What's it REALLY like to Wild Camp in a Bivy?

Used one for the shelters on the Appalachian Trail, helped keep the mice off while sleeping 😂

Hi Paul video?

This looks like a nightmare in the rain and mud

I tried it once , thought I was fine , woke up middle of the night in an absolute panic and had to go home 😅

I felt claustrophobic just watching that, great video as usual Mr M! But Bivvys not for me 😅

What stove system are you using ?

I've not found a good solution to this yet, I tried making a bedroll using a bivvy but found the coffin like nature a bit uncomfortable, especially when I need the loo.
Since then I spent out on a wynnchester bedroll which is much more comfortable but it's a bit heavy and bulky when rolled up. It's OK but I'm sure most would prefer a full tent and a bit longer setup time for the same weight or even less. It'll do for me though.

Love a bivy! (In the right conditions though!)

At last! Someone's mentioned the S word! I fail to see how anyone who has done any camping in a moist temperate climate can totally avoid the subject of these revolting little mucus-trail-leaving inter-toe-squidging gastropods.

A nicely presented & balanced view. I managed a few hours in a hooped bivvy then just had to get out. I didn't think I was claustrophobic, but the bivvy challenged this view. Thanks to one of your other video's on "micro tents" I gave one of these a go (westonfront nordisk lofoten) and am so grateful that you opened my mind to something I thought I would. not enjoy but have loved - it was the option to prop the door open like a tarp that made all the difference. You have also given me an idea of how to manage the "getting out of wet gear" dilemma by adding a tarp to my setup, question is, what is the lightest mini tarp out there which I could use and yet still keep the weight down?

I use a Macpac Bush cocoon - big side zip entry, makes it way easier to use, really enjoy using it when the conditions are right. A different vibe to a tent and super easy to pitch in uneven terrain

It will be very good for your fitness Paul

Why??

For an emergency sleep yes, but give me a tent, less claustrophobic. Id be struggling to fit the sleeping bag inside. 😅
This would be me "Please can I share your tent?"

Al save the coffin 4 when am dead nd buried 😂

I love my bivy.

I used to have an extra large goretex bivvy bag - was great, but cant find anymore. you could roll about inside as much as you like and put rucksack and equipment inside. It had no poles but your bag would raise it off your face. if necessary you could close it 100% and breath through it. No need to peg it out. Condensation was very minimal unless totally closed up in constant rain.

I think all this about waking up with a slug on you face is exaggeration and uncommon. But mosqitoes, midges and ticks can be an issue - for any camper not just a bivvy user

Love my bivvys .

Great video as always Paul

After so many nights in a bivy, sometimes under a basha, sometimes not, in all weathers whilst wearing the cheap green suit, I can definitely say I won't be repeating the experience unless it's an emergency. But then I'd have to have carried one in the first place, which I wont.

Hi I really enjoy your videos Paul. I use Macpac bush cocoon, which is a bivvy with a hoop and a side opening zip. It still has a low profile and has a small sleeve at the feet to put a small pole. It also has a large air vent and an internal mesh under the fly with dual zips. Might be worth a look. Cheers.

I was up there too about a mile away in my Rab Ridgeraider bivy. The midges were bad. Great video as usual. Thanks 👍😀

I used to bikepack with a bivvy, but now I have a small tent. It's nice to be able to sit in a tent. I did also have the moisture issues!

Ridge Raider or Helium?

Rucksack!

What Bivy bag are you using?

I can see the impracticality of a bivy, and how awkward they would be in bad weather. And that some are almost as heavy as a small lightweight tent. But, I still really want to try one 😁🤷🏻‍♂️

I like the look of the Rab Ridge Raider. But it’s prob not far off the weight of my tent.

I just like the small/concealed nature of them, even if impractical. Just something about them.

Cheers,
Gary B

Another great video Paul.

A good thing to carry as well is the faithful border bin liner 😅 good for looking after your gear if it's raining.

Great breakdown of what it’s really like to wild camp in a bivy! It’s cool to see both the pros and cons laid out. The idea of being so close to nature is appealing, but those tight spaces definitely seem like they take some getting used to. Thanks for sharing your experience - it’s super helpful for anyone thinking about giving bivy camping a try

I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would choose a Bivvy over a light weight tent or trekking pole tent! It makes zero sense!

