View Full Version : Bivy Tents
tionesta72
03-09-2009, 13:24
I am relatively new to over-night hiking, but will be preparing for a 2010 thru-hike this summer. I'd like to know what what the veterans think about bivy tents. Any information would be great, thanks!
SunnyWalker
03-09-2009, 22:51
Check out Backpackinglight.com I have found articles and lots of info on bivis there. You have to do a search.
Shutterbug
03-10-2009, 17:21
I am relatively new to over-night hiking, but will be preparing for a 2010 thru-hike this summer. I'd like to know what what the veterans think about bivy tents. Any information would be great, thanks!
It probably isn't proper to use "bivy" and "tent" together. They are two different things.
I bought a bivy last year and used it in the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington. The great advantage is that it doesn't weigh much. Mine is less than 2 lb.
The disadvantge is that it provides minimal shelter. While I didn't experience heavy rain, I tried to envision how I would get in and out of the bivy in a heavy rain. I don't think it would be possible without getting the sleeping bag wet.
My conclusion was that I will use the bivy for summer weekend hikes to places I can't hang a hammock. If rain is likely, I will carry a tent or a hammock. I wouldn't recommend a bivy for a thru hike.
johnnybgood
03-10-2009, 17:39
Bivy tents are more geared for those younger and with better dexterity going in feet first . The knock on Bivys is that they are cramped with close quarters and not easy to enter or exit.
Tipi Walter
03-10-2009, 20:37
It probably isn't proper to use "bivy" and "tent" together. They are two different things.
Actually, there is something called a bivy tent. It's a bivy sack with a small hoop at the foot and a slightly larger hoop at the head. Check out the fotogs below. Back around 1985 North Face made a fine little bivy tent called the June Bug which looked a bit like the second fotog. If anyone has a photo of the June Bug, post it here!
Would I use a bivy tent? Only in an emergency.
Shutterbug
03-10-2009, 22:30
Actually, there is something called a bivy tent. It's a bivy sack with a small hoop at the foot and a slightly larger hoop at the head. Check out the fotogs below. Back around 1985 North Face made a fine little bivy tent called the June Bug which looked a bit like the second fotog. If anyone has a photo of the June Bug, post it here!
Would I use a bivy tent? Only in an emergency.
Ok, so it may be proper to use bivy and tent together, but I doubt that is what the original post was about. It seems that REI and other outfitters have signigicantly increased the number of different bivis available. All of them are listed as "Bivy" or "Bivy Sack."
This is the one I have -- http://www.rei.com/product/731431
SunnyWalker
03-12-2009, 23:34
Man I plan on using a bivi and poncho (poncho as a tarp).
mister krabs
03-13-2009, 08:54
I would consider the eureka solitaire to be a bivy tent. It's a serious compromise, the space of a bivy with the weight of a tent. It will supposedly keep you dry if somewhat confined. All things considered, they're cheap, but so are many other and IMO better options. I prefer a tarp.