View Full Version : Bivy sacks on the trail?
no direction home
01-03-2012, 10:04
I was thinking of trying to use a bivy sack as my shelter during my thru hike in combination with a poncho and my trecking polls to cover my face/pack and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and would recommend/not recommend doing this. It seems like a good system but I wasn't sure if there are any horror stories lurking out there from other thru hikers. I'd hate to get a few days out and find out that it's a pretty terrible shelter for the trail
Tom Murphy
01-03-2012, 10:36
A poncho/tarp and a bivy make a great UL shelter. Practically cowboy camping.
Things to consider:
do you practice very good site selection?
does your poncho/tarp provide enough protection to avoid rain splatter onto the bivy OR does the bivy material handle rain splatter well?
plastic or tylek ground cloth?
what is your bug protection? will you be comfortable in the bivy if the bugs drive you into the bivy?
are you claustoprobic?
Poncho tarps don't provide huge coverage in rainstorms; are you talking about a straight poncho like an Integral Designs or the like, or perhaps a specialized poncho like the Gatewood Cape? Do you plan to sleep in shelters as the norm (given this site I'm assuming an unspecified thru-hike to be on the A.T. ...) with the poncho used less frequently?
I started on the AT with a Gatewood Cape and a very light bivy, but since I had an early start (late Feb 2010) there were just lots and lots of blowdowns. Before I got to the Smokies I swapped by mail for a tent and rain jacket as I didn't want to put at risk both my only rain gear and rain shelter, crawling under blowdowns with a somewhat loose poncho flopping about. In more normal conditions that shouldn't be a problem, however.
Bug protection is indeed a factor, though for my particular year and time of year I was hiking, bugs weren't too much of an issue. In areas where there are significant bugs buzzing about, I'd definitely prefer to carry a light enclosed tent.
So hard to predict how something like this will work for someone else; try it out on a shakedown trip, and imagine yourself doing it for months (if not using shelters a lot) to include some in buggy conditions and/or in rain storms.
Slo-go'en
01-03-2012, 13:01
It can be done, but trust me, you'll be much happier in a tent. The first heavy rain with a lot of wind will convince you of that real quick!
I was thinking of trying to use a bivy sack as my shelter during my thru hike in combination with a poncho and my trecking polls to cover my face/pack and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and would recommend/not recommend doing this. It seems like a good system but I wasn't sure if there are any horror stories lurking out there from other thru hikers. I'd hate to get a few days out and find out that it's a pretty terrible shelter for the trail
B.H. (Before Hammocking :D) - Lots of experience - bugs, muddy water splashing back under the poncho... - do yourself a favor and get a "real" tarp or have someone custom build a double wide poncho for you (I like Mountain Laurel Designs' ridgeline hood design, and have contemplated having him build me a solo grace tarp with a hood in it so that it would make a viable shelter which could also be used as a poncho).
If I didn't get into hammocking, I'd be looking at trying to get a Gatewood Cape from Six Moon designs made to my spec. with a velcro attachment for a netting skirt like the one that they have on their Wild Oasis tarp.
http://sixmoondesigns.com/index.php/packs?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_smd.tpl&product_id=39&category_id=8
Nice! It comes in three colors now. (get the brown one ;)).
Wind changes, canopy bucking with strong winds, difficult stake placements, and crawling things (mainly ticks with Lyme disease), plus what I've already stated are reasons I decided to get off the ground.
I've used my poncho (a standard MLD design, 9.5 feet long and 56 (I think) inches wide) to cover my hammock for short trips, but I have to pitch the hammock high and tight to the poncho to get even adequate coverage without my bug net (the bottom of the net would get soaked, because sometimes the bottom of my sleeping bag, which fits around my hammock, gets wet in strong winds).
The weight of my hammock gear approaches that of a tarp-tent solo setup, but it is, after all, off the ground. :)
A note about ponchos, especially silnylon ones - they flap in the wind (and can cause you to get blown over), require thoughtful use (I used to tuck the back corners of mine under my pack belt in wind to keep the sides from blowing open), and stick to skin (which is very unpleasant). They also don't breathe, so in hot weather you end up giving up trying to use it (once it and you are soaked anyhow), and strip it off and stuff it into an outside pocket of your pack until you get to your campsite, whereupon you will set it up, already soaked, where the rain (still falling, if I know Mr. Murphy) will knock all of that nice moisture down on you, forcing you to get into that bivy sack (which will be insufferably hot - remember, it's summer and raining, so you took off your poncho).
Suddenly, it doesn't seem like such a good idea (at least not on the AT in summer, when there are better choices for shelter). :)
The Wild Oasis and a light rain jacket and rain skirt (or kilt, if you prefer) are starting to look better and better.
daddytwosticks
01-03-2012, 17:41
When I go on short hikes in warmer weather and plan on using the shelters, I take a poncho tarp and a bug bivy. Works great, very light and flexible for me. Any other time, I'll take something more weather proof and enclosed. :)