Bivy Bag Choice and Mosquitoes?

[Jaan]

Hello!

I looked through several bivy bag topics here but still have some questions about them.

I'm putting together a lighter kit for this year and want a tarp+bivy (In addition to a hammock). However, there are A LOT of mosquitoes here in Estonia. They are mostly active in June and July, and there will be times where they will not be a problem. With a hammock there's no problem, but with a bivy?

So my first question is: How do you sleep in a bivy with millions of mosquitoes around? Do you use a headnet? Large mosquito net? Do you have a zipped bivy where you fully enclose yourself? Does your bivy have a built-in net? Do you take it like a man? Every comment is appreciated!

My second question is about the specific choice of bivy-bag: What bivy bag to get? I've looked through that most people use army ones and they do seem nice for the price, however they offer no protection from mosquitoes as far as I can tell and there are a couple of more options:

1. Terra Nova Bivys - expensive, some are hooped, some are not, how are people's experiences with them? The Discovery is capable of being fully enclosed which would help with the mosquitoes compared to army ones?
2. Snugpak Bivy - Nice hoops and mosquito protection, but heavy at 1300g.
3. Outdoor Research Bivys - They seem the nicest, but can't find a proper retailer in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, most of their designs have a hoop and built-in mozzie nets. Some of the cheaper ones aren't made from gore-tex though.
4. Exped Bivy Bag - Has a mozzie net, but no hoop? Can't find prices anywhere.

I would be using the bivy under a tarp almost always. It wouldn't be my only protection.

Please help, because there's an overwhelming amount of information out there!

Thanks!

 

[woof]

Hi Jaan,

I have a phoenix phoxhole bivvy. Its a hooped one in goretex, it has a built in mozzy net, & can also be zipped up, so you are fully enclosed. I have had 2 of these, 7 got them both used off of ebay.

Hope this helps you.

Rob

 

[tartanferret]

Army issue bivvy bags are good quality and if you are planning on paying for shipping from the uk then consider tracking down a shop that sells both the bivvy bag and one of these..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/British-Army-Surplus-Cot-Mounted-Mosquito-Net-Camping-/160723058322?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item256bd73e92#ht_591wt_45

Save some money on shipping costs !

Plenty of places sell them for less than £10, mine cost £5 from a car boot sale.

 

[tartanferret]

I have no connection to that company etc, but I have just had a look and they sell both items if you dont mind camo colour rather than plain olive

 

[tartanferret]

Oh, and the MVP socks are good items too! (£8)

 

[Jaan]

Thanks for the initial input. Found some pictures of the Phoenix Phoxhole, but can't find the manufacturer website or a place where to buy them! (None on Ebay at the moment.)

The British Army mozzie net looks good for that money, will have to look up some pictures where it has been set up!

 

[forestwalker]

I use the Hennesy hammock in Sweden. No mosquitos, and warm nights I can sleep on top of my bag with no problems, read "in bed", etc. Make a tube of mosquito netting?

 

[Angus Og]

Have a look at these

http://www.integraldesigns.com/product.cfm?id=23&mainproducttypeid=15

http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/integral_designs_silshelter_bug_liner.html

 

[bilmo-p5]

I use a UK army issue goretex bivibag and I'm delighted with it. I almost invariably use it under a 3m x 3m tarp. If I'm going somewhere where I expect midgies/mozzies to be a problem I set-up the tarp like a tent and cover the entrance with a 1.5m x 1.5m net which I made with leftovers from another project. It has worked fine so far...

 

[woof]

Good idea Ian. Jaan, i think(but not certain)the phoxhole was part of terra nova, but anyway they have'nt been made for a while, sorry to get your hopes up.

Rob

 

[Joonsy]

please note that while army bivy bags are popular they are quite heavy as far as bivy bags go (weighing about 900g) combine that with a tarp weighing approx 400g-600g depending on type and you have a heavier weight than the 1300g you mentioned, if weight is an issue there are lighter bivy bags.

