Bivy Bag

[Rocky]

What bivy bags are you guys using and how do they do if it starts raining? My tent has dual vestibules and points of entry. This is nice I store gear and food on one side and use the other side to enter and exit the tent. There have been times that it has been difficult to find a goof flat spot to set up camp so I was thinking about a bivy bag. That being said I'm concerned about not having a floor. Any thoughts ?

 

[dotman]

I have the ti-goat bug net and it would suck in the rain stand alone . But, inside of a floorless shelter it adds great protection for your bag and you from everything but the rain. It will not add any warmth but will give you peace of mind that your bag is safe. I prefer it over tyvek or any other ground type cloth cause your bag can't slide out of it. Just wish it had a side zip and not a chest zip.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

I have the ti-goat bug net and it would suck in the rain stand alone

Hahaha! Are you saying breathable mesh isn't the best rain stopper?

 

[RosinBag]

I use the big Agnes three wire bivy. Great for weather as it is eVent. If I go bivy I try and take a tarp in case of rain. Not to protect the bivy, but for gear, cooking, dressing etc.

 

[Rocky]

Dotman so is the bag ok on the ground without anything under it? I'm assuming that the "floor" stays dry as long as your trap is large enough. I looked at the kifaru traps and was wondering if it was common to get wet if it started to rain and the wind was blowing towards the opening of the tarp. Or is your bag far enough back in the shelter that it is not an issue.

 

[RosinBag]

You generally try and set up tarps so the opening is down wind from the rain preventing any rain spitting in. Setting it up with the opening against a rock barricade, or other large item will help prevent any weather issues also.

 

[dotman]

Dotman so is the bag ok on the ground without anything under it? I'm assuming that the "floor" stays dry as long as your trap is large enough. I looked at the kifaru traps and was wondering if it was common to get wet if it started to rain and the wind was blowing towards the opening of the tarp. Or is your bag far enough back in the shelter that it is not an issue.

I only have a year in my supertarp and haven't been in crazy rain but Justin Davis has had his out in the most extreme rain and water only soaked the dirt under the tarp a few inches around the perimeter.

Just like a tent proper placement is key. If you pitch a tent in a depression water will get in. My bag is never directly on the ground, it is in the bug net bivy so there is a protective barrier similar to putting a tyvek sheet under it. I will also say that I have put my bag on 2 contractor grade garbage bags and had no issues other then it wanted to slide if I wasn't exactly on flat ground.

 

[Rocky]

I just watched a review on your bivy RosinBag and it looked pretty nice. However the review didn't say if the bivy was waterproof. Your pic looks like it was taken during early fall so my next question is what degree sleeping bag do you use?

 

[stephen b]

I use a Ti goat Raven omni bivy - 8 oz. ( it also has bug net) under a plain tarp or even under my T-P/ Pyramid shelters ( ID George tarp or GL SL 5) at times. It helps protect my WM down bag and adds a little warmth if needed. Other times I just use my sleeping bag and pad on a tyvek ground sheet w/o a bivy.

IMO and where you live a GS like tyvek is a good idea in really wet ground ( I live in OR- so know what SW WA. weather is like). The TG bivy has a sil nylon bottom, but if there is enough pressure into very wet ground it can cause a hydrostatic pressure and maybe possibly get some moisture in. Do not know this for sure, but have heard this to be the case with some people that use TarpTents in very wet conditions.

Plus, another reason for a GS is even with a bivy like TG, it is not real tough material so I would want something to protect my pad. I sometimes use just a CC pad, but often carry a 12 oz inflatable.

Tyvek is very tough and light wt. If you try and push a pen through it, you will see how puncture resistant it is. My 27-28" x 84" tyvek sheet weighs I think about right at 3 oz- so cheap insurance. And keeps the light wt. bivy even cleaner, and dryer.

 

[Solitude]

Stephen
Do you place the GS under the bivy or inside?

 

[Lawnboi]

Iv gotten some water under my paratarp... but thats only cause I was an idiot and pitched it in the worst place I could. Pitch in a good spot and you will be just fine without a floor, and with a waterproof bivy you really shouldnt have to worry if a little water sneaks in.

