Best Source for Used Carinthia Observer Plus?

[stewartlikescamping]

I'm going stealth camping a lot this year and did a deep dive into the bivy options. The Carintha Observer Plus checks all the boxes. Before I go buy a new one I checked ebay and every military surplus store I could find online but I see no used options. Anyone have an idea of where else I can look?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hi Stewart,
Welcome to the forum. I adjusted your post to comply with forum rules. No worries.
I had not heard of that particular bivvy so went and did a search… How much!!??!! £750 to £830 for a 2kg shelter with no living space! At that price I would be amazed if there were all that many in use, so small pool for second hand, and anyone who does have one must REALLY want/like it, so even less chance they will be selling.

You say you have done a deep dive into options and want the stealth characteristics of a bivy, so I guess you will be one of the folk who buy new and never sell on.

Would you mind sharing your thoughts behind choosing the Observer, rather than, say, a Rab Ridge Raider at half the price and weight? For you, what makes a heavy bivy better than a camo tarp? I am sure folk would be interested.
Best of luck with the search and the camping.

Chris

 

[TeeDee]

I'm going stealth camping a lot this year and did a deep dive into the bivy options. The Carintha Observer Plus checks all the boxes. Before I go buy a new one I checked ebay and every military surplus store I could find online but I see no used options. Anyone have an idea of where else I can look?

I purchased a surplus/second hand one from here many years ago - they were very helpful. Suggest you drop them a message.

Army Surplus Wholesale | Marwi B.V. | Netherlands

Here at MARWI B.V. we take pride in selling top notch Military Surplus to our retailers.

www.marwi.online

Excellent bit of kit btw

 

[SCOMAN]

EBay is likely your friend. I bought an ex-mil one made under licence by Fesca for the Dutch or UK. It’s a cracking piece of kit but heavy for what it is. I would also recommend a piece of Tyvek for a groundsheet and a tarp if it rains. I had to get dressed all the way to my goretex inside mine during a downpour on Arran. The tyvek and tarp all add weight. there are tent options lighter, cheaper and have similar low levels of observability. I do like mine though

 

[SaraR]

Oh, that’s a lot of money! Is there any particular reason you’ve got your heart set on that one? Have you done much bivying before and that’s why you want to upgrade to this particular one?

I’m just asking, because otherwise there are loads of other options that might be better and certainly cheaper.

An ordinary bivy bag in combination with a small tarp rigged up low over the head end will give you a similar result with not much more profile.

If you have a tarp, you can rig up all sorts of shelters, including a tarp tent, and depending on your chosen set up you can make it as low profile as you like (e.g. knee height).

The Dutch hooped bivy bag is another great option (if you got midges where you’re going you might need to upgrade the mozzy net) - roomy but heavier. I really like mine!

There are also the Snugpak Stratosphere and Ionosphere - both very low profile and everyone seems quite happy with theirs.

 

[reddave]

I was also interested in a wide, heavy duty bag, so I had a trawl.

Single Person Bivy Shelter

Manufacturer of the finest sleeping bags and outdoor gear in the world. Nothing keeps you you warm & dry in cold, wet conditions like Wiggy's!

www.wiggys.com

and then on ebay

Sniper tent bivy bag CALLIDA Bushcraft like Summit new cover Army | eBay

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zelt Bushcraft Gore-Tex like Summit ,Fecsa bivy bag -30% like carinthia observ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for zelt Bushcraft Gore-Tex like Summit ,Fecsa bivy bag -30% like carinthia observ at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

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New military tent Bushcraft like Fecsa Summit, Gore-Tex IRR bivy cover bag | eBay

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however, I can't recommend any of them because
a) I haven't touched / played with any of them
b) don't know the subtleties of the Polish language and a translator may miss something when translating to english

although with research, I'm now particularly interested in the zips and if they're big teeth YKK or mealy mouth small teeth zips. I can't see them putting self seal zips on bags though.
P.S. these also seem to have elevated foot end so stops your feet / body getting wet or cold from snow whilst waiting for your target to arrive for their termination /sarc

 

[stewartlikescamping]

I see the replies went to my email spam so sorry for the late reply.

Yes, the retail price is silly. Hence why I came to this forum because I saw a previous offer on this site for an amazing price so I was reaching out to see if I could stir an offer.

Anyway, I found out there is actually an older version of this tent produced by FECSA and some other swedish company, I found used versions of it on Polish and German sites for a STEAL compared to this silly £800 range. There is an updated Polish licensed one that is 50-66% less and has been demonstrated to be just as robust and has an extra foot pole to reduce condensation or leaks caused by pooling, has an extra foot vent as well. The new model of the Polish version does have YKK zips.

There is also a slightly older version by Polish company (2018) that is identical to the carinthia observer and used Gore Tex (printed on the fabric so it's not a mystery) for half the price.

