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  1. #1

    Question Bivy or Small Tent?

    Planning for my thru-hike and it's a pretty clear question: bivy or tent? I'm looking at a bivy to cut down on weight but I'm not sure I'm completely comfortable with the idea of living in a modified sack. Has anyone ever thru-hiked with a bivy? Should I go for a lightweight one-person tent instead?
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  2. #2
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Well i will give it a rest... you are new, and I went with bivy at first, ... if you dont do your homework its somewhere between a chicken oven bag & a body bag... do yourself a little favor, and please do not take it personally... dig deep into this site, tons of information here. Please do not buy one until you feel you have done the right thing.

    2nd thought - after you buy one ... sleep under a tree in the back yard,, have family visit you at odd hours. trust me.
    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 09-22-2013 at 19:44.
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    Some tents, though expensive, can be about 1 lb, mine 17oz, even less without bugnetting, what is the weight savings of a bivy?

  4. #4

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    http://www.rei.com/product/810038/msr-ac-bivy

    This was the bivy I was looking at, weighing in at 1 lb.

    I am on a budget so I'd like to keep expenses down but what kind of tent do you have?
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  5. #5

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    You need a good sized tarp to go along with a bivy - other wise you can't get in or out when it's raining with out getting all wet. You also need protection from bugs. So, by the time your all done with the accessories, your up to the weight of a tent - or more and it can be a lot more trouble to get all set up.

    A bivy can be useful in some situations - I own several - but rarely use them and never on a long hike.
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    Zpack heximid.

    http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/hexamid.shtml

    Again it's not cheap but it's a tent and about a lb.

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    A nice tarp and seperate bug net work for me most of the time. Cheap and versitile.
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  8. #8
    Registered User Tuckahoe's Avatar
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    I've never thru-hiked...

    But what are you hoping to get out of a bivy? The thougnt of living for 4 to 6 months in a sack like that I think would drive me mad, especially after days of rain.

    I think that you would be better served by a tent or a tarp. Some will even be close in price to the bivy you are looking at.

    I use to have a Lightheart Gear Solo tent. Very nice and roomy 1 person tent and with a 1lbs 11 ounce listed weight.

    Check out zpacks.co m as well as there are a few tarps and shelters that are well under a pound.
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    Look at Tarptent, six moon designs, Bearpaw Designs. You can get a good lightweight one person tent tent for the cost of the bivy you are looking at and with a weight of maybe 8 ounces more. You'll be a lot more comfortable.

  10. #10

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    Thank you all for the excellent feedback. I've already had doubts on the bivy, so I think I'm going with a lightweight, one-person tent. Please, keep posting the shelters you've used as I'm still pretty new to it all.
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    Registered User Tuckahoe's Avatar
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    How easy would it be for you get to the Cincinnati REI? REI has tent rentals, so why not plan a couple over nighters and try out a few tents? This will atleast expose you to the more mainstream tents from larger manufacturers.

    Like i said, I used to use a Solo from Lightheart gear. A little larger than most 1 person tents, so I found that it had plenty of room for myself and my gear. Was designed to use your trekking poles as the tent poles.

    Others mostly smaller cottage manufactures with good reputations also include (I have not bought from these folks)

    Tarptent.com
    Sixmoondesign.com
    MountainLaureldesigns.com
    Bearpawwd.com (bear paw wilderness design)
    Last edited by Tuckahoe; 09-22-2013 at 20:59.
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  12. #12
    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    I don't recall seeing one bivy on my thru this year.
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    I would think long and hard before using a bivy on an AT thru. I would have many nights including rain under my belt before committing. While I am a huge fan of UL, don't fall into the trap of sub optimizing on weight. Now, have said that, on western trails I believe a bivy/tarp combo may be the ideal setup and is what I used for years. However, now that I'm primarily hiking the At or similiar, I made a very small one person bug inner and mid tarp out of cuben that weighs about 18 oz including stakes. It would be my choice for an AT hike, any season. Look here, it is closest commercially available shelter to what I made.
    http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com...roducts_id=137

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    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AttorneyAtLunch View Post
    http://www.rei.com/product/810038/msr-ac-bivy

    This was the bivy I was looking at, weighing in at 1 lb.

    I am on a budget so I'd like to keep expenses down but what kind of tent do you have?
    How much are you budgeting for the entire thru-hike? Including gear, transportation to/from the trail ends, emergencies, etc.?
    Watch the for sale listing here at WhiteBlaze. Proven gear suitable for your thru-hike comes up for sale all the time.
    Tents that are set up outer fly first and the inner tent attached to the fly will keep the inner tent dry much better than the older style inner tent first and fly attached after the inner tent is up. TarpTents set up this way. Two doors, on the long sides of the tent are more user friendly than a single door on the short end. One, or two, vestibules large enough for you sit in and cook, etc. in bad weather are more than worth a few extra ounces. This will be your home for 6 months. Choose wisely.

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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Malto View Post
    I would think long and hard before using a bivy on an AT thru. I would have many nights including rain under my belt before committing. While I am a huge fan of UL, don't fall into the trap of sub optimizing on weight. Now, have said that, on western trails I believe a bivy/tarp combo may be the ideal setup and is what I used for years. However, now that I'm primarily hiking the At or similiar, I made a very small one person bug inner and mid tarp out of cuben that weighs about 18 oz including stakes. It would be my choice for an AT hike, any season. Look here, it is closest commercially available shelter to what I made.
    http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com...roducts_id=137
    Just curious... why would you use a tarp/bivy combo out west, and not on the AT or similar trails?

  16. #16
    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chall View Post
    Just curious... why would you use a tarp/bivy combo out west, and not on the AT or similar trails?
    rain...........
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    You need a good sized tarp to go along with a bivy - other wise you can't get in or out when it's raining with out getting all wet. You also need protection from bugs. So, by the time your all done with the accessories, your up to the weight of a tent - or more and it can be a lot more trouble to get all set up.
    You throw enough money at it and you'll get all that under a lb. But yeah with OP being on a budget, it would probably be tough.
    Last edited by Davos; 09-23-2013 at 13:22.

  18. #18
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chall View Post
    Just curious... why would you use a tarp/bivy combo out west, and not on the AT or similar trails?
    Quote Originally Posted by ChinMusic View Post
    rain...........
    ...and bugs...and more rain...and more bugs...then some more rain...and the real bug swarms.
    According to my daughter in Boone, NC, from May through the first half of July there were a few days when it din't rain.

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  19. #19
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    Take a look at the Tarp Tent Contrail. Its very light and you can often find them used for $125.00 or so.
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    I started southbound last year with a Tarptent Contrail and then switched out to a bivy (Black Diamond Twilight) when the temperatures dropped. I preferred the tent in warm weather (above 35 degrees at night), and was really happy to have the bivy when it got cold. You can manage to use a bivy without a tarp and still keep things dry - I did. That said, it's tricky. If you do go with a bivy, then realize that every time you sleep in it when the temperature is above freezing at night you'll wake up with considerable condensation wetness on your sleeping bag.

    I got into the habit of packing up the bivy with my sleeping pad (Neoair) inside of it each morning. The sleeping pad stayed in the bivy for the majority of the hike. Most nights, especially in shelters, I would just sleep on top of the bivy/pad combo.

    Was really happy with both the Contrail and the Twilight. If I were to do things again I'd probably start with just a tarp and bug netting and switch to the bivy a little later than I did (had some warm, wet nights when I wished I had the tent).

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