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bivy sacks

Jack T

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stove

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...On another note, you do realize that link is a sleeping bag, and not a bivy, right?

Bivy's are great for mountaineering, climbing, or other times when you might just have to sleep where you're at. Otherwise, there are much more comfortable options for sleeping which are lighter weight, more comfortable, and more durable. Condensation is almost always an issue, even in the best bivy sacks.
 

jonom

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military style bivy sacks (and sleeping bags) usually have center snaps/zipper for a quick exit. you get what you pay for.

condensation is always an issue with any type of enclosure. but there are materials that are waterproof and breathable (goretex).

i use both a bivy and a tarp. the tarp is to keep dry... the bivy is for bugs and side splash. it can also be a great windblock while in a hammock. i've slept through a downpour in nothing but my bivy bag. it sucked but kept me dry. it can help in a pinch when you have nothing to pitch a tarp too.

when i used to go into the field (in the marine corps) the new guys always packed their heavy canvas tent-halves (designed to snap to another half for a two person tent). they learned really quick why all the other guys just used their poncho's as a tarp with their bivy.

also the more seams something has then the more likely it is to leak eventually. tents require more upkeep than bivy bags.
 

bote

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this may sound too easy, but get yourself a drop cloth for 4 bucks and you´re set. I have had the same one for almost a year and it is still in good condition, My last one lasted about the same.
Totally waterproof, I slept through many tropical rainstorms and it kept me and my gear 100 % dry. You can pull it out and use it as a blanket to cut the wind for you and others, you can rig up a lean to really easily. And when it goes... well, you´re out $ 3.37

9 x 12 x 2mm thick weighs and cost practically nothing

can´t beat it.

g6649.jpg


http://www.learningsea.info/product...-x-12-ft-clear-plastic-KL-E20-drop-cloth.html
 

cranberrydavid

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You gotta at least try the trash bag bivy. It's free, light, and disposable.

Tape 2 trash bags end to end and cut a slit at the top to crawl in (L-shaped if you want easier in/out).

IMO it's essential equipment for riding piggybacks in rain or cold. Warmer, drier, and easier to control in the wind than a tarp. Keeps your bag clean when sleeping near mystery muck.
Add newspapers to make it warmer and drier (it does have condensation problems). If you need to run suddenly you can cut yourself out in a second. If you put your pack in a matching bag leaned against you, you look like a pile of trash. Nobody's going to slit your throat to steal your bag...

One time I woke up with people whispering "I think there's somebody in there." "No..." "Yeah, I think it's a dead body!"
 

GutterGrayse

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They're great if you don't mind being stuck in one spot. Yes, it keeps you dry, but it also keeps you in one position. I prefer a tarp and a rope. Then I have a lightweight tent effect.
 

LeeevinKansas

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bring a trash bag liek some other people mentioned. Ive only been on 1 trip but i foudn that the big black outside lawn and garden trashbags work great. use em as ponchos, use em to throw ur sack in when its raining, or snowing. For a tent i just find a low hanging branch and throw it over the top (after slitting down one side) and lay a few stones on the sides. If u cant find a low hanging branch then stick soem branches in the middle on the ends and let it hang like ur traditional tent or watever. its a cheap ass bivy if u ask me but works.
 

dirtyfacedan

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I use one. Single hoop. Good bug screen in summer, excellent lightweight rain shelter in spring and fall. There are condensation issues in the foot box, so it needs to be promptly air dried. They are nice and light, but can be a little tight, like a body bag!. I swear by them. Much lighter than a tent.
 

wizehop

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Ya I'm with Dirtyfacedan on this one. Nice and compact, roles up fast in a pinch with sleeping bag and all. I keep a tarp too if setting up camp in the rain is nessesary. A few weeks ago I was sleeping on frozen ground..as the night went on my body heat warmed the ground beneath me and it turned into mud. Having a waterproof barrier between me and the mud made morning a little nicer. For the winter it was nice, I'd throw everything inside with me and seal it right up.
Im all about quick packing times and just having to role and go makes life pretty sweet, even when your not in a hurry....and it weighs nothing. PLus if your in a tight space or on a shity ride..say suicide intermodal and night falls, you can climb in your bivy, drink a bit of wiskey and sleep safely under the grates..all cozy and warm.....ahhh nothin better...
 

Bendixontherails

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I carry a bivy, and there's nothing like it. being able to lay down in a rainstorm and not be wet or cold, even without other shelter kicks ass.

BUT, you absolutely get what you pay for. cheap plastic will gaurantee major breath condensation and a moist, if not downright wet morning. gore-tex, while a little on the heavy side is the only way to go in my opinion. You just can't beat the bivy bag from the military's Modular Sleep System (MSS) GORE-TEX BIVY SLEEPING BAG COVER BIVEY NEW Military MSS - eBay (item 350328611424 end time Apr-13-10 19:14:52 PDT)

it is seam sealed, breathable, yet completely waterproof. Personally I choose to carry the whole MSS system, since the mummy bags snap together and guarantee you're just plain not gonna freeze. at 8lbs, it is a tad on the heavy side, but no worse than you'll get if you try packing around a small tent and a regular sleeping bag. and it's durable. You would have to want to destroy it. I'll take that weight, cause I'm hard on my gear. this system and my poncho (military OD) can't be beat for mobility, versatility, and durability.

