bivy shelter

[Alaskacanoe]

This seems like a good way to go. I've siwashed it before without a bag or bivie, wrapped up in a space blanket, crawled inside my OR xl pack cThis seems like a good way to go. I've siwashed it before without a bag or bivie, wrapped up in a space blanket, crawled inside my OR xl pack cover and curled up on my pack.... I'd of given dang near anything for a bivie and my bag that cold, windy, rainy night. over and curled up on my pack.... I'd of given dang near anything for a bivie and my bag that cold, windy, rainy night.

So I am laughing about this, as we oft times do years later...
.. One year my wife was pregnant with boy #3 and draws out on a sheep hunt area that has to be done or die.. ...you all know,, if you know what I mean.... anyway.. she is 6 months along and we have a hike about 8 miles to about 3300 ft. I am carry everything including a tent, she has a day pack and binoculars..
I see some sheep up about a 3/4 mile away, a legal nice ram. We go for it and decide to Siwash it..
we reach the summit at dark 30... and here comes the clouds.. We hole up in a crag.. huddle together ,, some crying, ..some,, dont you dare go to sleep or you may die from hypothermia, its now rain and the clouds are so thick, we cant walk 3 feet and see each other.
A day of super socked in,, its like fairbanks during winter during the inversion of the century..no way to hike down the rocks .. and now..anouther night... and now we are scared.. we cant get off the mt until the clouds break some,, at least so we can see our feet.
Next day at 10 am.. wind and now we see.. we are weak and cold.. I look over the edge and see the sheep 700 yds away.. we start towards them and my wife is so stoved up she almost falls off the edge.. if she would not have dropped to the ground as she began to lose her balance,, she would have went over a 150 ft or more drop...
We turn and hike back to the tent..
The sheep lived..
No more Siwash for me.

 

[tdelarm]

I think what were concluding is the bivy works and if weight savings are paramount haul it. I think you'll find that some folks have both and will fly in, float, boat, ect......set up a tent and use a bivy to spike the mountain tops. I did just that last August for a goat hunt. We had a tent at 3,000 ft. and spiked out to hunt goat in the craggies at 4,000 traveling light with the bivy.

And that....is a big ten four! Want to do this exact thing on camera...for an episode. Think it would make for great tv and increase our chances for a trophy hunt. I know of a couple times this would have worked in our favor.

 

[tdelarm]

For what it's worth, I used a BIG Agnes tent last year for sheep hunting. Of course, rain was the theme for the week. Did great, low in weight (um 2.5 lbs) but....it doesn't like shale. Fabric tears on the floor in two spots. Wonder if they'll repair? Bought it at REI...the other hunting store ;-)

http://www.bigagnes.com/

 

[mekaniks]

I have a friend who spent 7 nights in a quality bivy headed to the lower 48 on his Harley. Took the bivy because of obvious weight and space concerns on his bike. He was MISERABLE. Got wet on the second night and never dried out until he finally found a laudromat on day 5. Says he will do whatever it takes to fit in a good small lightweight tent on his next trip. The savings of the bivy wasnt worth the agony. So the moral of that story is- you wont catch me mutiple night hunting on an Alaskan mountian top without a good tent. I will cut weight on my rifle, cooking gear, food, ect... first. And there is some amazing light weight tents available out there now. I have a 2 man mountian hardware tent that is almost ten years old, under 7 lbs, and was not the "top of the line" when I bought it, but do I stay dry in it. I am sure with some good internet research that there are tents out there that are several pounds lighter and better quality....

 

[BrettAKSCI]

Outdoor Research and Integral Designs makes some good bivys. I'm going to take one this fall sheep hunting for spike camp. Not sure which one yet. Still working on that.

Brett

 

[Bighorse]

Lets face it, We all are out for a good time and sucess when out hunting. There could come a time when a good time needs to be sacrificed to maximize sucess. Thats where a compact shelter comes into play. It's got a very small footprint, is quick to pitch, and helps us to stay warm.
Mountain animals climb up into some crazy stuff and your goal is to get em. Well travel light get yourself up into the rocks and set up an ambush.
My 2010 goat was accomplished using just that tactic. I had a spot where it was likely for goats to feed out into and the visability was poor. So I bivied out above it. I was just done eating some Mt. House and out it came into a nice flat grassy spot for chow. Boom! and I was working late into the night and packed it into a snow bank.
In 2009 I had a goat lay down about 100yrds above my bivy for the night. I already had one on ice so I just snapped this photo and ate some chow. I think you can see it about mid photo.

They work but I'll be the first to say its a compromise and if the weather gets foul the fun factor gets dialed down tremendously.

 

[Buck Nelson]

I have slept tentless and bagless on quite a few nights. If it's very cold or wet, or especially both, it can be a downright miserable situation. On occasion I'd have some extra warm clothes and a space blanket with me just in case I had to siwash out there. The extra warm clothes plus space blanket (the real, reinforced kind that don't rip to shreds immediately) would usually weigh a little under three pounds. I finally realized that I could carry a sleeping pad (1 lb) a sleeping bag (<2 lb) and an ultralight shelter (>1 lb) for a total of about 4 lbs. For a little over one pound more I could have a warm, dry camp instead of a near survival situation. In my mind it's different world from the 8 lb tent and 6 lb sleeping bag days. I don't have to choose between spiking out warm or a light pack. It's also very cheap "insurance" for unexpected survival situations.

 

[Bighorse]

Buck,
What bag are you choosing to use for this light weight set up? What is it rated for?


