Review of Zen bivy lite

[Mdfowlman2]

Never heard of these. Heavy setup, but seems like a great sleep on easy trips! May need to try it for shorter 3-5 day trips. I toss and turn a lot and hate the draft of a quilt and the tightness of a mummy! This is similiar to some Sierra designs bed with basically the sheet part built in but this uses good down. Interesting. On my radar now!


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Heavy? unless I'm reading the website wrong the pad, pillow, sheet, and quilt end up just over 3lbs

 

[Untamed]

I have the 10* quilt and 25* sheet has a nice hood to keep a pillow in place. I don"t miss my mummy bag at all. I really like the system. It always opens to whatever side you choose in the tent.

 

[Mdfowlman2]

I have the 10* quilt and 25* sheet has a nice hood to keep a pillow in place. I don"t miss my mummy bag at all. I really like the system. It always opens to whatever side you choose in the tent.

How is the packability compared to a mummy bag?

 

[Untamed]

How is the packability compared to a mummy bag?

I switched from a WM 10* Versalite which weighed 2#. Its real close to same weight and fits in the same compression sack. It compresses down a little smaller for sure.

 

[Mdfowlman2]

I switched from a WM 10* Versalite which weighed 2#. Its real close to same weight and fits in the same compression sack. It compresses down a little smaller for sure.

Thanks! Had a moisture issue last year with my mummy bag just pulling moisture in, I spent the week wet every night it was miserable. Decided to look at other options as my backcountry sleep had never been good.

 

[Untamed]

I just own the quilt and sheet. Did not do their whole system.

 

[Kakashi]

I have the 10 degree and the 25 degree along with the sheet. Base weight under 10 lbs. Best sleep I’ve ever had in the backcountry.

 

[Mdfowlman2]

is anyone running the muscovy fill?

 

[lil' bear]

I've got the synthetic and down quilt and the down is much nicer and easier to pack

 

[coldsoup]

Good to know, I'm looking into getting the ultralight but have concerns about whether its warm enough since I sleep cold.

 

[jmd]

Thanks for the Zen Bivy info, looking to get one before September hits

 

[z987k]

I switched from a WM 10* Versalite which weighed 2#. Its real close to same weight and fits in the same compression sack. It compresses down a little smaller for sure.

According to the zenbivy website, the ultralight setup in 10F and large, plus the 25" mat is 4lbs 4oz.
A WM Versalite(10F) large and a nemo pad is 3lbs 2oz. 1lb 2oz is quite a lot to add to a backpacking system.

 

[Mdfowlman2]

According to the zenbivy website, the ultralight setup in 10F and large, plus the 25" mat is 4lbs 4oz.
A WM Versalite(10F) large and a nemo pad is 3lbs 2oz. 1lb 2oz is quite a lot to add to a backpacking system.

The large quilt is 30oz
Sheet is 7oz
Making it 37oz
The versatilite is 34oz
The pad choice/weight is irrelevant as the zenbivy can be used with almost any pad.
Now 3oz is a far cry from 18oz, and that 3oz is well worth the weight penalty for the added comfort

 

[JoeK]

The large quilt is 30oz
Sheet is 7oz
Making it 37oz
The versatilite is 34oz
The pad choice/weight is irrelevant as the zenbivy can be used with almost any pad.
Now 3oz is a far cry from 18oz, and that 3oz is well worth the weight penalty for the added comfort

This is key in comparing sleep SYSTEMS. There are lots of options for any sleep setup and so the importance of getting close to apples to apples makes major diference. As Mdfowlman2 states any difference in pad weight does not belong in this comparison. Different options can easily swing the weight of setup a pound or more.
The setups compared from z987k probably includes the zenbivy pillow @6ish oz? no pillow for the WM/Nemo.

The extra weight of the sheet in the zenbivy setup can be significant, it's 10oz for the 10* light sheet and paired with the 10* ultralight quilt exactly matches my 15* mummy bag at 40oz. If you don't like the feel of a mummy bag you haven't saved weight but maybe you increased comfort and also modularity/flexibility. I don't have any issues with a mummy bag, especially when it's cold I just feel nice and cozy in there and with layers was straight toasty to 12*. I sleep on my back and don't move around too much so YMMV.

I recently picked up the 25* ultralight quilt (Large) which weighs 19oz and is comparable fill weight to katabatic flex 30* Reg/wide, (11.5oz vs 12.7oz) the lightest uninsulated ultralight half sheet comes in @3oz for a nearly identical total weight to the katabatic flex 30* at 22oz. I picked up a silk travel sheet on ebay at 4.5oz for 25$. just need to do a little sewing to have the clip attachments for the quilt and pillow. Zenbivy temp ratings give limit temp at 25* comfort at 35* so this seems like a fairly even comparison. I do like the option of a 19oz ultralight quilt when I don't expect temps below 25*. and when I pair this quilt with the heavier down hooded sheet I'll see how it performs with my layers on. I don't think 10oz of hooded sheet will add nearly as much warmth as 10oz of fill in the quilt itself would (10*quilt) but I'll just have to try some variations out and see what works well for me.