Tarps and bivy bags??

[Podcast Bob]

Lets add another suggestion to the mix which may interest people. We've just taken in the new DD Travel Hammock, which now has a waterproof base, so you can use it as a groundsheet, a solo 'nest' on the floor under a tarp, or sling it up and use it as a hammock.

Although I'm normally happy with the bivvy/tarp combo, I see this as being possible the perfect all-year sleeping combo, especially up in midge country?

They've also put some velcro on the closures and altered the net tabs, which helps. But stopped just short of putting 4 tabs on the corners for pegging it down. However 10 mins on the sewing machine will sort that.

So thats 900 gm for the Travel Hammock plus 570gm for a Duo Tarp and you have a great little flexible bushcraft camping system. Bivvy of course is optional.

 

[Ogri the trog]

I don't understand this idea of going to ground when the weather gets cold.
Having made a pod for my hammock and proven its ability - nearly passed out from heat exhaustion in febuary '05 in west Wales, its more than up to the task. The only reason I'd go to ground would be if he were no trees, fence-posts, telegraph poles etc. Even then I'd still have the insulation of the pod as an oversized sleeping bag.

Tree dweller & proud.

Ogri the trog

 

[drewdunnrespect]

well i fully agree with ogri and i am a proud tree dweller with hammock and underblanke5 and tarp but and yes there is a but if theres no trees i do have a snugpack stratisphere bivi tent.

drew

 

[Karl5]

I can't vote on this since the alternative "Both" doesn't exist.
I do hammock + underblanket, but I also do bivybag + tarp. And I like both.
Sometimes one is better and other times the other.
Nowhere to hang a hammock - bivy + tarp.
Boggy or steep incline - hammock + underblanket.
And sometimes I simply grab what I feel like at that moment.
Don't see why one should exclude the other.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Tonite, -5degs forecast, I would probably go for a bivvy bag and no tarp. Leave the karimat outside but have the thermarest inside.

Nick

 

[sandsnakes]

Morning all, just seen this on evilbay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-1-Kg-FALC...kparms=72%3A1301|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

Bloody typical no hyper link! Anyway, anybody know of them and have experiance in use? I bugged out last night because my standard issue bivvi leaked like a very leaky thing. So looking to upgrade. And as ifby magic the link materialised.

Sandsnakes

Oh yes bags, I use a pattern 58 with a fleece linner. Was warm as toast in the Chilterns on friday night. So its the layers principle again.

 

[goshow]

I use all three dependant on the location and temp.

My advice would be a DD hammock, as they're reasonably cheap and very comfy.
Tarp wise, get a Tatonka tarp2 tc.
And bivvi bag wise, if you can get your hands on one, get an Arktis bivvi bag, not the hooped type. It's a straight forward bivvi bag but measures nearly 8ft long so there's plenty of space to get your kit in it and out of the rain.

 

[fergus77]

I usually take both, Hammock & Bivy.

For value for money i'd def opt for the DD hammock and TArp, very well priced for a complete setup.

I use the Mr Mears Eco SLeep System which is very versitile and very comfortable, but there has been nights i wished i had a bigger tarp to shield me more from the rain.

I have set this up on the ground with a few poles to take the tension on the line that holds the mozzi net up, and that worked pretty well.

As mentioned, bivy bags provide nearly an extra season to any sleeping bag so also very versitile. Combine the 2 and you have a bomb proof sleep system.

I'm trying more natural shelters at the min which should be fun

 

[spiritwalker]

bivvy bad for me mainly cause i dont have a hammock and havent got the desire to buy one really as i have way too much other gear. I like being close to the earth and forest floor smells also a fart in a hammock would be wasted heat :-D

 

[spiritwalker]

er bag not bad

 

[coln18]

im now voting for a bedroll rather than a bivi bag, i have used my terra nova jupiter bivi bag for the past 2 years and thought it was great, im so used to sleeping on the earth now i dont really enjoy much else although i do hammock now and then just for a change.

but about 6 weeks ago my Duluth large canvas bedroll came from the states and ive now used it 4 times and it is the biz, its just great rolling out your bed and being set up in 2 minutes, i was worried that because it wasnt goretex it would be a waste of money, but i used a coating of greenland wax on it and i sleep under the True North tarp anyway so rain aint really a problem as i was out last week for 2 nights in vertical and horizontal rain and the bedrool was fine, its also twice as wide as my bivi bag and was a joy to sleep in best nights kip ive had in ages, didnt even have to get out for my nightly pee, plenty of room with the bottle...

hope this helps some of you to buy and try a bedroll, it even looks cool

Colin

 

[Peter_t]

bivi bag for me never really seen the point in hammocks unless you have a real reason to get off the ground such as the rainforest. also it just seems allot of extra hassel setting it up and needing a bigger tarp and finding trees the right distance apart that will also take your weight. also having to carry an underblanket if its chilly, to me just seems as if your having to adapt it for something it wasn't ment for. yeah sure they must be comfy but not worth the extra weight and needless complexity imo

also i could never go camping with my mates with one, they would probably let it down twice in one night!

pete

 

[Paul_B]

I was out in a bivvy with a tarp pitched more open recently. Reckon my favourite kit from now on is a bivvy with a UL micro tarp. I usually use a tarp, bivvy and a groundsheet but now reckon the Rab survival zone is good enough without a ground sheet. TAR inside with my quilt. Reckon once the TAR is out you just roll up the bivvy and quilt and shove it in the sack.

 

[Paul_B]

I'm keen on simple kit. Tarp up bivvy out jobs a goodun you can get on with food and sleep. I also reckon it is a good kit to have if going for a night out somewhere and you don't want to drive because you want a drink. Go for a night out then pick your kit up from your car and head out somewhere into the nearby countryside and kip. Helps if its in places like snowdonia, Highlands or Lakes. An quick hour's walk up a path and you can get to some amazing places to greet the rising sun. Can't do that with a hammock IMHO. How many trees at just the right distance apart do you see next to a smal lochan in the highlands to take a hammock? Argument won I think!!

 

[Loenja]

im normally in the woods anyway soo 2 trees isnt a problem
i have dd hammocjk either travel or camping (not sure) the one with 2 skins and mosy net.
love it with the tarp i got with it its waterproof. and insect proof
i also slide 2 roll mats inbetween the two layers for warmth and if they dont slide out then its really warm.

 

[Paul_B]

I like the idea of a hammock but from what I've seen the hammock set-up is heavy compared with a tarp (used with trekking poles carried anyway), bivvy bag, sleeping bag and TAR mat. I guess you save weight with a lightweight CCF mat but the rest is heavy. Say the tarp is the same for both as is the mat and sleeping bag. The difference is the hammock and the suspension kit (tapes or ropes). My bivvy is a Rab SZ (actually something like 250g not 400odd grammes like sites say).

I must admit that if I lived and camped in the more arborial areas of the country I would use a hammock too at times. That's if I had spare dosh to get one. I got my Rab bivy for £40 and the tarp was an expensive £48 for 2.5m x 2.5m basha. How much for a hammock set-up? Of course given the choice and too much money to burn I would get that Terra Nova Laser Ultra when it comes out. Cuben fibre flysheet (see thru) and nylon inner (not see thru for privacy). All in a complete package supposedly 560g! Of course that probably doesn't include things like pegs and poles the way tent manufacturers do it when trying to sound like their tents are lighter than they are in the real world.

 

[BarryG]

Ive never tried one, but doesn't the DD travel Hammock double up as a bivi beceause it has a waterproof base to it?
Surley this, combined with a tarp would provide maximum flexibility and eliminate the need to carry all three items?