Bivi Bags

[Mart]

Not looked into bivi bags for a few years so clueless about whats available

OK so I recently sold my Borah bag (much to my regret) but want to replace it with something properly waterproof, Lightweight and breathable ... Is that possible? The addition of an insect net would be a nice addition but not a deal breaker

Not so much about being the cheapest, more about what works best. What brands/models should I be considering?
Where do I start looking

[whitestone]

There's two "classes" of bivy bag: fully waterproof stand (lie?) alone; lightweight, not waterproof, need to be used with a tarp or other shelter.

If you want an insect net in the first then you are really looking at hooped bivvies as any such feature in a classic bivy bag basically means you are leaving a great big hole open for the rain to get in.

The big problem with standalone bivvies is that if it's raining, you get in wet, have all your wet kit in there with you and you get wet getting out. The main problem with the lightweight models is that while they'll deal with drizzle and very light rain they aren't waterproof so you do need the weight and faff of a tarp to use them.

I've three bivy bags: an Alpkit Hunka XL; a Borah Gear Ultralight and a Borah Gear cuben fibre. Both the latter two have a "letterbox" midge net.

If you put your mat inside your bivy bag then you'll need something the size of the Hunka XL and the Borah bags - standard dimension bags are just too small and your sleeping bag won't loft or there won't be room for you to get in. I'm not convinced by hooped bivvies - just a lot of faff for no real gain, you'd be better off with a tarp: lots more space and lighter even accounting for taking a lightweight bivy as well.

[middleagedmadness]

Got a or helium ,fully waterproof ,midge net ,and a borah argon 67 , definitely not waterproof ,the helium works great for a couple of nights out if it's fully closed then you do get condensation ,it was only after my 3rd night of torrential rain that my bag got wet though and that may have been due to not drying out the I y properly from the day before ,the new ones come in at 450 grams ,but for a extra £100 you can get the new alpine Bivi same as the helium but gortex not pertex and that comes in just under 600 grams ,they also have another new one called stargazer same weight as the alpine but with a side zip and the hoop is at the top of the Bivi so gives lots more room but it's a bit pricey ,think trekkinn have it for £250 everywhere else it's touching 300 ,but I'm sorely tempted by it

[Bearbonesnorm]

Borah Snowyside ticks all your boxes inc midge net.

The new one from Alpkit might also be worth a look. Hopefully I'll have one to play with very shortly so I'll be as quick as i can with it

[ScotRoutes]

Rab Ascent. Not the lightest(583g) but breathable, waterproof, midge net and I can get my mat/bag in it.

[Lazarus]

also in the same position [ though i have never really bivved] but most of those options have no weight advantage over even a nylon sil tent, and plenty disadvantages*, so i am not sure what the point is. My tent [300g and two small adults at a push]is not much bigger than a can of pop so no size saving either.

The SOL still tempts me [probably the price tbh]- but it would need to be with a tarp and then I have not saved any weight over just going single skin with my tent [ though i may have some more warmth [ which may be either a good or a bad thing depending on the temperature.
TO save another thread what do folk thing are the advantages of a bivvy bag ? No poles or pegs is all I come up with [ so 80g ish in my case]. quicker to set up . Anything else I am missing here?

* main one is where to put kit and what do you do when you are wet and its raining and you have no tarp.

[Mariner]

Got my eye on a Snugpak SF Bivvi bag.
Its made of Paratex and gets good reviews.

[middleagedmadness]

also in the same position [ though i have never really bivved] but most of those options have no weight advantage over even a nylon sil tent, and plenty disadvantages*, so i am not sure what the point is. My tent [300g and two small adults at a push]is not much bigger than a can of pop so no size saving either.

The SOL still tempts me [probably the price tbh]- but it would need to be with a tarp and then I have not saved any weight over just going single skin with my tent [ though i may have some more warmth [ which may be either a good or a bad thing depending on the temperature.
TO save another thread what do folk thing are the advantages of a bivvy bag ? No poles or pegs is all I come up with [ so 80g ish in my case]. quicker to set up . Anything else I am missing here?

* main one is where to put kit and what do you do when you are wet and its raining and you have no tarp.

For me the advantage is I can doss down anywhere , dosent have to flat or large space, the little gullies between trees in a forest are my favourite spots,as for kit I put it all in my dry bags and shoes in a bin bag , getting in can be a art form , normally shove all my dry ki the bottom of the bag wriggle out of wet clothes put them in a bin bag and then pull up my quilt , not perfect but minimises getting everything wet ,( not as straight forward as in a tent )

[Dave Barter]

Same as middleagedmadness, including hard floors, toilets, under vehicles and in barns with lots of thingys running around. My system for all occassions is a ultra lightweight tent outer with a bivy bag within.

I really rate my Terra Nova Discovery Lite GoreTex bivy. Which is a next to useless comment as they don't make it any more.

[redefined_cycles]

also in the same position [ though i have never really bivved] but most of those options have no weight advantage over even a nylon sil tent, and plenty disadvantages*, so i am not sure what the point is. My tent [300g and two small adults at a push]is not much bigger than a can of pop so no size saving either.

