bivi bag reccomedations please!!

[mrs toilet digger]

i'm after a bivi bag , but i'm concerned i might feel a bit claustophobic in one,( toilet digger has an army issue one). i have looked at a few with a pole at the head. any personal reccomendations would be great!!!! it might help to know i need it for pack packing/ wild camping!!x
thanks
catherine x

 

[spandit]

Hunka XL is nice and big so you won't feel constricted but no face protection if it rains - would you be under a tarp, though?

 

[BillyBlade]

Highlander Falcon hooped bivi is a pretty decent piece of kit. Saw a bloke use one for a few days last year, and it was a good size, seemed well made and he felt it breathed well. He certainly had no condensation issues with it.

Considering they are available around the £75 mark, which is only £15-£20 more than kit like the Dutch hooped bivi goes for in grade 1 condition (which means it can have small repairs) then I think it's one case where buying brand new trumps second hand.

 

[toilet digger]

Highlander Falcon hooped bivi is a pretty decent piece of kit. Saw a bloke use one for a few days last year, and it was a good size, seemed well made and he felt it breathed well. He certainly had no condensation issues with it.

Considering they are available around the £75 mark, which is only £15-£20 more than kit like the Dutch hooped bivi goes for in grade 1 condition (which means it can have small repairs) then I think it's one case where buying brand new trumps second hand.

just to clarify it would most likely be for multi day hill walking, the falcon is certainly a very impressive shiny, but a touch heavy and mrs toilet digger does like to whinge about her sore shoulders
does anyone know of any unhooped bags with a closure and/or mosquito netting? its the thought of creepy crawlies in her bag that makes my dear lady squirm.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Not that I have seen matey, mosy nets need to be suspended some how else they just provide better grip for the bugs yo land on a nibble, what works for me is my issue bivvy with the hood bit over my bergan (lay the bivvy upside down to how you normally get in, there is plenty of room still) to give me some room around my head and still able to look out side ways, as for the bugs, jungle formula strong is my summer scent,

 

[789987]

)
does anyone know of any unhooped bags with a closure and/or mosquito netting? its the thought of creepy crawlies in her bag that makes my dear lady squirm.

RAB Assault Bivi Bag Features:

* Weight:780g
* 10000mm laminated nylon waterproof base
* Side walls maximise sleeping bag loft
* Mosquito net and glow in the dark zip pullers
* Size: 2500mm x 800mm base

 

[twisted firestarter]

+1 for the Alpkit Hunka XL

It's not only roomy but weighs in at a measly 525 grams

 

[ged]

... does anyone know of any unhooped bags with a closure and/or mosquito netting? its the thought of creepy crawlies in her bag that makes my dear lady squirm.

My Terra Nova Jupiter has a hoop but you can use it with out of course. It has both a waterproof closure and a mozzy net. It's really insect proof, as I found when I zipped on in with me once and couldn't get the bloomin' thing out no matter what I did. But it's very restrictive compared to the issue bivvy, which I would take in preference if I have plenty of room for kit.

A lightweight tent might be worth considering if creepy crawlies is the problem.

Alternatively a holiday at Center Parks.

 

[jonnie drake]

rab survival zone is made of a very decent material but its very low on features. The snugpak strato has a lot of good features though, inc a mosi net.

 

[toilet digger]

RAB Assault Bivi Bag Features:

* Weight:780g
* 10000mm laminated nylon waterproof base
* Side walls maximise sleeping bag loft
* Mosquito net and glow in the dark zip pullers
* Size: 2500mm x 800mm base

this looks the boyo. thanks chaps.

 

[mrs toilet digger]

thanks for those reccomendations, i'll have a look at those!! though it would appear toilet digger has already decided which would be best....!!x

 

[Ex member - Bilgerat]

Quite frankly I'd go fer a Hilleberg Nallo 2 over a bivi any day....

 

[mrs toilet digger]

looks very nice, but somewhat out of my price range- and rather heavy for backpacking!

 

[Ex member - Bilgerat]

Always a couple on e-bay and seem to keep their price... Hilleberg=Money...

By the time you have got the extras to keep you warm in a bivi.... You might find that the Nallo 2 (Or some other similar The Akto ?) Tent is actually warmer. (Tents with Flysheets are usually 5 - 10 degrees warmer).

? Only 1.7 KG....?? Including the bag and instructions.....

Some of the single skin Festival tents are 1.2 kg... and are only £19.00 or so... (If you get the right one)...