I’ve spent a few hundred nights out in my USGI Gore-Tex bivy sack, never got wet other than when getting in or out. I’ve woken up in a puddle almost up to the zipper and covered with a couple inches of snow. The drawbacks are there’s no hoop to keep it off your face and no mesh. I still have it, along with the rest of the Modular Sleep System, but I haven’t used it in years. My Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL1 is lighter, packs down smaller, has room (just barely) to sit up, get dressed, etc, won’t blow away if you get out of it, has excellent ventilation and I’ve never gotten wet in it. Drawbacks? It won’t withstand hurricane-force winds and the material isn’t thick enough to stop grenade fragments. Even my Marmot Hammer 2P tent is lighter if I leave the vestibule at home, and is fairly spacious (it’s a little short for winter sleeping bags.) Don’t use it above freezing unless you like condensation soaking everything.

As someone who'll bikepack for up to a week across the wilds of Wales, a small tent is a must for me. But I also take a standard bivvy bag, 2 tarps and some carbon poles.

The small tarp can be used as an emergency shelter, it's only 2.1x1.5m. The larger tarp is 3.0x2.1m, great to pitch across the tent to cook under if the weather is shit.

As for sleeping out in a just a bivvy is just too risky in changeable weather. Pitching a small tarp fairly low which covers my head and most of my body is a no brainer. But in all honesty you can't beat a small tent, a little more weight and pack size, but worth it. And if you really need a little extra room to cook or change in/out of clothing, deploy a small tarp!

No escaping the chemical trails.👎🏾

Coffin camping....bit small I reckon..haha

Good review. I prefer a tent with some space for dressing/undressing etc..

A beauty of a morning to wake up to Sir! There are Bivy’s with a double hoop with one at the footbed and a screened end for more ventilation. None the less, well done, Sir. Cheers from Hawaii ~ 😎🐬👍🏽

I
It’s pretty obvious if it’s nice weather then it will be ok but if it’s cold it will be cold damp and miserable so why do it WHY .? It’s common sense

I would rather just carry in a 4 pound, 5 by 7 foot, A frame trail tent. A bivy is just a casket, if you ask me. I gotta have more room.

I´ve had a Highlander Hawk bivvy for years and love it for the simplicity and it´s bomb proof feel,had a few crap nights in it but who hasnt had crap nights camping?Its all part of the ´fun´.It certainly aint the lightest but its hardly going to break your back in a rucksack.I tried a hooped bivvy and for some reason they make me feel more claustrophobic than my regular hawk bivvy.

though I have and do use a bivi for a one nighter now ( after 22 years in the military ) you get to a certain age and want to have a bit of comfort so i am now extremely happy to carry 3.4kg 2 person tent on my bike or backpack to enjoy a touch of pleasure in the process. I remember when Bivi bag was first introduced before this we had a poncho ( the tarp thing that's now so common ) it was crap and you always ended up wet. yet today we see people loving the experience. I never did love being soaking wet in a slit trench or other such scrape in the ground with a hexi block as a cooker and tinned food that was often the same food for weeks at a time.

that quilt is brilliant .

Thanks for the video. I have OR Helium and mainly use it when dayhike in the mountains, as energency setup. However used it a few times with my 7"x9" DCF tarp for hiking. Bivy without tarp is a no go if weather turns on you, and it always does. So I always set it up with my tarp. It is big enough to store all my gear and a backpack. Yes, I can have an actual DCF tent for that weght((450g bivy plus 150g tarp= 600g) or less, but sometimes it is not possible to find a pitching spot to stake out a tent. However it is still a bodybag, if you have issues with tight spaces don't try it.

I LOVE my Carinthia XPII Plus. By far the BEST bivi going. Many have tried to rip it off, but thats a story for another day. It may not be the lightest bivi but boy oh boy is it super strong. The Carinthia, I can even fit my bag in it too. I'm 6ft and there is loads of room. 100% recommend everyone try a bivi at least once. You just feel so much closer to nature.

not for me unless a last resort.

Literally just watched your coleman reveiw and came across this ,
I use the lifesystems bivi aswell and never had a problem with it except getting in it 😂
I sleep with nain door zipped down and a gap at bottom unless its pouring so quick to setup .
I keep my airmat and sleeping bag inside it roll the lot up in one
Ive only used it abt 4 times but look forward to putting to use this winter with a tarp for sitting area .

I’m way to claustrophobic for that. But fun to watch you.

I think it's a shame that the door doesn't zip up from the top!

like sleeping in a coffin?

Looks miserable. I toss and turn all night so I believe I would strangle myself sometime in the night.