View Full Version : AMK S.O.L. Thermal Bivvy
pcasebere
01-09-2011, 11:04
My question is one of durability and warmth.. Is the S.O.L. Thermal Bivvy (http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=146&catname=Shelter&prodname=SOL%20Thermal%20Bivvy) by Adventure Medical Kit capable of being a lightweight alternative to a traditional sleeping bag/quilt for 3-season use with the addition of a liner such as the Reactor Thermolite Liner (http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/24) by Sea-to-Summit? I ask since this bivy is reportedly waterproof and windproof, and could potentially be an alternative to carrying a tarp/tent..
"Testers deemed this waterproof, windproof, Thermolite-insulated sack the warmest of the shelters we tested." -Backpacker Magazine, Oct. 2006
What would you all say this "system" would be rated to? Better yet, has anyone tried this out, and able to share their experiences?
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I bought one of these for an emergency kit. Of course I had to play with it a little....... It is simply an "Emergency" item. If you are VERY careful you can probably get a few uses out of it. It can be easily torn if you aren't careful. It CAN be patched with duct tape if needed. I would consider it thicker and better than a space blanket but I would not use it as a bag liner nor would I use it as just a sleeping bag unless I had nothing else and it was an emergency.
I will admit that it seemed as though it would keep you warm (enough to keep you alive) in a life or death situation. My opinion would be to use it for emergencies only.
A better option may be the bivy 2.0 by the same manufacturer. I have one of those also. I can easily see using it as a warm weather bag. You can even find a few vids on youtube about it. It costs more but is more durable (with care), and it can also be patched with duct tape. As a bag liner it would have to surpass silk or cotton, although I have never used it in that manner.
I would NOT recommend that set up.
I had a 2.0: it doesn't breathe - even with the footbox open - and accumulates condensation in humid conditions, making the Thermolite I tried using in it ineffective and leaving me damp. Plus, I found it cold, even in 40-45 degree weather in a Moment - most probably because of the drawstring/hood deficiencies.
Bottom line: I was and am MUCH more satisified with the performance of my 30 degree bag (a Montbell that opens alsmost completely to a "quilt-like" spread) in 3 season conditions (i.e., above 25 degrees) than what you described and that I tried previously.
Not going to work for you.
It is an emergency bivy
and you will be sweaty within minutes and uncomfortable.
No true insulation value so if you get sweaty and wet then cold, what do you do.
I have the thermal lite-2 and I modified it so it will open up.
At least that way you can vent some if you have to use it.
Its good to maybe 55dF miserable degrees. You might be able to combine it with a
fleece bag and it might work to 45-50 but then you are up to 20 oz and that is what a golite ultra 20 weighs.
It is best used as it was designed, as a piece of emergency gear.
If you use a bivy for more than a weekend in non-winter conditions you WILL eventually want/buy a tarp. In pouring rain there's no way you're going to get into/out of a bivy without drenching the inside of your sleeping bag.
As Jack Stephenson said "The only thing that's warm when wet is a hot tub." www.warmlite.com (http://www.warmlite.com) . Buy a breathable water resistant bivy and use a tarp with it. You'll want bug netting when it gets warm, too. Better yet, get a sub 2 lb. single walled tent with a vestibule to change out of your wet gear. Look at the Lightheart Gear tent or Tarptent's Moment tent. Both are great designs for extended ultralight backpacking. Anything that's close to your body and is completely waterproof will be barely breathable, so even Gore-Tex and eVent bivys will make you damp in weather with high humidity (anything not winter in the Appalachian Mts.).
We're all still waiting for the "magic bullet" of ultralight shelters. Marketing aside, they're all limited by the laws of basic physics.
Happy hunting :).