Bivey Sacks

[stevenscout]

Has anyone had any experience with bivey sacks? I am thinking about buying one and wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts, pros, cons, etc.

stevenscout

[616kayak]

I havent used one, but first i want to get a jungle hamock because here in FL we usualy sleep on top of our sleepingbags.

[sgtfrey]

I use a Military Goretex Bivy Sack for most of my camping here in the "Rainy" Northwest. It is available through slumberjack and is worth every penny (except it is Camo). It is big enough that for Extreme Cold Weather you can combine a couple sleeping bags to keep you warmer. The only draw backs to the one I use is no insect screen and even though it is goretex you still get condensation from your breath inside of it. I have used it in most climates here in Oregon and Washington and I love it. I have always stayed dry (except the few drops on my head from my breath) and am able to stay warm with the right combination of bags inside of it.

[riverwalk]

I waited for someone to ask, now I must, haha. What is one of them thar bivey sack thingies?

[sgtfrey]

My Technical Definition is Bivy (Derived from bivuac (Military word for Camping)) and sack is a sleeping cover that hopefully is waterproof (imagine sleeping in your rain fly)

Basically it is for folks who like to travel light especially backpackers, bikers and climbers who want to do low impacy camping and be able to sleep just about anywhere.

The Bivy sack is in essence a Mini tent usually without poles but sometimes has 1 pole to hold a bug screen, and it is only big enough to hold a single person and their sleeping bag. Bivy Sacks and/or hammocks are generally a sign of a minimalist leave no trace camper.

To get a good idea of what is marketed as Bivy Sacks I would check out EBay or wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivy_sack or you can always google it.

[FrankJ]

I use a bivy sack and a tarp most of the time & love it. The down sides are bugs, and lack of pricacy. If you have to completely zip up your bivy sack it can be confining. A well set tarp is more comfortable in most conditions than a tent (bugs & extreme cold excepted). The bivy sack gives some insurance against a poorly set tarp. YMMV

[riverwalk]

Thanks "sarge", that helps. I recognize them now, just had trouble with the term.

[ccmason]

This thread was from a while back, but I am new here and have used one - once. It was too confining for me.

I use a 1 person tent. It still only weighs 3 lbs and is just a little bigger than a bivy. You can actually sit up it. I bought a cheap one a while back just to try it out it still works fine. When it wears out I will by a good one with a vestibule...thats nice for your boots.