There aren’t any pegging points for the bivy, which is a bit of a shame. It does have a guyline loop on the top, however. This gives you the ability to string up the fabric via a branch or a firmly planted trekking pole to make the space inside a little less enclosed. There’s also a little loop at the foot of the bivy.

The bivy is stowed inside a storage bag that, like Sierra Design’s tent bags, has a wide mouth that runs lengthways making it easy to stash away. A drawcord then allows you to cinch it in to make a nice compact bundle.

Tester’s Verdict

Will Renwick, editor of Outdoors Magic

This is one of the lightest and most packable bivy bags I’ve used. The only lighter one I’ve tried is one of the previous editions of The North Face’s Assault Bivy, but that was like sleeping in a bin bag. The Backcountry Bivy, on the other hand, is made from a much more technical fabric.

I wouldn’t want to use this on any nights where heavy rain is expected, but that’s not to discredit Sierra Designs. There aren’t really many bivy bags – if any – that will give you a comfortable night’s sleep in miserably wet conditions as you’re either going to get wet from rain getting in or from condensation building up on the inside. I’d say this bivy is made for nights where you want a minimalist sleep – whether that’s for the experience or for the sake of a low pack weight – but aren’t expecting heavy or prolonged rainfall. If heavy rain was on the forecast, I’d want to combine this with a tap so that I can sleep with the bivy unzipped for ventilation.

Sierra Designs make this bivy bag with their backcountry sleep system in mind and this involves a tapered sleeping mat. Fortunately, while the bivy’s profile is also tapered, I have found that it does still fit a rectangular sleeping mat. I used a relatively thick 7cm sleeping mat and winter sleeping bag inside it and I didn’t find this created any issues in regards to space.

I’m 5 foot 10 and found that it was easily long enough for me to sleep comfortably inside it, even with my backpack stowed inside down at my feet. It’s 209 cm / 6 foot 8 in length so it should be long enough for most people.