Can't choose a bivi bag for the Alps
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Believe me, I spent hours searching for reviews, threads, and watching videos, and I am still so undecided about what bivy bag to buy.
Provided that it's going to last, I can spend some big money on such a piece of equipment. Thanks all for your help. |
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I like the BD/Bibler hooped bivy - but without the hoop: |
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I'm not sure if there's any real validity to saving 400 grams. I've been using a bivvy for a while and it kinda sucks. Usually amounts to soggy sleepless nights and a lot of claustrophobia. Definietly recommend actually getting into one before you buy it. That being said Integral Designs makes some seriously high quality, lightweight, rugged alpine bivvys and I would recommend checking out there product line. |
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Max Forbes wrote:I'm not sure if there's any real validity to saving 400 grams. I've been using a bivvy for a while and it kinda sucks. Usually amounts to soggy sleepless nights and a lot of claustrophobia. Definietly recommend actually getting into one before you buy it. That being said Integral Designs makes some seriously high quality, lightweight, rugged alpine bivvys and I would recommend checking out there product line.Well, it's also a matter of being able to set up a bivy when it is really hard to find a spot - this is the idea, at least. To set up a tent requires a bit of space and I feel like - I could be wrong - with a bivy bag I could just use the very minimum required for my own self. Also, 600 grams is actually the very highest limit, I have seen several bags that are 300 grams or less... but of course I'm unsure about their features. Last, I also actually like the idea, when the weather is fine, of sleeping with my eyes under the very sky. Despite being in a tent allows you to be intimate with the wilderness way more than staying in any hut (there are plenty here on the alps, and I don't like 'em), a tent is still a tiny filter between your senses and the rest of the beautiful nature. OK, I am digressing. Sorry. :D |
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I agree that they are definietly the way to go on nice nights, however, my resentment is the nights wheh the weather actually does go to shit. It's really something that varies a lot person to person |
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I'm not sure I've ever seen a bivy sac that I would be able to change clothes in or store a pack in. My OR Highland bivy has served me well over the last few years, but it is definitely not something I have a ton of extra room in. |
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A lot of my points got raised as I wrote this. |
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How do you really plan on using this, and is it necessary? Is this for emergency bivy on route? Snow? |
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I'm not sure you really want a bivi bag. |
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Ashort wrote:How do you really plan on using this, and is it necessary? Is this for emergency bivy on route? Snow? I've spent some times in the alps, and when not staying in huts I just slept under a tarp supported by my trekking poles. The huts are strategically placed so that you never really have to camp out. Why not just stay in the huts and carry your 1kg tent for when you want to camp out? If you are really trying to cut weight then get a light tarp.I do really plan to use this, yes. :) I don't like huts as I wrote above. They are crowded, stinky, expensive. They spoil most of the fun of going to the hills, to me. I like to have my intimacy with the environment. And, When I reach the peak and get back home, I find it to be way more valuable than having done the same climb with the help of a hut Carrying all of your stuff, food, and gear, not having any paid help from anybody. That's what I'm about and that's why yes, I will use this thing. For what matters the bothy... well... I am actually searching for something to sleep into and that is thought for that very purpose. Thanks |
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Mountain Laurel Designs has two bivies that are nice, an eVent and a superlight one that seems aimed more at thru-hikers using it in concert with a tarp. I have the eVent one, it's nice, light, and none of those doodads that others have (like hoops) that cost weight.
I don't take it out when I expect weather; I use it more to keep my bag dry when sleeping on snow, and don't zip it over my head to avoid pumping tons of condensation into it. |
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Febs wrote: I do really plan to use this, yes. :) I don't like huts as I wrote above. They are crowded, stinky, expensive. They spoil most of the fun of going to the hills, to me. I like to have my intimacy with the environment. And, When I reach the peak and get back home, I find it to be way more valuable than having done the same climb with the help of a hut Carrying all of your stuff, food, and gear, not having any paid help from anybody. That's what I'm about and that's why yes, I will use this thing. For what matters the bothy... well... I am actually searching for something to sleep into and that is thought for that very purpose. ThanksYeah, I get it. That is why I carried all my stuff, camped most nights, but stayed in the occasional hut. I too like to feel the connection with nature. Unfortunately I found the alps to not be very wild or natural. Take your 1Kg tent and save your money for more trips, that is pretty light for a shelter. That bothy bag thing seems miserable if you were staying out multiple days. If you really want to go light get a tarp, throw in some mosquito netting if you expect it to get buggy. What is your intended use for the bivy/shelter you seek? What do you want it to do that your tent cannot? |
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Really you don't find the Alps to be "natural"? Well, in some parts they are overcrowded, but in some other, gosh, they are pretty wild. |
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I used one twice on the Croz Spur and on Les Droites I was always surprised when I woke up in that thing & was alive. Claustrophobia X 10... |
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If you want all the comfort features you're listing (the ability to change clothes, some protection from bugs), just lug your tent up with you. A bivy will give you none of that. |
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jaredj wrote:If you want all the comfort features you're listing (the ability to change clothes, some protection from bugs), just lug your tent up with you. A bivy will give you none of that. Your posts read like someone who has thought a lot about climbing but hasn't done much of it, esp w.r.t. the rigidity you are approaching this topic. Please be careful, success on big stuff isn't like success on little stuff. No offense, and please disregard if inaccurate.This is a pretty awesome summary. Ha ha ha. |
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jaredj wrote:If you want all the comfort features you're listing (the ability to change clothes, some protection from bugs), just lug your tent up with you. A bivy will give you none of that. Your posts read like someone who has thought a lot about climbing but hasn't done much of it, esp w.r.t. the rigidity you are approaching this topic. Please be careful, success on big stuff isn't like success on little stuff. No offense, and please disregard if inaccurate.Thanks for your comment. This is way more related to camping than to climbing in any way, and I started the topic by stating in bold that I never used any bivy so far. That's why I was asking for suggestions. In a review of some bag (I don't remember what) the user was happy because the big space allowed him/her to do those basic things inside of the bag in case of emergency. |
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Febs wrote: In a review of some bag (I don't remember what) the user was happy because the big space allowed him/her to do those basic things inside of the bag in case of emergency.No such thing as a big space in a bivvy bag, that would be a tent. |
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I have slept in a bivy sack exactly twice. One time I used the kind with a pole to keep it away from your face. I liked that feature. The other time I just needed protection from hellacious winds in the Virgin River Gorge for one night on a road trip. I own two myself, neither of which I have used. To me they are instruments of the Devil to be used only in the Apocalypse. I used a very nice micro tent in the Wind Rivers that is the bare minimum that I would camp in now. It weighed next to nothing. Go with one of those and you will be infinitely happier. |
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Here's my take: |
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Thank you very much for your very detailed and helpful reply, I'll check all of your links throughfully. |