Since it is 3/4 zip down the side, and has big-toothed zippers, I find it pretty easy to get out of in a hurry. Certainly no more difficult than any mummy bag. just grab the fabric on either side of the zipper and pull them apart. have done several 'emergency' wakeups (i.e.- asshole in my camp) and haven't busted the zipper yet!
My only complaints are: I wish it were a tad bigger, since I'm a big guy. And you can't take your grip in with you like a tent, but that doesn't matter all that much to me since my bag doubles as my pillow.

they are expensive, and you'll pay $300 for a used one at any surplus store, IF he's got any. But keep your eye peeled and you never know. I got my whole system, new in the bag, for $90 at a gun show! I know that sounds ridiculously expensive, but it's not- it'll be the last you buy.
 
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Mr. Expendable

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does anyone know where to get materials to make one because it seem that the cheep ones are heavy and bulky and the compact light weight ones are 100 to 300 and id rather make my own anyways so i can modify it to the point where i can peg it down and sting it up with parchord into somewhat of a small tent when i can.... either that or a really cheap one that won't weigh me down
 

steelcitybrew

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I was looking into that exact same thing a little while ago and i found this guy that makes bivies out of Tyvek. If you read ti he has different versions and modifications he has made to make it better. He tests all his shit, even going to the through the trouble to send users of the forum different and current versions of his bivies for free, just to review the performance of it. Seems very solid.

Im not sure if you can get any cheaper then this type of project. Spray adhesive an exacto knife and Tyvek.

Make Your Own Gear
 

ayron

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i met a guy once that had a BDU bivy that kept his bag in it with his sleeping mat and blanket, so he had an instand bed for any occasoin (except for biringing a gal "home") that could be rolled up nicley in a flash when he needed to bounce. but like he and everyone else said, its fuckin expensive. with that said if given the chance id totaly rock that over my current; mat in the pack, bag straped outside along with two tarps, which is good dont get me wrong but id much rather have a goretex bivy that simplifies everything.

btw does anyone know where to buy tyvek sheets? or goretex? Stealcitybew's link got me interested lol
 

wizehop

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I think you can get thats stuff at most places like Home depot...although I love by bivy when it comes to hard core rain you need a tarp too. I couldn't find mine when leaving for a trip last week but was like what ever..boy was that a mistake.

All was good on my journey..first day riding in the sun..camped out by the yard all was jolly. About 1am in the morn it starts fucking pouring..and it pours all fucking night and the next day. Normally my bivy keeps off the rain. Only thing was I has the zipper on the wrong side, so the flap that normally covers the zipper from the rain was instead scooping it into my bivy.
So I'm all like its all good I'm protected, but after 30 mins to an hour theres a puddles in my bivy. I had all my shit in the bottom of my bivy with me and it was okay but up front was a different story.
Now this is why just a bivy is bad...and I know now. It was raining so hard that if I unzipped my bivy to fix things id get soaked even worse. Long story short I was trapped in there until the rain let up before I could really do anything. Sure I rolled over but fact of the matter was I could not change into dry close or anything because Id have to get out off the bivy.
Any how by morning the rain didn't let up and I got pist at lying in my damp half soaked bivy and sleeping bad so I just got up and spent the next two hours walking in the rain looking for a laundry mat in a town without one.

Moral of the story bivys are great for sleeping on a train ext but if your camping by all means bring a tarp so you can give yourself some room to move if its gonna rain for more than a couple hours.
 
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Dishka8643

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In reference to the trash bag bivy having condensation issues -

I was told a while ago that If you wear a trash bag as a vest under your outer layer of clothing, your body heat will make the air on the outside of the trash bag the same temperature as the air on the inside of the trash bag, and this will prevent condensation from forming. I've used this method before, and it works well. I suppose the same principle can be applied to a trash bag bivy sack. You would just need some way to insulate the outside of the bag. If you throw a ton of leaves/ insulating material over you, that might help keep the condensation down.
 
M

mittens

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btw does anyone know where to buy tyvek sheets? or goretex? Stealcitybew's link got me interested lol


For Gore-Tex I would start looking at a bulk fabric store. If you look in a phone book for fabric shops you can probably find one. there are like 9 stores here in Lethbridge. I quickly looked at the goretex web site but didn't find anything useful, but If you look harder than i did, you might.
Waterproof and Breathable GORE-TEX® Outerwear - GORE-TEX

I've never gone shopping for Tyvek, but we use it at work sometimes, and from what I can tell its sold in 9 foot roles. I'm sure you could go to the contractor section of any hardware store to find out where to get some. But, unless your planning to make some bivys for your all friends too, You might just try going to a residential job site with a box of donuts, and trade for some.
 

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