Bivi Bags

[red langford]

I've been thinking in investing in a Bivi as a just in case back-up plan in case I can't find a suitable set of trees for my hammock. Looking for something small, wind repellant, has a bug screen and compact. I don't think I would need it totally waterproof as I would almost certainly be sleeping under a tarp.

Looking also for tips and tricks and things to look for when choosing a Bivi. Condensation seems to be the big drawback but is there a way to avoid or minimize this problem.

On a side note, I have tried twice to sleep out under the stars so to speak and the mosquitoes were terrible. No matter what I did to block them, they found a way in. Only way was to completely tie up inside my sleeping bag and it became suffocating. So for those that do it, how do you deal with the mosquitoes?

 

[Alan Gage]

If you're carrying a hammock anyway how about setting it up on the ground as a quasi-bivy bag? If you're using a pad rather than underquilt that should do to keep the bottom of the hammock dry and since you'll be under a tarp anyway that should keep you dry from above. If using an underquilt a small ground cloth would keep it protected from ground moisture. Now all you need is something to tie off to so that you can raise the mosquito netting and crawl it. Dead tree stumps or brush should do since they won't need to support any weight, perhaps just raise the ends a little.

I've never tried this but it's always kind of been my backup plan if suitable trees should prove unavailable when hammocking.

EDIT to add that, duh, a bottom/under quilt in a ground setup wouldn't be to effective at insulation as it would be compressed.

Alan

 

[Iskweo]

Karin once had a Tarn, I believe a 2?, from MEC, that I used on a trip up the rice river. You can check that thread on CCR to see what it looks like set up. I found it pretty light and not a bother to use at all. Much more comfy than a bivvy bag. Waaaaaaay less claustraphobic. We sold it because it was just gathering dust in the basement and we were not going to use it.

I hear what you are saying about the sagamesuk. They are insane here and you would GO insane trying to sleep out in that.

Thinking about a ground setup for the hammock....you could use crossed poles as a frame like they used to do with the old canvas outfitter tents to give you a way to hold the upper section up.

 

[madmike]

I have this one, and like it. http://shop.bivysack.com/Bivysack-Standard-Zip-Regular-Length-1BivyStandardZipRegular.htm

 

[Jim Dodd]

Not to be smart, but a solo tent would solve the problem. No mosquitoes, no need for trees. Many pack near as small as a big heavy bivy bag, with just the addition of the poles.
I agree the bugs would be the biggest problem with the bivy bag.

Jim

 

[Mihun09]

My Tarn 2 was claustrophobic to me, much too small but might suit since with a bivy you are on the ground anyway. Small footprint and about 2 pounds if I remember. Could not sit up in it if tent bound. Sold it last year.

 

[southcove]

Why not try this basic bivy https://www.campmor.com/c/breathable-nylon-top-sleeping-bag-outer-cover-41316 and throw/suspend a mosquito net from your tarp overhead?

I have used this bag while winter camping and with a BSA mosquito net during one summer trip. It solved my most pressing needs for both seasons at a cost that I could afford. And I don't have any extra gear that I won't use in the future. The setup will work nicely under my Whelen for off season trips in the future too, I believe. (20% off right now at Campmor and a free shipping deal too if you spend $50 total).

It will pull double duty in my son's large daypack for those off season trips too, as an emergency backup bivy along with the nylon tarp and emergency bivy I always carry just in case...

 

[snapper]

While I haven't used it in a long time, the bivy I have has a Gore-Tex upper with coated nylon on the ground side. The no-see-um netting attaches to the bivy with Velcro. I've used it in the Okefenokee as well as the Adirondacks and it's OK but I do find it kind of warm. One thing I would consider is just sleeping in it without my sleeping bag on a hot summer's evening but that's up to your preferences. One thing I do like about my bivy is it's large enough for me to pull my pad in with me so I can never roll off of it. Unfortunately mine was made by a small Mom & Pop operation that is no longer around or I'd give you a link for it.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Doc.]

I made a bivy from Tyvek. There are several videos on YT on how to put one together. Tyvek material is waterproof and yet allows water vapor to move through the weave from the inside to the outside -- solves the condensation problem. Made mine for about 3 bucks total since I got some left-over Tyvek from a neighbor's house addition. Suspend a mosquito net from your tarp's ridgeline. I've used this setup in the Smokies as well as many times in the Pascagoula and the Pearl River basins. If you get a tear in it you just put a swatch of duct tape over the rip. Get too many rips in it and make a new one for less than a five-spot. Roll your sleeping blanket/bag up inside the bivy for transport. Cheap & easy.

 

[Bob B.]