The SOL still tempts me [probably the price tbh]- but it would need to be with a tarp and then I have not saved any weight over just going single skin with my tent [ though i may have some more warmth [ which may be either a good or a bad thing depending on the temperature.
TO save another thread what do folk thing are the advantages of a bivvy bag ? No poles or pegs is all I come up with [ so 80g ish in my case]. quicker to set up . Anything else I am missing here?

* main one is where to put kit and what do you do when you are wet and its raining and you have no tarp.

Woah... You have a tent weighing in at 300g. Did you make holes in it like that 'drillium'they do on weight weenies or did it just come in at that weight... Please do tell?

Ive got the 2 bivvybags (I think I might be the culprit who boight your Borah Mart... sorry ) and the 900g goretex army issue thing. Can probably get 2 adults inside iy and still space for a mat... proper proof and obviously heavy and doesnt pack down well... the borah: well its 200g and packs down small and tiny. Pr9bably a bit tight in there for the mat so the 2 times Ive used its been with mat outside and then just try and balance myself on top without sliding off (mcnett I believe is whats needed)...

[Bearbonesnorm]

I think 'stealth' also plays a part in the use of a bivvy. I've laid a bivvy out in many places that you'd never 'get away' pitching a tent. Aside from the physical presence aspect, a bivvy bag seems to also assure people that you won't be there long or taking up residence.

[Lazarus]

You have a tent weighing in at 300g

Its basically just a shaped tarp ,without liner or footprint, and a zip.
The lightest inner is tyvek and a serentiy bug net [ which i have yet to try in anger, its not really an inner more a floor and some bug protection for an extra 120g.
the heaviest is 300g [ or bivvy bag wieght]
its just an ali express special for about £40] seemed waterproof when i tested it under my hose for about 50 mins and not leaked in the real world but yet to test it in a torrential all night downpour [ does ok in wind if a bit noisy]
I wondered about the sol for mainly extending the temp range of bags and leaving the above behind so extra warmth for no weight penalty.

[RIP]

"I think 'stealth' also plays a part in the use of a bivvy. ". I'd desperately like to love (love to like?) a bivvy bag, but that would be the sole reason I'd get one.

[ScotRoutes]

As an example, I bivvied at the summit of Cairngorm last week. That would be impossible in a tent due to the terrain.

I've bivvied behind a big boulder in the Lairig Ghru, on sandy beaches, in root-covered forests. Sometimes the flexibility just works better than a tent. Weight is a (distant) secondary consideration.

[middleagedmadness]

The new one from Alpkit might also be worth a look. Hopefully I'll have one to play with very shortly so I'll be as quick as i can with it

If this had a midge net and tie off over the face I'd be in it quicker than a priest with a alter boy,rich pips what's the odds on having a customized one ,pretty please

[Jurassic pusher]

. Aside from the physical presence aspect, a bivvy bag seems to also assure people that you won't be there long or taking up residence.

It also scares off walkers who think a body has been dumped in the field!

[Mariner]

It also scares off walkers who think a body has been dumped in the field!

I think one of the reviews of the Borah eVent bivvi described it a body bag.

Is it bivvi, bivvy or bivi?

[Bearbonesnorm]

s it bivvi, bivvy or bivi?

Bivouac. I belive it is a word from the language of the Chereokee nation who were first encountered by settlers in the mid 1500's in what is now Carolina. The direct translation into English is 'mistake'.

[whitestone]

It also scares off walkers who think a body has been dumped in the field!

I think one of the reviews of the Borah eVent bivvi described it a body bag.

Is it bivvi, bivvy or bivi?

Well it's short for bivouac so maybe it should be "bivo"? I use "bivy" singular and "bivvies" plural but it's one of those: "you say tomahto, I say tomayto" type things and we all know what's being talked about so it's not like a misuse of the apostrophe, which of course is a hanging offence

[ericrobo]

Better than hanging is hung, drawn, and quartered

Reserved for destroyers of the langwidge who use 'of' instead of 'have'...

Holy crap !

[psling]

I think 'stealth' also plays a part in the use of a bivvy. I've laid a bivvy out in many places that you'd never 'get away' pitching a tent. Aside from the physical presence aspect, a bivvy bag seems to also assure people that you won't be there long or taking up residence.

I seem to remember that when using a public right of way (footpath/bridleway/byway) you have a right to pass, re-pass, and rest and that using a bivvy bag is regarded as resting and therefore a legitimate use. To erect a tent could be regarded as something greater than resting and would therefore be prohibited. Never tested in law as far as I am aware though

[benp1]

I have the Borah Snowyside, the Borah side zip, a custom PHD one and two army ones (DPM and plain green)

They all have their uses, though i use the first two the most. The side zip Borah is used with a tarp and the snowyside has been used without a tarp quite a few times. It's OK in the rain, better in light rain than heavy rain, good piece of mind

The midge net is a bit annoying on it, you have to velcro it in. For midgey conditions the side zip is a much better option

[PaulB2]

This thread has been useful since I'm bivi curious but can't really decide between the myriad of options. Admittedly it's also given me a few more options just to confuse things

[Bearbonesnorm]

I would say that anyone who's bivvy-curious could do much worse than investing in a Hunka XL. Granted, there's no bug protection but otherwise, a great bit of kit and something you'll always pass on should it transpire that you're softer than you imagined

[jay91]

As stu said hunka XL great and massive