Bivvy bag without tarp?

[anthonyyy]

Do any of you use bivvy bags (like the British Army one) without a tarp?

Do they keep you dry in the rain?

I’m thinking more of one-nighters where its not so important to keep the rest of your kit dry.

 

[bambodoggy]

Yep, I do and they are fine..... often on an over nighter I can't be bothered with setting up a tarp and all that so just hop in my dossbag and sleep by the fire, if it looks like rain then I use my bivvi bag with my doss bag.

I was out in Feb like that in the pouring rain (see photo of the top of my head below) and again in April in the rain and although I was slightly damp from condensation I didn't get rain wet. Trick is to get in it with it face up and then roll right over taking it with you so that the large hood flap goes right over your head and then pull in the draw cord leaving just enough room to breath out of. The rest of my kit stays in my bergan with a drybag liner so that stays dry and my boots go upside down on stakes so they stay dry too...easy

Hope that helps,

Bam.

 

[anthonyyy]

Thanks a lot Bamboo!
I might make up a mini tarp to cover the head from an old goretex jacket. Perhaps 3 square feet attached to the bivvy bag with buttons.

 

[stovie]

You're fags are gettin' wet Bam

 

[jamesdevine]

Check this out a wonderful little book on the subject Here

It really is an interesting and fun way to travel.

James

 

[led]

If you enjoyed the book, you may be interested in a podcast by the author.

 

[bogflogger]

There's no point using Gore-tex for a mini tarp (unless it's all you have for it) as the material requires body heat to pump water vapour through it.

It will still be waterproof but you would probably be better off getting some Rip-stop PU Nylon, as it's lighter and has a smaller packed size.

I spent a Month in a Gore-tex Hooped bivvy up in Scotland one Feburary and it was great!

 

[addyb]

I've spent more than a few nights in just a bivvy bag and yeah, I'm still alive. It's not the most comfortable way to sleep because it's much nicer to have a tarp or a poncho that you can sit under, cook under, or change your clothes under when it's raining. Either way, a gore-tex bivvy bag with some mosquito netting inside will do just fine, even if you don't have a tarp.

Cheers,

Adam

PS: What kind of smokes are those, Bam?

 

[anthonyyy]

There's no point using Gore-tex for a mini tarp as the material requires body heat to pump water vapour through it.

Silly me! Thanks.

 

[addyb]

Slightly off topic, but body heat pumping moisture is exactly how hydrophobic base layer garments work, such as HH Lifa polypropylene. The more you sweat, the faster it moves moisture. The only trouble with Gore-Tex and other WPB garment is that the membrane can be maxed out if you're really working. In that case, you end up soaked anyway.

Adam

 

[bambodoggy]

Thanks a lot Bamboo!
I might make up a mini tarp to cover the head from an old goretex jacket. Perhaps 3 square feet attached to the bivvy bag with buttons.

Lol....I've been talking about doing the same thing of about the same size since last Feb! Was thinking of cutting a USMC poncho in half and then re-hemming it....haven't got round to it yet though Also, I rather like waking up and looking straight up at the sky (unless it's raining obviously lol)

You're fags are gettin' wet Bam

Lol...luckily that was the packet I finished the night before so it was empty....my fresh pack was safely in my bergan I did wake up to hear the others asking if I was smoking inside the bivvi bag though as my breath was coming out like steam....well it was cold out and I was toasty lol (I wasn't smoking in there!!! ).

Oh and they are Marlboro Lights.....obviously!

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[fred gordon]

My only thought would be the midges in Scotland from May-September. I can imagine being eaten alive with just the bivvy bag, on a humid night, head inside the bivvy bag. Sheer hell on earth.

 

[bogflogger]

Which is worse, a Night of being Eaten alive by Midges, or sweltering inside a "No See-Um" net?