Carinthia Observer Bivy "identical" copies?

[blunder]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here has experience or knowledge about the nature of these double hooped bivy bags (click here) that are claimed to be identical to Carinthia's Observer Bivy.

They are a significant reduction over the "genuine" article and make the bivy more financially accessible. I'm just wondering what actually constitutes the difference aside from name? Do they come from the same manufacturer but end up with different labels because of the route they take? If not, do they have the same "amazing" Gore-tex that is in the Carinthia version? Are they constructed as well? And so on...

I'd ask the seller but I'd probably be pretty skeptical of whatever they told me. More so than what strangers on a forum might say

It's still a lot of money and I'm not sure if the cheaper alternative is still cheap enough to justify buying one but I'm curious. I currently use the single hooped bivy and am happy enough with that but the Observer does have a few advantages that make it worth considering.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

 

[TeeDee]

I have a Carinthia Observer - surplus unit but got it from here , you may want to have a look at the price between the repro and the surplus original. The Surplus Shop are happy to ship to the UK and their english is far better than my dutch.


http://www.marwiarmystore.nl/webshop/product/13714/96534



http://www.marwiarmystore.nl/webshop/product/13714/96532

hth

 

[blunder]

Awesome, thanks for your response.

I'm still confused though. Is one of the links a copy of the Carinthia Observer and the other an actual Carinthia Observer? I tried translating the the descriptions but it didn't make much sense.

I've emailed the shop so hopefully they will confirm that one is a Carinthia. If you are able to tell me one is definitely a Carinthia and is in stock I will probably buy one at that price though!

Again, thanks!

 

[TeeDee]

Awesome, thanks for your response.

I'm still confused though. Is one of the links a copy of the Carinthia Observer and the other an actual Carinthia Observer? I tried translating the the descriptions but it didn't make much sense.

I've emailed the shop so hopefully they will confirm that one is a Carinthia. If you are able to tell me one is definitely a Carinthia and is in stock I will probably buy one at that price though!

Again, thanks!

Yeah , I must admit I wasn't too sure why they posted seemingly two links - best wait for there email response and see what the deal is - great bit of kit , love mine.

 

[Surfer99]

I've been looking at these, how do you find it TeeDee?

 

[TeeDee]

Hi ,
I find the double hoop section is a great addition - gives a little space for admin room and when it is blowing a hooley you can batten down completely without feeling too claustrophobic.
The front section is zippable with a midge net which again is another good feature.

Tend to throw up a small basha for standard admin tasks if staying over for a few nights.