 

[sandbender]

Hi

Lots of mosquitoes here too, I usually hang a net from a line that runs parallel to the guy line but sits beneath the tarp, the same one I hang bits and bobs off. Just a run of the mill travellers net, one that is designed to tuck underneath the mattress in a youth hostel or wherever. This set up allows me to move around and undress/dress/wash without being eaten alive.

I'd agree with Joonsy, the army bags are cheap but quite heavy.

 

[Jaan]

That tarp setup looks good Ian!

As for the weight, 900g is a bit on the heavy side. Though the Snugpak bivy is 1300g and I wouldn't be sleeping under the stars with only the bivy anyway.

I would love to hear from someone who has a lighter bivy compared to the army one but with a similar performance.

 

[bilmo-p5]

The army bivi is a bit on the heavy side; mine is 825g, but it is huge. I'm 6'6" (1.98m) and it will totally envelop me and my sleeping bag stretched out and with a bit of lateral room too. This, and no condensation make it worth the weight for me.

 

[GoatBoy666]

Jann you could try this...http://www.survivalaids.com/order1.php?pg=851
I have the original survival aids cobra bivvy, which also has a built in mosi net. I still use it.

Not available anymore.

But Rab make superb kit so I imagine it will be worth the cash. Oh and not to bad at 780g.

Goat

 

[Shewie]

I use a Terra Nova Saturn for bivi trips to Scotland in midge season, they're not quite as ferocious as mossies but they can be enough to drive you mad. Imagine a deranged blood thirsty mossie but only a quarter of the size, that's a Scottish midgie

The Saturn is full goretex with loops at the foot and head ends, plenty of room for a pack and boots, total weight 1.1kg

If you want to use the tarp and a lighter bivi then I'd think about how you can DIY some kind of net, free standing with poles or foraged sticks would work, I also use a Mountain Laurel Superlight bivi which simply has a sewn in half-circle net above the head. It has a loop sewn in so you can attach shockcord and lift it off your face by guying out to a pole or up to the tarp somewhere.

Another option would be something like the plain pyramid net, you should be able to tie up to your tarp somehow. The Sea-to-Summit Single is a light and compact package which would work really well.

 

[Jaan]

I use a Terra Nova Saturn for bivi trips to Scotland in midge season, they're not quite as ferocious as mossies but they can be enough to drive you mad. Imagine a deranged blood thirsty mossie but only a quarter of the size, that's a Scottish midgie

The Saturn is full goretex with loops at the foot and head ends, plenty of room for a pack and boots, total weight 1.1kg

If you want to use the tarp and a lighter bivi then I'd think about how you can DIY some kind of net, free standing with poles or foraged sticks would work, I also use a Mountain Laurel Superlight bivi which simply has a sewn in half-circle net above the head. It has a loop sewn in so you can attach shockcord and lift it off your face by guying out to a pole or up to the tarp somewhere.

Another option would be something like the plain pyramid net, you should be able to tie up to your tarp somehow. The Sea-to-Summit Single is a light and compact package which would work really well.

Thanks Shewie, great info there!


My logic behind not wanting to sleep in a fully-closed bivy without a tarp is that in that case a tent would be better. Under a tarp I can stick my head out and look around.

I also want a hammock for summer use, in that case the mosquito problem is not a problem at all. I would probably use the bivy in the winter, autumn and spring more where mosquitoes are not a problem and I would be able to sleep without a net. My mosquito question is just to check what people have come up with just in case I travel somewhere with no good trees.

Great tips so far! Has anyone used the Terra Nova Discovery bivy? Found some negative reviews about it but Terra Nova stuff seems to be pretty good overall, that's why I'm interested. Also lighter at 500-something grams.

 

[Shewie]

This is kind of what I meant with the sticks, rubbish Paint sketch but you get the idea ....

If you make it big enough it could be self sealing around the floor

 

[forestwalker]

About 20 years ago I made a pib bag of mosquito mesh, with an elastic drawcord and some tie-of points. Tie to something a bit elevated, pull down over the open end of the sleeping bag. Use various items to hold it out a bit (waterbottles, clothes, etc). Work quite well

 

[bilmo-p5]

If you're making something up, this is good stuff. Makes standard mozzie net look like chain-link.