Bivy Sack/bag?

[Traffic Jam]

True, we're definitely in the minority.

What shelter do you use? Just curious.

Comparing weights and having rain protection as a priority, it appears that the lightest shelter is a DCF tarp and ground sheet (?)

[CalebJ]

Lately I've been using a Tigoat Ptarmigan and a sil-nylon Monk tarp from Mountain Laurel Designs. I don't remember the total weight. A bit over a pound by the time you include stakes, guy lines, and a pole as I recall. Simple to use, very flexible in deployment options, and dramatically cheaper than the cuben tents that come in at similar weight.

[Traffic Jam]

Lately I've been using a Tigoat Ptarmigan and a sil-nylon Monk tarp from Mountain Laurel Designs. I don't remember the total weight. A bit over a pound by the time you include stakes, guy lines, and a pole as I recall. Simple to use, very flexible in deployment options, and dramatically cheaper than the cuben tents that come in at similar weight.

Neat, I haven't heard of the Tigoat. Just weighed my new shelter set-up...DCF tarp, MLD bug bivy, and stakes and it is 19oz. Im a little disappointed, thought it was 15-17 oz.

[MuddyWaters]

Ive always been of the mind that a large enough minimal tarp

beats a tarp -bivy combo, or just a bivy



me 7.7 oz tarp in its element

[IMG][/IMG]

[Dogwood]

When looking at the wt of a bivy as a stand alone WP shelter or a WR bivy in a tarp/bivy combo as Caleb described his set up it should be remembered a bivy changes the sleep system not just the shelter system. You shelter is now an integrated component of your sleep system. It can be, for example, that now a less bulky possibly slightly less wt sleeping bag or quilt can be used. This is what UL is about. A total intertwined interconnected multi tasking larger scale philosophy... not just narrowly looking at single pieces of gear.

[MuddyWaters]

The biggest advantage of a decent tarp...is shelter from storms during the day.
In the pic above, It was just after 30 min of intense sleet and hail driven by high winds
I actually had to knock the sleet off my tarp as it was building up and causing it to sag

wouldnt want to have to get in a bivy to get out of that

avoiding hypothermia...is a nice thing

[Cheyou]

I'm with Muddy . Bigger tarp skip the bivy sack . With the bivy comes the moisture issues, condensation. A Hexamid,stakes, lines, shrink film 11.4 oz. a bivy sack wasn't warm enough to drop the temp rating of my quilt.

Thom

[Dogwood]

I'm with Muddy . Bigger tarp skip the bivy sack . With the bivy comes the moisture issues, condensation. A Hexamid,stakes, lines, shrink film 11.4 oz. a bivy sack wasn't warm enough to drop the temp rating of my quilt.

Thom

Prove your 11.4 oz claim. Break it down. .51 cuben, right? How does that include stakes or trekking pole or dedicated shelter pole wt? Seems iffy??? How tall are you? Hexamid is too short for those much over 6 ft.

What a bivy can do when used with a quilt is reduce or eliminate drafts. It is also your ground sheet eliminating that wt.

For those boohooing bivies detail your vast personal experiences?

Agree there are times when a larger coverage tarp makes sense but having a small very UL tarp and bivy provides just bivy opps without having to erect the larger footprint of many larger tarp configs. There is no one size tarp to pair with a bivy. A skilled tarper, bivyer, or tarp/bivy combo user takes appropriate tarp sized(coverage) into consideration what one anticipates.

[Slo-go'en]

The main problem with a bivy is getting in or out of it or changing clothes or packing up when it's raining. That's why you generally need to couple it with a decent sized tarp.

The bivy set up is not much different from Hammocks, except your on the ground. The bivy is generally a lighter option then a hammock as you don't need all the extra hardware for hanging. You can also use the bivy in a shelter for extra warmth and protection from rain splash or mist which blows into the front of a shelter.

For an AT thru hike, your probably better off with a good UL tent, especially during the spring monsoon season and bug season. If I were doing a lot of hiking in the Rockies, I would go the bivy route for my shelter.

[MuddyWaters]

everything has a place.

The more benign the conditions, the more useable some shelter systems are
It doesnt get more benign than summer in the Sierra for the most part.

[Cheyou]

Prove your 11.4 oz claim. Break it down. .51 cuben, right? How does that include stakes or trekking pole or dedicated shelter pole wt? Seems iffy??? How tall are you? Hexamid is too short for those much over 6 ft.

