Hi de hi campers, given the chatter above, I thought it might help if I give another update to my original post on this thread. I spent an unhealthy period of time 'nerding out' on hooped bivi bags and ended up getting a Dutch army hooped bivi. Specifically, I was able to get my hands on a brand new (unissued) FECSA made example from surplus and outdoors.
The FECSA version isn't as good as the Carinthia equivalent, the fabric is much the same but the zips are more vulnerable. Indeed there are multiple reviews out there of folk complaining of their zips failing (particularly the zip that goes across the head end). I believe this failure often occurs because people peg them out too taught and put too much pressure on the zip. To that end, I rarely peg out the foot end of my bivvy and find that works well and negates the need to put excess tension on the zip.
Over the last couple of years, I've used the bivvy bag a lot and have documented most of my adventures over on my youtube channel (link below):
www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ngvrlKxZ9Lm8S8lWQxFWA
The bag has become one of my favourite shelter options, it's come with me on trips to the woods, the moors and the beach. It pairs up wonderfully with a poncho or small tarp. At 8ft long, it's also a great size, I'm 5'10" and have plenty of room for myself and my rucksack which invariably gets stuffed into the head end for use as a pillow. I always love how it offers you a nice little safe haven from whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at you!
The fabric breathes very well and has yet to give me any trouble with condensation. Granted, I mitigate a lot of that risk by keeping the head end relatively open. I took it out a couple of weeks ago and used it without a tarp and low and behold the heavens opened while I was asleep. Rather than zip up the head end and seal myself in, I zipped it about a third of the way and also used the two poppers to close off the head end. This worked really well and I had no water ingress whatsoever (helped by pitching the head end into the wind) but still had plenty of ventilation. A video of this camp can also be seen on my channel (shameless plug!!).
I genuinely think it's one of the best hooped bivi's on the market. If for whatever reason I had to replace it, I honestly wouldn't even hesitate in getting the same again. I'd either search for another unissued example or save my pennies for the Carinthia equivalent - the XP Two Plus. The Carinthia XP Two Plus is an identical design, but uses better quality materials and is a tad lighter. The kicker is that the Carinthia version costs considerably more (approx £500!). By comparison, the FECSA Dutch Army Hooped Bivi can be had for anything between £80 and £150.
The FECSA version isn't as good as the Carinthia equivalent, the fabric is much the same but the zips are more vulnerable. Indeed there are multiple reviews out there of folk complaining of their zips failing (particularly the zip that goes across the head end). I believe this failure often occurs because people peg them out too taught and put too much pressure on the zip. To that end, I rarely peg out the foot end of my bivvy and find that works well and negates the need to put excess tension on the zip.
Over the last couple of years, I've used the bivvy bag a lot and have documented most of my adventures over on my youtube channel (link below):
www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ngvrlKxZ9Lm8S8lWQxFWA
The bag has become one of my favourite shelter options, it's come with me on trips to the woods, the moors and the beach. It pairs up wonderfully with a poncho or small tarp. At 8ft long, it's also a great size, I'm 5'10" and have plenty of room for myself and my rucksack which invariably gets stuffed into the head end for use as a pillow. I always love how it offers you a nice little safe haven from whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at you!
The fabric breathes very well and has yet to give me any trouble with condensation. Granted, I mitigate a lot of that risk by keeping the head end relatively open. I took it out a couple of weeks ago and used it without a tarp and low and behold the heavens opened while I was asleep. Rather than zip up the head end and seal myself in, I zipped it about a third of the way and also used the two poppers to close off the head end. This worked really well and I had no water ingress whatsoever (helped by pitching the head end into the wind) but still had plenty of ventilation. A video of this camp can also be seen on my channel (shameless plug!!).
I genuinely think it's one of the best hooped bivi's on the market. If for whatever reason I had to replace it, I honestly wouldn't even hesitate in getting the same again. I'd either search for another unissued example or save my pennies for the Carinthia equivalent - the XP Two Plus. The Carinthia XP Two Plus is an identical design, but uses better quality materials and is a tad lighter. The kicker is that the Carinthia version costs considerably more (approx £500!). By comparison, the FECSA Dutch Army Hooped Bivi can be had for anything between £80 and £150.