My recon performed really well on a very wet trip this week.
I use a floorless pyramid, and I wanted to add a bivy to my system for some insurance against mosquitos. I really haven't had too many issues with bugs, but knew I might want some additional protection for a trip where we needed to camp where the mosquitos were horrendous in previous years.
Anyway, on this last trip, we ended up camping in a less than optimal spot and I had to pitch my shelter against a hill where I knew I would have some issues with water running into my shelter if it rained hard. I knew the recon had a design that would offer some additional splash protection when I was researching bivies, but it was really not an attribute I appreciated until this trip.
As anticipated, the bugs were bad, and I pitched the recon in my shelter. However, the bugs soon turned out to be a nonissue because it began to rain hard and was not letting up. The drainage issue I was worried about did occur. I'm tall, and I orient myself somewhat at an angle so I have more distance between the shelter wall for my head and feet. The rain was coming in sheets and the volume of water was coming down fast enough that drips off my shelter wall were causing a significant splashing issue.
I'll shorten this story, and just say that in a bivy without the additional water resistant material at the head, it would have been a soggy and miserable night. Granted, a better location to pitch the shelter would have probably negated some of my issues, but I didn't have that option.
I think the weight of the recon, and its design really does make it one best options for anyone wanting to use a bivy either as specifically bug protection, or an option to add versatility and additional protection to a floorless shelter.