Anyway I am interested in hooped bivy bags that CLOSE completely because I am not interested in ticks, I don't always have some insect repellent either so hold your tongue on that suggestion. I'll never, ever, ever go tarp camping/cowboy camping for this reason. I wanted some headroom too, this design provides more than other hooped models, and I also want the two viewing spots that this design provides. The Defcon 5 and Russian Ratnik Bivy have this back window/ mosquito net as well but their breathability compared to this model is probably not close and I can't find much info on their rainstorm performance.

I'm not interested in Snugpack due to quality control issues I've seen in Snugpack reviews. I like the ionosphere space but their price is just silly now. I've seen other issues with that one too. And frankly smaller form size will work better in some areas for visibility issues.

I do not care about kits that are "half the weight either". I see all this panicking about tents over 1 kg. This tent's 1.75kg is nothing for me. I used to backpack with a 5kg tent so ya, this is feather weight for me and I won't need to worry about punctures that lighter fabrics from civi companies are more vulnerable to. I would die if I spend £400 on a tent that I half to treat like a delicate rose. I want military grade durability that can be stomped on. This is also compact enough.

Someone asked, why not just add a camo tarp? Because I've already spotted camp locations where I can't simply hang up a tarp on trees and i'm not bringing treking poles either. So that's why. I don't want any tents made out of brightly colored material so that ruled out a lot of brands. The Rab is equally or more expensive than the military grade options i've now found so ya, no thanks.

I was about to go with the dutch bivy but it only has one single mosquito net window, the 3-5 other options I found have the extra window so I much prefer that.

Anyway, I found my purchase options. There's my 2 cents. I went way to down a rabbit hole looking for options, I'm happy I found options.

Before I forget I found 1 more interesting option by a company in Canada called Fellfab. Their tents are in CAD price so they are well priced actually for military grade. There is so little info on these bivies so I went with the option I found with a proven track record but they are formerly known as Integral Designs which did have a good track record. https://www.fellfab.com/product-category/military/shelter-systems/bivy-shelters/

 

[TeeDee]

"Anyway, I found out there is actually an older version of this tent produced by FECSA and some other swedish company, I found used versions of it on Polish and German sites for a STEAL compared to this silly £800 range. There is an updated Polish licensed one that is 50-66% less and has been demonstrated to be just as robust and has an extra foot pole to reduce condensation or leaks caused by pooling, has an extra foot vent as well. The new model of the Polish version does have YKK zips."

Can you PM me a link please.
Could do with a second one.

Thanks.

 

[SaraR]

...

Anyway, I found my purchase options. There's my 2 cents. I went way to down a rabbit hole looking for options, I'm happy I found options.
...

I'm glad you found what you were looking for.

Don't feel like people aren't listening to you when they give other suggestions that might not be exactly what you asked for. Most people give comments based on their own experiences and what they can glean from your post(s). Some times it's useful, some times it's not, but it's almost always based on good intentions. Often other things being mentioned in a thread can be very useful for other people who follow the thread too, so it all helps to build a solid knowledge base on the forum.

 

[Erbswurst]

I assume that the cheaper versions don't use the gas permeable Goretex that's used in the current Carinthia bivvy bags but just the usual military grade jacket Goretex fabric.

In most bivvy bags you have a risk of suffocation, but not in the current Carinthia bags, because here you can actually breathe through the fabric. All others you have to keep open somehow, but the current Carinthia bags you can close totally.

Perhaps others also got that new fabric. But would they use it they would surely tell it you.

I assume that mainly the different fabric is the reason for the price difference. Carinthia products are designed in Austria but sewn in Czechia or Moldavia. Polish or Spanish work costs surely aren't lower.

I suggest to watch out for the German translation bivvy bag - Biwaksack if you search for a used Observer. They are rare here too of course but nevertheless it's intelligent to try that as well.

Civil German users are here better served with a lean to or plough point military poncho shelter and a German army bivvy bag that we can get here used for approximately 100 to 120 € and the newer ones also have the gas permeable fabric. (Carinthia Sleeping Bag Cover)

So, you have the chance that someone who bought the Observer turns back to the usual system if he understands that the Observer was a stupid idea for him.
Or he gets a Hilleberg Akto or whatever.

Another option is made by Defcon 5 by the way. Other fabric, different construction but similar.

 

[Erbswurst]

Carinthia Observer Plus Biwakzelt (olive) | Krusche-Outdoor.de

Carinthia Observer Plus Biwakzelt (olive) - Ein Biwak kann notwendig sein, wenn man keinen Platz für ein Zelt findet oder unfreiwillig draußen übernachten muss. Das heißt: Ein Biwaksack kann überleben

www.krusche-outdoor.de

Goretex Gasdurchlässige Technologie is the German Term for gas permeable membrane! That's the thing you are looking for and here for the old sell price.

 

[Erbswurst]

And here the used ones via Ebay, original, Polish, Spanish, Italian and whatever.

I think that you find here civil bought military items if we talk about the originals. I have never seen a Carinthia Observer in a German milsurp shop that was used in the German army before. If they issue it, what I assume, they don't sell them. Snipers seem to treat their stuff carefully...

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