed to be about 350g, the groundsheet weighs next to nothing). I have tried it in the garden and it seemed ok there.

While I agree there is more requirement for a warmer sleeping bag it's usually the my normal sleeping bag (ME Dewline) is on the warm side anyway and I'd never use the tarp in conditions cold enough that it'd be marginal enough to make a difference between tarp & tent.

Given my sleeping bag is water resistant I doubt I really need the bivvy bag in most conditions however it does add a feeling of security. Without the bivvy bag the tarp (at under 400g including groundsheet) does look more compelling - including the bivvy bag and it's within 0.5kg or so of my lightweight tent (Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1) which isn't really enough to justify ditching the additional space etc. of the tent as my tarp is very small.

groundsheet could weigh significantly more than next to nothing depending on what it is and yours looks quite robust- don't forget the weight of stakes as well.

The groundsheet weighs about 80g - it's a silnylon one bought from morph/Team IO. I just found a post I'd put on the TGO forum a while back which says my set-up including tarp, pegs (Ti ones), bivvy and groundsheet weighs about 800g.

I've not accurately weighed my Seedhouse SL1 yet but PTC quoted 1077g in his review - if so that's less than 300g of a weight penalty over the tarp/bivvy. I've also got the footprint so can go with a fast-fly which is only a little heavier than the tarp/bivvy set-up but with much more space.