Anyone have any good ideas on wether to choose between a bivouac compact tent like device or a hammock and tarp set up? Also preference and beat value for money? Thanks guys.
Depends on what you are doing and where you are doing it.
If you are only spending nights in wooded areas a hammock and tarp setup would be better, especially in heavily wooded man made/planted woods as it's often tough to find flat level pitches that are out of the way.
If on the other hand there is a chance you'll be camping out in areas you can't guarantee will have strong trees the right sort of distance apart then a tarp and bivvy bag setup might be better.
There is also personal preference as well, some prefer hammocks others the ground.
For a cheap fairly light weight bivvy setup i'd look towards:
Alpkit Hunka XL
The XL is a bit heavier than the standard size, but you'll be glad of that extra space if you get caught out in bad weather, plus although 503g isn't ultralight it's still not that bad.
The
Alpkit Rig 3.5 would be a good addition to the above bivvy.
At 270g for a 2.4m x 1.4m tarp again it's not ultralight but it's not bad.
The tarp is £35 the bivvy bag £45, you'll struggle to get much as light for that sort of money elsewhere, much cheaper and you'll have to start looking at exarmy kit which is meha heavy by comparison.
Should also add, you'll need to add cordage and pegs to that setup, a sleeping mat would be highly recommended as would a decent sleeping bag as well.