hey guys, looking at buying an inexpensive bivvy for use in Britain only, wont be visiting any extremes in it. i need to to be small and light, and if it dosent fully close up over the head it dosent matter, since i dont fancy the idea of enclosing myself completely in the night anyway. it will propably be used allongside a small tarp. my price range is < 60 quid

thought this one looked good

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product.asp?cat_id=EQUITENTBIVI&pf_id=31123&cid=TOVBPAZ4B4AFJQ9VXAAINT9TRZ0GTSKS

any thoughts or ideas?

Looks like it'd do the biz, esp with a small tarp. If it does get horrendously wet though you'd be glad of goretex - maybe check out the on-line army surplus shops?

Such as...

http://www.army-surplus.co.uk/Merchant2/4.13/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=BBAG&Category_Code=SB12

tempted myself for the winter

Hi Matthew,

I've thought about the Rab bivvy mtself and have heard good reports about them, but have been using one of the goretex ex-army one for years with no problems. One good thing about the ex-army ones are big enough to get your gear inside as well as yourself, and a rucksack behind your head to lift the bag off your face. So it's pretty comfy, though I rarely manage to get any good sleep in a bivvy myself. I think you'd be hard put to get much more than you and your sleeping bag in the Rab.

All the best.

Also consider that the army ones are not 100% waterproof underneath unless you lie on a mat.

if you are going to use it with a tarp then the rab one will be fine, plus it will be smaller and lighter than an ex-army one, you should be able to pick one up under £50

I use the Rab one and find it great if the weather is OK. Very light and cheap. Not found any significant problems with condensation in the this. Just chuck my TaR in with my sleping bag and get a good nights sleep!

I do all of my wild camping in a bivvy. Tents are awful claustrophobic places by comparison. Almost closing the zip so that I can just poke my nose out gives a nice warm cozy feel.

There is nothing better than opening your eyes and seeing all the stars above, the clouds below and not having to get out of bed to do it.

I have a TN Discovery, nice and waterproof, though mine comes in at a heavy 725g but it's quite old now and built like a tank so I can't complain. (It is a fantastic olive green which disappears into the landscape which has saved me from being evicted on one or two occasions.

I couple this with a lightweight one point basha from Kathmandu Trekking. I have added a few bits and this weighs around 800g complete with it's small ground sheet.

This basha uses one walking pole to make a good-sized and pretty strong shelter. I could probably do away with the bivvy and just use the basha if I was really after cutting down on the weight.

1.5kg for both units is close to a lightweight tent, but I find this combination to be very flexible.

To really get hooked, read "The book of the bivvy".

--
Mark.

I use the RAB one it's great, very light very protective. Can close the opening to about 2 inches or something like that if need be. Can even slide a sleeping mat in if it's in winter. For the money ~£45-55 it's unbeatable. Just dont put in on a really sharp bush!!!

I've got a Rab Survival Zone and have no complaints. I've used it as a sleeping bag cover for an extra few degrees of warmth in my sleeping bag in my tent in winter; as a "proper" bivi bag in a cave and with a tarp - all excellent. Not slept out in a downpour in it and have no intention of doing so - at least not on purpose.

Sadly ... (Spot the man with the nervous twitch and well used plastic!) I've got a Rab, and ex army one and a Kathmandu Trekking bivi, plus one I made myself!

I've used the army one and woke up in a puddle, no problems but 800gms though. A hooded design and lots of space inside. You can almost get dressed in it! £50 S/H.

The Rab has been used during summer and proved excellent, (400 gms) but as someone says, I'm very nervous about the material which appears delicate, although so far so good. Same design, but a more slim fit. Around £50 new and purple.

The Kathmandu has a waterproof base and so the mat can go inside, but I find the simple 'tube' design a bit frustrating as the material always end up on my face. As my shoulders aren't covered as the others are, it is also a fiddle to get my head sorted so I can breath and keep the heat in at the same time. But it is longer and once again has a slim fit. About 650 gms I think but nearer £35 I believe and green.

Last months TGO had a review of most of them with contact numbers etc.

I'm doing a long trek next year and will be using one of them with a tarp. I can't decide as yet which one as they all have merits.

I think I'll have to give the Rab some rough treatment and see how it performs. Once I've got confidence in it I'll probably use it as it it packs much smaller than the others and is lighter.

The only other thing you have to consider is midges etc as none of these have any bug protection.

Best of luck!

Bob

cheers for the help guys, i definitely like the idea of the ex-army one, but its much heavier and bulkier than the RAB, and i am a bit of a weight freek (but the rab is purple :/ )

guess this is gonna be a big dilemma ,poor old me :)

Have you had a look at the 'PHD Mountain Softwear' website. Same idea as the Rab, but with a slightly more sophisticated hood (less body bag like).

Looks slightly roomier as well, but a tad more expensive at £80.

My RAB is blue and I think there are red ones as well..........

I found a source of grade 1 ex-army bivvy bags for £15 each recently, only they had a minimum order value of £250.

OM branded ex-army bivvy bags, anyone?

d'oh! cross threading...

;-)

Nice marigold though!If you can wait a few more weeks the Hunka comes out in a nice kelp olive green to match in with the rest of your ex-army kit there too. Army bivi bags are cut a bit bigger anyway to get some extras in, like weapons and ammo for good instance! Plus soldiers often have to kip/'gonk' with boots on too; just in case they get 'bumped' in the night by enemy forces and have to bug out of the bivvy area rather quickly! The Rab survival zone - sorry, lightish shade of cornflower blue only I think - is on offer at Field and Trek right now for just forty quid in the sale though. Just in case you wold like a change of colour scheme there in your kit. For me though, I am quite well enough happy with the green thanks.

http://www.cadetdirect.com/products2.php?subcat=46Here's the Snugpak one, meant to marry into the code-green range of course, to go over their excellent sleeping bags to keep them dry out in the field. About less than half the weight of your older army one there in Gore-tex - but in no ways as robust I should add!

http://www.bearclawbushcraft.co.uk/trading/shelter.htmBearclaw Bushcraft do 'reckon' the Snugpak bivi bag fairly highly though it does seem to be; which can only be a good thing for you, should you decide to buy one after all! It means that it is kit that works well, if the better survival/bushcraft schools shops stock it most usually.

http://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/ssmain.htmAs for Buffalo bags, I am somewhat of an affectionado for these myself; mostly as I did all my early bivvying out in these bags. The pile and pertex double p combo is great indeed; but the weight issue might well defeat your enthusiasm here for this system I feel, since you did not even like the weight of a standard thickness Gore-tex army bivi bag a moment ago there Gordon!Pile bags systems are a good bit heavier usually than say the comparative warmth rating in synthetic filled bags, or even some down bags too as well.