bivvy bags
- Thread starter yello
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Redmountduo
Veteran
- Location
- Hucknall. Nottingham
Doubtful in the uk.
I have used them like this in France but always had a bag with me. Even when day temps have been 30+ the nights can be cold.
I have used them like this in France but always had a bag with me. Even when day temps have been 30+ the nights can be cold.
I have used one with my clothes on as a semi emergency measure when mountaineering, got stuck halfway down a mountain when night came and we dropped and broke the torch. It was grim. Condensation was a problem on the inside of the bag and I ended up very damp and uncomfortable. It was a quality Goretex bag with a slightly furry lining which is meant to reduce condensation.
I have had happier experiences with bivvy bags too but would always use as a last resort compared to a lightweight tent.
The one situation they do excel in is the rare guaranteed good weather overnight (High pressure system in place, great forecast or in other countires than Britain with more reliably predictable weather) and then you can watch the stars from the top of a mountain. But all too often, that isn't how it ends up!
I have had happier experiences with bivvy bags too but would always use as a last resort compared to a lightweight tent.
The one situation they do excel in is the rare guaranteed good weather overnight (High pressure system in place, great forecast or in other countires than Britain with more reliably predictable weather) and then you can watch the stars from the top of a mountain. But all too often, that isn't how it ends up!
thomasthompson19
New Member
I have here. A man using a Bivvy Bag. Here's the story...
listen ...
Several years ago, I was struggling up a mountain side laden with a pack full of everything I 'might' need for an overnight stop, when I met an older guy, lying in a Bivvy bag on a gentle slope, leaning against a large stone supping on a brew. 'You okay?' I asked concerned that he was injured in some way. 'Oh fine, couldn't be better, just waiting for the sun to go down and to count the stars'.
It looked like it would be a very cool night with a good breeze, but he continued to tell me that he was warm inside his bag and he often came and Bivvied down at busy beauty spots, long after the crowds had gone home, to experience the solitude and simple pleasures of such vantage points.
As I walked away from this very happy and obviously comfortable guy, I began to add up what was in my sack and mentally 'take out and weigh' everything I hadn't, or wasn't, going to use on that 2 day trip. Then I read The Book of the Bivvy by Ronald Turn bull and my life changed forever!
His rule is you should spend one night indoors for every night you spend in a bivvybag, as there are times when the breath ability isn't quite what it could be, and you are left with a 'damp' experience. However I've now done several week long trips with a tarp and a bivvy bag and each time I smile at the memory of the moment when I realized that carrying less is so much more fun. It's more flexible and provides greater views' than the inside of a tent which, when you stare up at the nylon mesh, could be pitched anywhere. Try it! Ronald is quite correct, it puts the fun and injects the youth back into your life, and you get to count the stars. Honest!!
Emergency Bivvy
listen ...
Several years ago, I was struggling up a mountain side laden with a pack full of everything I 'might' need for an overnight stop, when I met an older guy, lying in a Bivvy bag on a gentle slope, leaning against a large stone supping on a brew. 'You okay?' I asked concerned that he was injured in some way. 'Oh fine, couldn't be better, just waiting for the sun to go down and to count the stars'.
It looked like it would be a very cool night with a good breeze, but he continued to tell me that he was warm inside his bag and he often came and Bivvied down at busy beauty spots, long after the crowds had gone home, to experience the solitude and simple pleasures of such vantage points.
As I walked away from this very happy and obviously comfortable guy, I began to add up what was in my sack and mentally 'take out and weigh' everything I hadn't, or wasn't, going to use on that 2 day trip. Then I read The Book of the Bivvy by Ronald Turn bull and my life changed forever!
His rule is you should spend one night indoors for every night you spend in a bivvybag, as there are times when the breath ability isn't quite what it could be, and you are left with a 'damp' experience. However I've now done several week long trips with a tarp and a bivvy bag and each time I smile at the memory of the moment when I realized that carrying less is so much more fun. It's more flexible and provides greater views' than the inside of a tent which, when you stare up at the nylon mesh, could be pitched anywhere. Try it! Ronald is quite correct, it puts the fun and injects the youth back into your life, and you get to count the stars. Honest!!
Emergency Bivvy
I made a special trip to Tenerife a couple of years ago at new moon to bivvy up by the observatory, just a goretex bivvy bag and all my clothes, hoping for an overwhelming sparkly sky just as I remember as a child.Alves said:
I found:
- it was stunningly cold. Ok it was at about 8,000', but still well above freezing.
- the stars were there in abundance, but they don't look the same through Old Person's Glasses.
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
I would take at the very least a lightweight summer bag for use with my bivvy bag. Even most summer nights the temperature will drop to a level to where you start feeling a bit cold.
Cromcruaich
Well-Known Member
What really is the difference in weight between an ultralightweight tent and your standard bivvie bag - 400g? Take a pee more often to account for the weight difference.
hubbike
Senior Member
- Location
- Edinburgh, Scotland
thomasthompson19 said:
I had a similar experience when I discovered this great little book. got a bag and walked the 100mile southdown's way in 2 and a half days sleeping in the bag. And for walking I think its a great option.
there was a guy in the book who uses an opened out old fertilizer bag as both a cape in the day (instead of a jacket) and a makeshift bivvy bag at night (with no sleeping bag, he reckoned extra clothes for daytime was more useful)
However, on a bike I think a lightweight tent is a much better idea because extra weight makes little difference when you are carrying a weeks worth of food and spares/repair kit.
I'm pleased to hear that some do use just a bivvy bag (or fertilser bag!). Makes me think it is do-able as an option.
I'm looking to travel ultra-light. Certainly no 'weeks worth of food'!! Maybe the odd bag of haribo might sneak into my bar bag but that's it.
I was thinking of a bivvy bag as a 'just in case' option on LEL, so lightweight andsmall tiny pack size was preferable.
hubbike said:
I'm looking to travel ultra-light. Certainly no 'weeks worth of food'!! Maybe the odd bag of haribo might sneak into my bar bag but that's it.
I was thinking of a bivvy bag as a 'just in case' option on LEL, so lightweight and
andym said:
I haven't used one with a bike but you'd simply peg some lines out to the other side of the upside down bike. Somebody did a ride report on here using a similiar method, though there were 3 of them.
