Hello

[vlrkl]

Hi there. I have US & UK citizenship, currently living in California, would like to move to Scotland or France one day. Joining this forum because I've developed a taste for European surplus gear. I've got a Dutch DPM pack and poncho, and am looking for a double-hoop bivy to match (PM me if you've got one for sale ). I camped a lot as a kid, but in a tropical climate. I'm looking to start doing more outdoors stuff again, and I'd like to go winter camping for the first time, and am trying to get together the gear for that.

 

[Erbswurst]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

The hooped Dutch bivvy bag isn't such a good idea. I talked this morning to a bivvy bag specialist from Carinthia. They use a more moisture permeable fabric than the Dutch hooped bivvy bag has built in. The current Carinthia bivvy bag - Goretex "Gas Permeable Technology" allows to close the bivvy bag totally and breath through the fabric what you can't do with any other bivvy bag. And even this builds up moisture and condensation water inside if you breath 8 hours into it.

If you like a in the camo pattern matching bivvy bag, I recommend to buy a DPM british army bivvy bag. It works well in the open because you breathe outside here, and even better under a poncho shelter.

 

[Erbswurst]

France is very nice, nearly everywhere. They tend to speak French though.

 

[John Fenna]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Broch]

Welcome to the forum

 

[zornt]

Welcome from Ohio.
Enjoy the ride better than any Disney all ride pass.
Jon

 

[Elsenham 177]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

[Tony]

Good to have you, thank for joining up

 

[Mesquite]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[crosslandkelly]

Hi, welcome and enjoy.

 

[vlrkl]

Thanks everyone!

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

The hooped Dutch bivvy bag isn't such a good idea. I talked this morning to a bivvy bag specialist from Carinthia. They use a more moisture permeable fabric than the Dutch hooped bivvy bag has built in. The current Carinthia bivvy bag - Goretex "Gas Permeable Technology" allows to close the bivvy bag totally and breath through the fabric what you can't do with any other bivvy bag. And even this builds up moisture and condensation water inside if you breath 8 hours into it.

If you like a in the camo pattern matching bivvy bag, I recommend to buy a DPM british army bivvy bag. It works well in the open because you breathe outside here, and even better under a poncho shelter.

That's interesting. I think I read somewhere that the FECSA and Carinthia bivvies made for the Dutch army are slightly different materials from each other, but I've never heard before that the Carinthia civilian bivvies are a different material from the Carinthia military bivvies. I wonder why that is?

I don't think the British bivvy has a mosquito net though.

 

[Erbswurst]

All currently offered new Carinthia bivvy bags have the same Gas Permeable Goretex. Older ones had the usual jacket Goretex, approximately like Fesca and the British ones.

The Carinthia Tropen sleeping bag has a moskito net, the standard Carinthia (German army) Goretex Sleeping Bag Cover hasn't. It's unnecessary because you could close the bivvy totally in cold conditions when you tend to use the Defence 4 sleeping bag.

If you don't prefere the lighter and cheaper Snugpak Special Forces bivvy bag as I do, the Carinthia bivvy bag with central zipper is the way to go in my opinion for every civil use too.
The German army ordered this as the standard issued one because it's the best option for most users in most situations.

If you sleep in the open in the rain the Carinthia bivvy bag zipper flap forces you to sleep on your right side, the Snugpak Special Forces bivvy bag forces you to sleep on your left side. It's worth to think about this detail before you order one.

The Snugpak SF bivvy costs new as much as a used German army Carinthia bivvy bag , approximately 100 €.

If you want the Gas Permeable new fabric you need to pay attention, because the old ones with the jacket fabric looked the same! There must be written on the label inside "Gas Permeable Technology" or "Gas durchlässige Membrane".

I wouldn't buy used Fesca products. You can read everywhere that they have problems with broken zippers and the seams also aren't so accurate, what probably doesn't matter though.

But what matters is that you get condensation water problems in a hooped Dutch army bivvy bag if you breath into it. They issue additional a poncho as shelter for standard use.
The hooped Dutch army bivvy bag isn't meant as a stand alone solution for comfort camping. That's no double wall tent!
One could say, especially from the point of view of a civil user, that the hooped Dutch army bivvy bags are constructed wrong.

They surely work well as stand alone solution if you need four and a half hours sleep next to the enemy somewhere. That's what they are constructed for. If the soldier needs eight hours sleep, he has to construct additional a poncho shelter and doesn't use the poles.

In a Snugpak, German army or British army bivvy bag you can sleep as long as you want like a baby!

There are older green simle Dutch bivvy bags too, that allow you to sleep long. These are offered cheap and have a central opening that allows good ventilation if not closed totally, what's important if it gets hot and is more comfortable to enter than a British army bivvy bag. Important if you use the bivvy bag sometimes also in a tent. That is sensible to keep the sleeping bag dry and clean and adds a bit more warmth to the sleep system.
When I carry a tent I don't leave the bivvy bag at home and can choose to sleep either in only the bivvy bag or in bivvy bag and tent. I prefere to keep the options open.

 

[vlrkl]

I have seen photos where some of the Dutch army bivvies have something about "gas permeable" written on the inside. Not sure if they're Carinthia though.

 

[Madriverrob]

Hello and welcome .....

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
As another dual US/UK citizen, my mind is boggled by the thought of the culture shock moving from California to Scotland, not to mention the change in climate and daylight.

 

[vlrkl]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
As another dual US/UK citizen, my mind is boggled by the thought of the culture shock moving from California to Scotland, not to mention the change in climate and daylight.

With regard to climate: It seems like you may be assuming I'm in SoCal, where I've never been. I've never been surfing either.

With regard to culture: Well I don't really fit in anywhere. But what aspects did you have in mind?

 

[TeeDee]

Welcome.

Had one of these for a long time and think its brilliant. Never had a problem as described above.

Carinthia Observer Plus

UK-based retailer specialising in kit and accessories for the collector, the outdoorsman, the military and the ordinary guy. We stock a massive range of the biggest outdoor brands in the world such as Spyderco, Boker, CRKT, Victorinox, Maxpedition, Triple Aught Design, Gerber, SOG, Fenix...

heinnie.com

I wouldn't be able to make myself pay that price however.

I picked up a surplus one from here years ago - give them a ring

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

 

[C_Claycomb]

With regard to climate: It seems like you may be assuming I'm in SoCal, where I've never been. I've never been surfing either.

With regard to culture: Well I don't really fit in anywhere. But what aspects did you have in mind?

Hello,
I was assuming you were more towards the middle of the state, most likely in a coastal city. I admit that the easy stereotype, even when one knows not all CA is like LA, is that you get a lot of warm days and sunshine, while Scotland is famed for dramatic cloud effects and fine "soft" days of drizzle.

Taking San Franciso and Edinburgh as examples:

San Francisco (CA) Weather & Best Time to Visit

San Francisco (CA) climate: temperatures from 14°C (57°F) in December to 23°C (73°F) in September. 469 mm (18 in) yearly rain. Best time to visit.

weather-and-climate.com

Edinburgh Weather by Month – Climate & Best Time to Visit

Edinburgh climate: temperatures from 8°C (46°F) in January to 19°C (66°F) in July. 933 mm (37 in) yearly rain. Best time to visit.

weather-and-climate.com

Culture shock, well, that isn't a short discussion.

 

[Erbswurst]

Well, I met only one Scot in my life.
He was a nice guy but I usually didn't understand him and I am still unsure if he really understood English...



It's quite possible that the Dutch army sells used Carinthia bivvy bags of all sorts. If Fesca also gets the new fabric I don't know. But the maker should be printed on the label.