 

[Paul_B]

Alpkit Hunka is good but it's fabric isn't as good as the Rab Survival Zone of which it is a cheap copy. Even the hunka XL is actually about the same size as the Rab SZ so I'd always go for the Rab one. I got mine for £40 which IIRC was the same price as the ALpkit Hunka went for at the time. The XL which I'd have wanted due to my size was more so I went for the Rab original and haven't had a problem. Except for when I started to put a TAR mat inside it and that compresses my down bag so I got cold unless I slept on my back. I got a Rab storm after than as it seemed to have more volume and side walls. Still not better so I'm going back the Rab SZ with mat outside and very light groundsheet.

BTW I'd go for a bivvy with breathable fabric all around with the mat outside. The survival zone is very breathable more so than the hunka but mat inside reduces the area available to breath. Thee storm has a non-breathable base so a mat inside is no difference. It does build up a bit of moisture in wet conditions more than the survival Zone.

If I have the money for a top notch bivvy such as the Rab eVent fabric ones (which IMHO are the best out there in their respective classes - hooped and non-hooped). I'd still go for a tent. IMHO the choice between a 750g bivvy as shown above and a solo tent for the same weight and not much more then it is a no brainer to get the tent. If money is not an issue there are solo tents weighing 560g (a bit more if you swap the pegs for ones that work). Even the next lightest tent (also by Terra nova) is about 800g. A two man terra nova is less than 1kg. Then there are the solo vaude power tokee and the vaude power lizard (solo and two man respectively) all for less than 1kg!!.

Then you have the various solo tents weighing a little more at about 1.3kg of which some are pretty robust.

Assuming you are using a tarp then I'd go for the rab SZ. I have used my SZ in Lakes and Scotland without any slug or bug attacks. Midges are a problem but you can get a 150g or less (a USA cottage industry does one weighing 81g IIRC) bug net or make your own. A simple one to cover the opening to thee bivvy will be enough. Also WIlma's Nordic Summer is pretty good if you don't mind the smell of woodsmoke following you everywhere. Natural too if like me some types of insect repellent sets you off in a mass of rashes and lumps wherever the more synthetic repellent got to.

 

[Paul_B]

I don't agree with the 5-10C difference in temperature in a tent over a bivvy. If you think about it all a tent is doing is preventing windchill from sucking the heat away from inside the tent however convection isn't the only way to lose heat. If you are using a tarp and a bivvy then you effectively have a two skin shelter system which can actually be more efficient. Since you are the heat source and the mat and sleeping bag offer the insulation for your heat source. The bivvy is like the inner tent and the tarp is like the outer flysheet. The fact the bivvy bag is smaller helps to keep the heat loss down to a slower rate. You have to heat up the tent area but in the cold how can you actually do that because the two thin layers of nylon or polyester isn't known as good insulation. If it was then you'd not need a sleeping bag. Read plenty of discussions on outdoors forums on this myth about a tent being so much warmer and it usually ends up with someone with more time and knowledge than me posting link after link showing the scientific evidence (well various outdoors enthusiasts' tests and experiments on the topic). I prefer to say that everyone has their preferred shelter system and whatever works for you is great. None are better than others just different pro's and con's. Mrs Toilet Digger needs to find hers and it sounds like a bivvy is that. Now its a matter of finding the best one. That is probably a combination of weight and features. However IMHO if you are spending about £280 on a top notch Rab Bivvy then youo can pick up a Terra Nova Laser comp or Photon for close to that.

I'm a tarp and light bivvy person myself.

 

[Paul_B]

Double post. Something strange happened when I tries to post.

 

[Doc]

I have a Highlander Falcon. Small pack size, fairly low weight and I've been impressed by the robustness (no tears yet). It is also genuinely waterproof and a very discreet colour (sort of browny green). Also it has a midge net though the zips for this are fiddly.

In cold weather I have had a bit of condensation, but not an issue for 1 or 2 nights. In prolonged cold weather use I think it would make the sleeping bag a bit damp.

Highlander Falcon hooped bivi is a pretty decent piece of kit. Saw a bloke use one for a few days last year, and it was a good size, seemed well made and he felt it breathed well. He certainly had no condensation issues with it.

Considering they are available around the £75 mark, which is only £15-£20 more than kit like the Dutch hooped bivi goes for in grade 1 condition (which means it can have small repairs) then I think it's one case where buying brand new trumps second hand.

 

[Ex member - Bilgerat]

Heat loss through conduction might be more through a bivi...

All depends on size..... (And other factors)...

 

[BillyBlade]

I have a Highlander Falcon. Small pack size, fairly low weight and I've been impressed by the robustness (no tears yet). It is also genuinely waterproof and a very discreet colour (sort of browny green). Also it has a midge net though the zips for this are fiddly.

In cold weather I have had a bit of condensation, but not an issue for 1 or 2 nights. In prolonged cold weather use I think it would make the sleeping bag a bit damp.

Cheers for that Doc. I'm in the market for a new bivi, as my old survival aids one has finally died now it's past twenty years old, so good to hear a review from a happy customer.