Emergency shelter for mid/late season

[stretch866]

Keeping the weather out is by far your priority in emergency use…practice pitching a tarp in bad weather whenever you get a chance. A layer of mylar can make a significant difference in true emergency and the weight penalty is tiny. I haven’t tried any of the shnazzy bivy shaped ones but I’ve consided picking up the milsurp casualty blankets when they’re on sale at sportsmans guide for 35$. If it’s too heavy for my pack it would be good in the truck.

I’ve jogged home 3-4 miles down the road through blowing snow about 30* overnight 2-5am in a cotton hoodie and sweatpants when my truck broke down. I only had a thin blanket and could have shivered through the night til local traffic came online but decided to just get home instead. It was a long time ago when I lived in CO. I’ve got enough gear to spend the night warm in a brokedown vehicle now…

I think the Sol emergency bivy is only like 4.5 ounces.

 

[180ls1]

Make sure you fit in said bivy/option as well. Many of them are for skinny hippie hikers.

I'm big so my solution is a mylar poncho + bivy. I also have a mylar blanket but that's usually used for field care. If stuck, sitting on my pack (insulation from ground) against a tree huddled up with every possible layer on is what I would likley end up doing.

 

[fngTony]

OP the comment above this makes a good point. I do believe they make a larger version of the escape and the regular bivy.

 

[stretch866]

I can be quite a weight weenie, but carrying a pound and a half or so for an actual Alpine bivy can make things so easy and simple. Other areas of the country can be different but in Colorado we have so many trees that are gonna blow down and kill you in the middle of the night or aren’t suitable to tie off to for a hammock or tarp set up. And there could be an awful lot of rocky soil that’s a royal pain trying to get a stake into.

Before anybody wants to hang me for not preaching woodsman ship skills I’m not trying to say those are important but trying to get a fire going trying to maintain a fire and pitch a tarp or build some sort of a shelter can be much more difficult, time-consuming, and less reliable, along with burning more calories and risking injury or worsening an injury. Throwing on a pair of puffy pants & jacket and rolling out a bivy is almost a cheat code. For those not used to the mountain West environment, I would strongly suggest going with my preference versus the woodsmanship aspect because you can’t practice survival in Colorado living in Georgia for example. You’re just gonna go in there be naïve about making a fire and underestimating how windy it can get. Full transparency I would probably die in Georgia because I am not used to the Climate nor do I really have any practice surviving in it.

So an OR Apline bivy is 21 ounces. An Argali Talus + Sol emergency bivy is 24 ounces. You think the OR bivy is the superior setup? Only negative is I either have to also bring a tarp for rainstorm waitouts, or ditch the tarp. Obivously I hope to not have to emergency shelter ever and ppl seam to use the tarp quite often for mild weather. Which I havent had to do but Im pretty new.

 

[180ls1]

So an OR Apline bivy is 21 ounces. An Argali Talus + Sol emergency bivy is 24 ounces. You think the OR bivy is the superior setup? Only negative is I either have to also bring a tarp for rainstorm waitouts, or ditch the tarp. Obivously I hope to not have to emergency shelter ever and ppl seam to use the tarp quite often for mild weather. Which I havent had to do but Im pretty new.

Bring it all if that's what lets you sleep at night.

Almost everyone brings too much to start, then goes too minimalist, then finds a happy medium. "No Solutions, Only Tradeoffs"

 

[Huntingfarandwide]

I always carry a SOL Bivy but also one of these.

Mountain Shelter LT

This lightweight and minimal backcountry shelter sets up fast with two trekking poles and offers solid weather protection for two from the elements with its 40d sil-nylon body.

mountainsmith.com

 

[stretch866]

OP the comment above this makes a good point. I do believe they make a larger version of the escape and the regular bivy.

Good to know I’m 6’6”

 

[fngTony]

So an OR Apline bivy is 21 ounces. An Argali Talus + Sol emergency bivy is 24 ounces. You think the OR bivy is the superior setup? Only negative is I either have to also bring a tarp for rainstorm waitouts, or ditch the tarp. Obivously I hope to not have to emergency shelter ever and ppl seam to use the tarp quite often for mild weather. Which I havent had to do but Im pretty new.

Would need to know more about the environment you’re going to. A tarp does bring some convenience of moving around under it instead of being in a coffin like a bivy. Might suck a little to bring everything but it might be worth it to get a feel for everything.

 

[isleofGough]

I carry a 1 pound rab bothy bag for SAR as well. There is no setup and it allows four people to get out of the wind and rain and warm up. But it is not really for overnights. We also sit on our packs for comfort and warmth.

 

[stretch866]

Would need to know more about the environment you’re going to. A tarp does bring some convenience of moving around under it instead of being in a coffin like a bivy. Might suck a little to bring everything but it might be worth it to get a feel for everything.

Have a tag in northern central new mexico. Its fairly mild country honestly. Im just trying to plan for future hunts back in colorado. I just liked the idea from a cost standpoint of having the bivy to spike not just emegencies.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

I just purchased a OR bivy and after looking at it, I’ve decided that my emergency shelter will remain a SO DST tarp.

That bivy just wouldn’t be comfortable for an extended time.

 

[isleofGough]

Bivy bags get you through the night but they would be terrible for an extended trip.

 

[JoeK]

yea emergency shelter and extended comfort are not the same conversation...
that said I too choose a lightweight flat tarp as both an emergency and also extremely versatile non-emergency shelter. I've been practicing a few pitches in my back yard but still haven't had the chance to test things out in stormy weather.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Used a OR goretex bivy years ago for many bad weather trips and it was bomber.
But it sucked ass and swore it off forever.
If you can handle mummy bags it would be fine.
But for an easy emergency shelter it would be preferable.
A tarp is awesome as long as you have ways to set it up.

 

[Svivian]

I’ve had a paratarp in my pack for the last 10 years. Has been used a handful of times and well worth the weight