Im going with a full waterproof bivy this year with my tarp. Ill be using a paratarp and ID bugabooII. I know the tarp works well, just need to test the bivy more before I start saying its great. Although after a few backyard nights in the ID bivy I can say i dont think im going to be dissappointed.

The space you have for cooking, eating and milling around under a tarp is awsome. I can walk under the thing with my boots all muddy and not have to worry. Its just nice not being cooped up in a little tent. The ventilation is also very nice for warmer weather camping.

I still use a foam pad to protect the bivy and my bag and what not from the ground. Im not yet willing to give up my zlite, its much too functional for so many things.

 

[Rocky]

Stephen it is funny that you mentioned tarptent because that is the tent I currently have.

 

[RosinBag]

I use my bivy whenever it is most advantagous based on type of hunting. This year during Nevada scouting and Colorado elk hunting I used it exclusively. Colorado got pretty cold and I used a 15 degree bag the entire time. I would say the bivy gives you about 5 degrees more on your sleeping bag.

 

[Rocky]

Thanks RosinBag. With your bivy do you put anything under it or do you clean the area under it and call it good?

 

[RosinBag]

I just kick out a spot like a deer making their bed. The material in the Big Agnes bivy is very durable.

 

[luke moffat]

I like the TI goat bivy bags. But don't try to use them as a stand alone shelter in the rain. I use mine under my floorless shelter as much to get away from the bugs in the summer as I do to stay dry. For the weight and price they are hard to beat IMO.

 

[mtnkid85]

Ive been using a Black Diamond bipod bivy for a few years with great results. This past season I got caught in a torrential downpour and got pounded all night long. The next morning my down sleeping bag was just barely damp. I was impressed.
After that though I did start packing a tarp to pitch over the bivy, as the big thing is once it starts raining its hard to get into the bivy without letting any rain in/having wet clothes ect. So having just that little bit of extra shelter from the tarp really helps.

I like the little bit of head room in the bivy too, I can roll over and get up on my elbows to read/look at maps ect.

 

[stephen b]

Stephen
Do you place the GS under the bivy or inside?

I put Pad inside the bivy and GS (Tyvek) under bivy.

 

[stephen b]

Ive been using a Black Diamond bipod bivy for a few years with great results. This past season I got caught in a torrential downpour and got pounded all night long. The next morning my down sleeping bag was just barely damp. I was impressed.
After that though I did start packing a tarp to pitch over the bivy, as the big thing is once it starts raining its hard to get into the bivy without letting any rain in/having wet clothes ect. So having just that little bit of extra shelter from the tarp really helps.

I like the little bit of head room in the bivy too, I can roll over and get up on my elbows to read/look at maps ect.

Bingo on exactly why a tarp is great with a bivy. I use to use years ago a OR Bivy (advanced or deluxe-can't remember) alone, and when it rains- it sucks; just no way to enter and exit with out getting water in. It is OK when you are just inside it for rain; but forget about a good way to cook, change clothes, wait out a storm and enjoy yourself etc. etc. Then a bivy alone is miserable. It did not take me long to figure out that the bivy alone would not cut it. Add a 7-10 oz. tarp and now it is a whole different deal. Plus when it rains you can open up the bivy a bit and let the condensation moisture escape a bit under a tarp and keeps bag dryer.

BTW- those Black Diamond bivy's are quite good. I still sometimes use in the winter a BD hooped bivy in a floorless shelter. The hooped is not as high head wise as the bi-pod, or the tri-pod- but the BD Hoop is wide and fairly roomy and the hoop really helps to keep the bag off of face. I rarely zip up the bivy all the way; usually keep a bit of a "beak" open with the hoop keeping the bivy propped up.

 

[Wrongside]

As a supplement to tarps or floorless shelters, I really like the TiGoat bivys. The only downside to them, IME, is condensation in colder temps. Even with a VB liner, they are much worse than my old, OK, ancient, Integral Designs bivy for condensation.