bevy sac-the alternative to a tent, hammock, or tarp

[Mad Max]

One alternative to a tent, hammock, bridge, trap, or building is a called a bevy sac. I haven't met a lot of people out side of the military or survivalist type that seem to be aware of what a bevy sac is, and I am the only person I know who has one. I think they are a great option for any one on the road so I will share.

A bevy sac is a water proof sac that is made to go over your sleeping bag. It's not attached to the sleeping bag, it is it's own thing. It basically looks like a really thin sleeping bag with a hood. Many bevy sacs are liter then tents, do not need to be staked down, and do not stick up off of the ground. The bag thing about a bevy sac is that you do not have a lot of room to move around. But mine is pretty big and I was able to use my back pack as a pillow inside of my sac. I am skinny and I was also able to change my clothes while inside of it as well. Mine came out of the "army sleep system II" and is made of gore-tex.

Since the average person doesn't know what a bevy sac is the don't normally assume there is a person sleeping in one when they see it. I know this first hand as I have had people try to move me thinking that my bevy sac was a tarp. Even though I was only talking about the bevy, the link I have provided is a review of the entire army sleep system that is slightly older then the one I have. The bevy sac is the camo part on top. Notice that while the whole sleep system is about 9 pounds or so, the bevy is actually really lite. I hope this helps some one out there who is getting there gear together.

 

[travelin]

it is either bivy or bivvy.

the ECWS sleeping system has been talked about extensively on this board.

 

[Mad Max]

Oh, sorry. I spelled it wrong and didn't see anything come in the search on forum. Well, I'm glad people know about it.

 

[Rob Nothing]

This thing is great. Worth the investment all the way if you think you'll be wanting to sleep anywhere outside the city. Grabbed a used one for 60 bucks at the surplus. Little while later I finally came to a point I was sick of carrying extra weight, so left everything but some important papers in a ziplock and an extra raincoat and beanie folded in with the sleep system, strapped over my back. Good sleep is it.

 

[outskirts]

Oh plenty of people on here are familiar with them, and some of us use them. Some folks on here, such as soundpath and wizehop use them all the time. Others don't like 'em much. I have one and use it, the shell is military issue and I bought it from Highwayman, the bags are knock offs but work well. What I like about the bivy is that I can adjust the weight by which bags I do or don't snap in, or in warm weather I can just crawl between the bags and use the inner bag/bags like self contained extra sleeping pads. However I still like to have a tarp so I have a dry area to camp under as opposed to being trapped in only a bivy to stay dry when the rain is pouring down. But if you are on the move a lot and like flexibility, one of these military bivys is the way to go.

I once made a "Frankenstein bag" out of the two bivy bags snapped together in a way that made a double sleeping bag. To this I snapped the real military shell to cover the top bag and the shitty nylon knock off shell to cover the bag on the bottom. This was the result of some on the spot improvisation, my friend who was with me didn't have a sleeping bag and the temp dropped to thirty degrees that night. It was a weird looking bag with separate foot/leg spaces but her and I were still able to snuggle up and stay warm that night.

 

[Mad Max]

This thing is great. Worth the investment all the way if you think you'll be wanting to sleep anywhere outside the city. Grabbed a used one for 60 bucks at the surplus. Little while later I finally came to a point I was sick of carrying extra weight, so left everything but some important papers in a ziplock and an extra raincoat and beanie folded in with the sleep system, strapped over my back. Good sleep is it.

I love mine to. I carry the whole system when I travel just in case I get stuck outside in the winter. The whole system is pretty bulky, but I don't have to worry about freezing at night so for me it's worth the trade off.

 

[outskirts]

The bivy cover works really well teamed up with other bags like the snugpak jungle sleeping bag.
The snugpak has a wider foot area but it will work and the bivy cover provides not just another layer but a waterproof & windproof one which the jungle bag lacks. A good combo for lightweight travel in warm & wet climates.

 

[Mad Max]

The bivy cover works really well teamed up with other bags like the snugpak jungle sleeping bag.
The snugpak has a wider foot area but it will work and the bivy cover provides not just another layer but a waterproof & windproof one which the jungle bag lacks. A good combo for lightweight travel in warm & wet climates.

Nice. I've always wondered about some of the snugpak stuff.

 

[Thx]

I used to build kind of a "poor man's" bivvy.

Put a tarp down for insulation from the cold, wet ground and to keep some of the crawling bugs off of you, set your bag on that and then take two or three sticks about three feet long and put them in the ground above your head like long stakes...

Then, just take a piece of dark, breathable cloth and set that over the sticks and your head; nice and airy and no bugs.

Now, if it starts raining, I put a couple more stakes at my feet and sides to make an air space, I have a $2 plastic painter's tarp that I spread over the whole works, but leave one end open for fresh air.

Light, cheap and can be gotten or improvised almost anywhere.

Thx

 

[elioayla]

I used to have one but it got ripped up by raccoons. my fault - left food in it

 

[xpolx]

yeah i couldnt inagine not having a bivvy these days had mine 12 years and its still going strong so anyone wonedering about how expebsive they can be they more than pay for themselves,