Thats kinda like what I've been doing but I'd like to upgrade my bag to something lighter.

I've also thought of building a small three sided shelter in areas I hunt often. I'm just not that hard core yet.

Alaska Lanche, I sure liked the looks of some of the GoLight structures. How does that covertable system work out in the end? Is it hard to pitch?

 

[Buck Nelson]

Buck,
What bag are you choosing to use for this light weight set up? What is it rated for?...

That particular bag is a Feathered Friends Rock Wren. I got it with "over-fill" and it weighs about 1 lb. 14 oz. I can't recall ever getting cold in it, and I've used it down into the teens. The standard bag is rated to 35 deg. Warmth is subjective, of course. I've got a Marmot Hydrogen bag that I also really like.

 

[270ti]

Buck,

Good to see you posting. I really enjoyed your DVDs.

I use a Marmot Helium sleeping bag. I'm sure it's not the lightest at 37oz, but it's light years ahead from what I started out using.

 

[Buck Nelson]

Buck,

Good to see you posting. I really enjoyed your DVDs.

I use a Marmot Helium sleeping bag. I'm sure it's not the lightest at 37oz, but it's light years ahead from what I started out using.

Thanks 270ti. The Helium is a whole lot of warmth for the weight I'll bet.

 

[Bighorse]

So help me out....I live in the rainforest and want a sythetic bag option. 270 Ti are you getting away with that feather bag on POW in wet conditions?

 

[AK Troutbum]

For what it's worth, I used a BIG Agnes tent last year for sheep hunting. Of course, rain was the theme for the week. Did great, low in weight (um 2.5 lbs) but....it doesn't like shale. Fabric tears on the floor in two spots. Wonder if they'll repair? Bought it at REI...the other hunting store ;-)

http://www.bigagnes.com/

I'd like to hear how you make out with Big Agnes on this. One things for certain, if BA doesn't make it right, REI will for sure.

 

[sockeye1]

Here's a brief rundown of a 7 day Brooks Range hunt with a 'tarp', a bivy and a bag (sounds like the beginning of a joke). We had been hiking into this super secret spot of the haul road for several years. The hike in was about 12 miles, not too rough but a lighter pack was always a topic of discussion. So my partner and I buy BD bivy sacks and I purchase a BD tarp (it may have been called a 'goat' but I can't recall). Anyway, it is large enough for 2 people and gear, is held up by 2 trekking poles, and has decent tie downs. This was late August 21st-28th. 6 of the 7 days were no sweat. However, 1 night made the difference in my mind on whether I would go the same route again. Torrential rain/snow, wicked wind and a totally sleepless night that would not have been a big deal in a nice 2 or 3 person lightweight tent (that we usually use). For me, never again-- saved 2 pounds of weight going this route, meaning my pack will always be 2 pounds heavier.

 

[flat foot]

I think you guys talked me out of it. I will have to find other ways to shed a few pounds. Thanks for the advice.

 

[iusckeeper]

Just buy a six moons Europa 2... 2lb tent with a vestibule. 90" long makes for plenty of room for tall guys like myself, it's a single wall that doesn't drip, but a small shammy does wonders if anything starts to condense. You can get a new one for under $200.

 

[Alaska_Lanche]

Alaska Lanche, I sure liked the looks of some of the GoLight structures. How does that covertable system work out in the end? Is it hard to pitch?

Not really. My wife can pitch it by herself pretty quickly even. Hard to go wrong given the options and the $$$ IMO. Better weather protection than a tarp by a lot as it has full coverage down to the ground. Really like the floorless area for everything but the floored and screened sleeping area. Makes it nice to dive into the tent when its pouring and blowing and still be able to stand up to take off the rain pants while your partner is beginning to cook up tastey MH meals. Not having to take off your boots and wet bloody rain gear to get into the tent or having to work with a really small vestibule is what turned me over to the floorless design. Just have a good UL bivy to net tent inside the tent for your sleeping bag or if the bugs aren't bad just sleep on your pad and even on wet ground your bag stays dry.

 

[Vek]

Used the golite utopia 2 floorless for solo sheep and solo moose this year. I didn't have any challenging weather, so keep that in mind, but at just over 2lbs it was a castle for one. Room to lay out your crap to dry it, no floor to worry about getting dirty - tromp on in with boots on and close the door. Used a 3' x 5' piece of tyvek under my sleep pad, but generally campsites were relatively clean.

Down bag packed in UL drybag - Mountain Hardwear Phantom 15.

I've yet to run across a backpack hunting situation where a floored tent would be preferable to floorless, but I suppose that situation exists somewhere - I'm thinking buggy or wet/mossy/muskeggy.

 

[LuJon]

AK_Lanche: I have the SL5 and 3. I want one of the bear paw net/floors that will fit me and one other person and work with both shelters. Should I go w/ the pyra 3 or the Penta 2? I honestly don't know what the exact shape of the SL tents are since I have not actually seen them yet and won't till probably May.

 

[Bighorse]

Vek,
Rodger that on the floor and mossy muskeg type terrain. Anywhere flat in the rainforest has moisuture built up unless its a micro ledge on a steep hillside. Add some constant downpour and a floorless tent will have a small stream running through it. There are times though that a floorless design would be appropriate durring summer/early fall when the weather has been dry for a period.

I guess a guy needs to have an assortment of shelter options. Kinda like owning multiple rifles. Although not nearly as cool to show off to your friends.