What a bivy can do when used with a quilt is reduce or eliminate drafts. It is also your ground sheet eliminating that wt.

For those boohooing bivies detail your vast personal experiences?

Agree there are times when a larger coverage tarp makes sense but having a small very UL tarp and bivy provides just bivy opps without having to erect the larger footprint of many larger tarp configs. There is no one size tarp to pair with a bivy. A skilled tarper, bivyer, or tarp/bivy combo user takes appropriate tarp sized(coverage) into consideration what one anticipates.

Boy doesn't take much for you to get your panties all in a bunch. Your not the only one with "vast experience" using a bivy and tarp. Good luck and take a chill pill .

thom

[cmoulder]

I never include trekking poles in the weight because I carry them with me all the time. For someone who does not use trekking poles and needs a dedicated pole it should be included. However, most everywhere I go I can also find perfectly serviceable sticks, which I would use instead of a dedicated pole.

But I could make a 4-section, 9mm diameter, 48" CF pole that would weigh less than 2 oz. If you think that sounds unrealistic, here is a photo of a 44" 3-section, shock-corded pole that I made with 13mm CF, and it weighs 2.39 oz.

44in_tarp_pole.jpg

[Traffic Jam]

sorry if it's OT, but since we're talking tarps and saving weight, what do y'all use to close the end of your tarp when it's raining?

[MuddyWaters]

sorry if it's OT, but since we're talking tarps and saving weight, what do y'all use to close the end of your tarp when it's raining?

nothing
cause I use a shaped tarp

however umbrella, pack, sleeping pad, raingear, etc can all be used to block spray if necessary

[Dogwood]

Show us how you get 11.4 oz. Is that so hard to ask?

What I get frustrated with is too many details left out in how one is arriving at UL and SUL gear wts. There's a tendency to ignore or fudge or get into UL one upmanship pissing contests involving actual wts by listing wts under the most extreme lightest situation. A one sentence line without offering these details I'm immediately suspicious.


There are many posts here on WB offering opinions about that which isn't personally experienced. If that's too harsh calling this out so be it. Some of us want accuracy and understanding. I want to learn.

[Dogwood]

Thx Cmoulder. Already have four sets and two sets of variable length trekking poles. Most of my sets are around 3 oz-3.5 oz for a front and rear set(48"and 32", A frame tarp) or about 3-4 oz for a single thicker diam longer pole.

[Venchka]

Chill Y'all.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4jJc8w4H0
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Traffic Jam]

Chill Y'all.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4jJc8w4H0
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It sort of matters to me. I'm trying to learn a few things.
But yeah, there's no need for people to get upset about tarps and bivy's.

[Dogwood]

I like being in the minority.
There is a distinct joy in traveling light that folks who choose to remain shackled to conventional thinking will never know.

The metaphor that always comes to my mind that that of the long-caged bird that doesn't realize it can fly to freedom when the door is opened.

And that is why some choose a bivy. It fits nicely into a minimalist agenda.

The main problem with a bivy is getting in or out of it or changing clothes or packing up when it's raining. That's why you generally need to couple it with a decent sized tarp.

The bivy set up is not much different from Hammocks, except your on the ground. The bivy is generally a lighter option then a hammock as you don't need all the extra hardware for hanging. You can also use the bivy in a shelter for extra warmth and protection from rain splash or mist which blows into the front of a shelter...

And, that is also why many don't have a huge problem packing up in the rain or changing clothes inside a bivy..they don't have much to pack up or change into as they are going minimalist.

[Dogwood]

...The bivy set up is not much different from Hammocks, except your on the ground. The bivy is generally a lighter option then a hammock as you don't need all the extra hardware for hanging. You can also use the bivy in a shelter for extra warmth and protection from rain splash or mist which blows into the front of a shelter.
For an AT thru hike, your probably better off with a good UL tent, especially during the spring monsoon season and bug season. If I were doing a lot of hiking in the Rockies, I would go the bivy route for my shelter.

I've witnessed two AT Unsupported FKTers and one LT FKT use a bivy with good(as they said) results. They combined their bivy use as a stand alone shelter/sleep system component with occasional AT/LT lean to sheltering when the most stormiest conditions prevailed. They used their bivy inside AT lean to's with a very light wt quilt saving the wt and extra bulk of a colder temp rated quilt going exceptionally UL/SUL. I've seen the same thing on the JMT from those fast packing or going very fast(personal best) and SUL with sub 6-7 day timeframes.