BA 3 wire bivvy or EE recon bivvy??

[cmaas]

I recently purchased a big Agnes 3 wire bivvy to use under a tarp or my floor less to. I recently came across the enlightened equipment recon bivvy and am now torn. Should I be running something lighter like the recon since I’m under a tarp or in tp. I now feel like the 3 wire is redundant under a tarp or in a shelter. Is the condensation minimul I n EE recon?? Does anyone have experience with either in similar scenarios???

 

[zeroforhire]

I had the same issue and went with the recon to save weight since I was mostly under a tarp. Love the bivy.

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[cmaas]

Zeroforhire thanks for the advice. Just trying to decide if the versatility is there with the recon

 

[RosinBag]

The BA 3 Wire is the best stand alone bivy. If you are using it under a tarp or in a floorless shelter, I would go with something much lighter.

 

[verysimple]

Mld bug bivvy 2 is another choice


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[Eric4]

I've got a Borah Gear Bivy with DCF floor, which is well made well, and ultralight. It's recommended to get the chest size zip, for getting in and out.

Borah Gear: Custom Ultralight Backpacking Gear

He will also customize, with different materials or design. For example, this blogger below has a borah with design similar to the EE recon's bug netting strip, but more water resistant caps for the head and toe, for under a tarp.

Cesar and The Woods: Borah Gear Bivies Double Reviews: Long Term of Cuben and First Impressions of Dimma

 

[ljalberta]

I have a Borah bivy currently, but will be replacing it. Borah is great to work with and the workmanship is fantastic (on their bivy and their tarp), however I had 1 major issue with it and that's regarding the stakeout points. There's 4 stakeout points on mine. In the steep country I wanted to use these to hold my bivy from going downhill. Unfortunately, the stakeout point are right along the seam where the top material meets the bottom. If you then stake these out, it pull the bivy very tight to the ground and compresses the bivy against my face and the sleeping bag. If there was a bathtub floor and the stakeout point were at the bottom of that, such as with the EE design, then you shouldn't run into this issue. I will say when I'm camped in tamer areas, it's not a big deal as I don't stake out the bivy. However, for sheep hunting and scouting, it helps me from ending up in a pile at the side or bottom of my shelter.

 

[zloomis]

I have not run either bivy but as I understand it the BA is a capable stand alone bivy in the rain and the EE is not. So by saving weight you are giving up being able to make do without a tarp in a pinch. So with a tarp the BA may be overkill but it can still do things the EE cannot.

 

[Jimss]

I'm curious if there are any benefits or advantages to using a bivy plus tarp vs other options (tarp tent, tipi, or fly off a 4 season tent)? It seems like weight and bulk would be fairly similar to other options....and you wouldn't have to deal with condensation and confinement issues with a bivy?

 

[RosinBag]

If I run my BA, I don’t use a tarp. It is a stand alone system.

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

Seems like overkill to me... If you want something you could run under the tarp with some bug protection, or by itself as a stand alone, you might want to check the Sierra Designs Backcountry Bivy. It weighs 14oz, is waterproof and breathable, has a bug net, but you can open it up if you just want a ground sheet and a little wind protection while under a tarp.

 

[Nick-D]

I'm curious if there are any benefits or advantages to using a bivy plus tarp vs other options (tarp tent, tipi, or fly off a 4 season tent)? It seems like weight and bulk would be fairly similar to other options....and you wouldn't have to deal with condensation and confinement issues with a bivy?

Space, weight and verstility of setup. My fast and light tarp setup and borah biv weighs about 600 grams with line and stakes. pitched correctly you get to much more usable space.

 

[mtnhmr]

I'm curious if there are any benefits or advantages to using a bivy plus tarp vs other options (tarp tent, tipi, or fly off a 4 season tent)? It seems like weight and bulk would be fairly similar to other options....and you wouldn't have to deal with condensation and confinement issues with a bivy?

I have a Borah Gear UL Bivy (side zip), fantastic service/quality; you can have a number of modifications for your individual needs and/or setup (i.e., I had 2 grommets installed, one for the face/mesh area and one for the footbox, to run string from the bivy to the tarp/tent for room/space/air circulation).

Bivy sacs are versatile, especially with floor-less shelters in uncomfortable terrain. Due to the minimal weight, I keep the bivy in my bag, hunting or not, as I have a waterproof/bug proof sac for the survival kit. I can really hunker down in adverse weather by putting my backpack in the bivy to keep my feet warm while wrapping myself to keep the rain/bugs off in any area (i.e., mountain hunting). I find myself in situations where there's minimal light and I'm forced to retreat or sleep in areas where the sheep/goats bed down. Early AM shots can easily turn a skunked hunt into successful elation with high fives all around.

Bivy sacs also act as an vapor barrier (i.e., bivy inside of sleeping bag) for winter (dry cold) camping... I have zero issues with condensation in the winter if I use the bivy inside a sleeping bag as a vapor barrier. The ideal situation is to have waterproof ground sheet (i.e., tyvek) with a bivy... you will be blown away with how dry/warm you can be. This setup is not for everyone, nor will it be the "one and done" situation for most, however I am using the bivy to give myself the edge in situations that I face.

 

[MtnManZ]

I recently purchased a big Agnes 3 wire bivvy to use under a tarp or my floor less to. I recently came across the enlightened equipment recon bivvy and am now torn. Should I be running something lighter like the recon since I’m under a tarp or in tp. I now feel like the 3 wire is redundant under a tarp or in a shelter. Is the condensation minimul I n EE recon?? Does anyone have experience with either in similar scenarios???

Did you see this review from Justin Crossley?
Enlightened Equipment Recon Bivy Review - Rokslide

He addressed all of your questions.

I have ran the EE Recon Bivy for one night, so I don't have much experience with it, but I agree with what Justin put in his review.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I'm curious if there are any benefits or advantages to using a bivy plus tarp vs other options (tarp tent, tipi, or fly off a 4 season tent)? It seems like weight and bulk would be fairly similar to other options....and you wouldn't have to deal with condensation and confinement issues with a bivy?

As far as I’m concerned, yes there are several benefits/advantages to using a bivy/tarp combo. If you’re using a flat tarp, you can pitch it just about anywhere, I don’t think you’ll find a lighter, more compact system then a UL bivy and tarp, and with that combination, condensation issues are very much mitigated, if not altogether eliminated, plus you have room to move around and store gear under a tarp. I have a couple different UL bivy/tarp combos but my lightest is smaller than a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle and comes in under a pound including guy lines, stakes, and stuff sack. If you pair that with a small Xlite pad and down quilt, you have an entire sleep system that weighs less than 2.5 lbs., and will allow you to sleep very comfortably even in some pretty harsh conditions.


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[cmaas]

Thanks to everyone for their educated replies. I think I'm leaning towards the EE bivvy. I can run it stand alone for bugs, put a small tarp over it for rain or run it under my small golite tipi or run it under my large 8 man seek outside tipi late season were ground can thaw from stove and use it to contain bag and pad so it doesn't get muddy. I just don't think I see myself using the 3 wire as a stand alone in weather. Pack and other items would have to sit out in weather and if the rain stuck around i like to have something to hang out under. Thanks again for all the comments and if anyone has anything to add to my ideas please comment.