Doc, I like that idea. I could make one on the big side ... i hate sleeping bags and narrow bivys. I have one and it is great, I just do not use it because it is too confining. The Tyvek idea is a good one.

Bob.

 

[JagDaddy]

If you're carrying a hammock anyway how about setting it up on the ground as a quasi-bivy bag? If you're using a pad rather than underquilt that should do to keep the bottom of the hammock dry and since you'll be under a tarp anyway that should keep you dry from above. If using an underquilt a small ground cloth would keep it protected from ground moisture. Now all you need is something to tie off to so that you can raise the mosquito netting and crawl it. Dead tree stumps or brush should do since they won't need to support any weight, perhaps just raise the ends a little.

I've never tried this but it's always kind of been my backup plan if suitable trees should prove unavailable when hammocking.

EDIT to add that, duh, a bottom/under quilt in a ground setup wouldn't be to effective at insulation as it would be compressed.

Alan

That's exactly what I do :- )

I have to say though it has to get pretty desperate for me to ground sleep haha All the rivers I do in the SW have some tree's or other suspension points excepting the Colorado though the Grand Canyon.

 

[bcelect]

This one is pretty heavy duty.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIB-US-Mili...299650?hash=item2340387ec2:g:E-8AAOSwPcVVq9y-
No bug netting but then you can get a separate one such as one of these.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sle...=zkb9Vu3MAsu1jgTW67mYBw#imgrc=hu_Y3iKhnurjeM:

 

[Muskrat]

I have an Outdoor Research bivy. With a tarp it is great. If its raining without a tarp it is terrible. It's waterproof, but it's no fun laying in a nylon coffin for long rainy periods. To deal with condensation you just have to leave it open some. Even if it's raining you have to leave the zipper open a little bit. The outdoor research bivys have a hoop that keeps the material off your face when you're inside. It also has a mosquito net, but if the netting is resting against your face they can still bite you. I clothes pin the mosquito netting to the hoop to hold it taught. That works well. My favorite part of the bivy is that it's so small you can put it up anywhere. I rode out a nasty storm tucked under a cedar tree without getting touched by a drop while everyone elses tents were soaked through in the morning.

 

[Sturgeon]

No Title

I've got this one: The Miles Gear Uber Bivy

http://www.milesgear.com/UberBivy.html http://www.milesgear.com/UberBivy.html

The bottom is made of Tyvek. The top is made of that FroggToggs type waterproof/breathable membrane, super breathable. There are two flexible plastic rods that give that front and top some shape and lift it off you. Bug net.

Very roomy. Used it while hiking on the shore of Lake Superior at Pukaskwa Park. Put my empty pack inside at my feet.
Ground sheet is Tyvek also. Put a neo-air pad in there and a quilt, and you're good.

If it rains...

Weight is 2 pounds or 1 kilo. There are smaller ones available, but i wanted some room. It got cold at night, down to maybe 4 or 5 C, 40 F, and there was no condensation inside, so I was happy with it.

It's worth a look. It's a cottage industry maker so you won't see it in stores. He was fast and the quality was good; the zippers were heavy duty.

 

[Sturgeon]

Red, you said you'd be under a tarp. Have you thought about just buying a bug net that you attach to the underside of your tarp, and drape down over your entire sleeping bag? No condensation issue to worry about. less weight than a bivy bag.

 

[Marten]

Red, you said you'd be under a tarp. Have you thought about just buying a bug net that you attach to the underside of your tarp, and drape down over your entire sleeping bag? No condensation issue to worry about. less weight than a bivy bag.

+1 for a bug net
I have used a bivy too but not any more for the reasons others have listed. I favor a bug net under a trap. It can be used other buggy times too. Many of us have old lightweight tent poles that can be used for as frame.

 

[red langford]

Hmmm, maybe look at one of those.

 

[Uncle_Skwid]

Hammock guy most of the time. Though I do as well have an Outdoor Research bag with the hoop for your head that I can slide under a tarp for particularly cold beaches (sans trees for hammock or simply too cold for a hammock). But you will only find me in the bivy on cold winter nights when the sleet is really blowing sideways and I'm having to get all tucked up against the canoe to keep the needles off my neck and I've got the dead bear sliced open and me all wrapped up in her innards to keep my toes alive.... Well, I mean, you know.

But most assuredly in the hot summer I would definitely, as previously suggested, look into a simple bug net for under the tarp. Bivy sacks, like freshly sliced open animals, are not very enjoyable places to be in the dead of summer. And I would argue for such times your tarp can be all the weather shelter you need.

 

[yellowcanoe]

better than the inside of the horse in The Revenant.......

 

[Peach Canoe]

On opacity-- Is the inside of a horse as dark as the inside of a cow?