Bivy Sacks

Featured review by Randy

Why this bivy? I wanted to replace my three-season, two-man tent with something smaller and lighter, without sacrificing what I need to enjoy my trips. If you want rugged, solid performance in a bivy, this one is awesome. If you want ultralight minimalism, at the expense of strength, quality, and features, grab a plastic garbage sack and hit the trail.

Important to consider if/why you'd want a bivy sack. These are not tents, with vestibules and room to organize and ample headroom to sit up and change clothes. Bivys are little cocoons for your sleeping bag and... that's about it. I love mine, because I knew what to expect (and was ok with) having to adapt to such a small footprint. I'm hooked, I'm warm, and I'm set up and torn down enjoying my beverage long before my mates are done fumbling with their poles. Setup: Quick and easy. One pole and five stakes.

Read more: Outdoor Research Alpine AscentShell Bivy reviews (9)

Reviewed by Kevin_wilmeth@...

If you are looking for an affordable, ultralight shelter for summer bivouacs or as a shell to another bag, look no further. The Wiggy Bivy Sack is outstanding. The sack is your basic bivy with a twist: the chest section is insulated with Wiggy's proprietary fill, Lamilite, which means that for summer ultralight ventures you can pack tent AND bag into a nice small stuffsack (built in) for 2 pounds total weight.Other features include stake loops, a nice pre-bent Easton aluminum head pole, mosquito netting, and a windbreak flap that folds out of the way.The unit is waterproof except for the chest section, which is highly breathable.

Read more: Wiggy's Single Person Bivy Shelter review (1)

Reviewed by Paddlepack

Never leave home without it.

Most backpackers have a few extra pieces of gear. On one trip you might take a bigger or smaller backpack or a different tent/tarp depending on weather. Maybe a poncho one trip and a full rain suit another. But what gear goes on every trip? My Borah bivy is one of those!! I have the side zip extra wide bivy made out of very breathable argon90. The extra wide Borah bivy will hold me, my 30-degree ZPacks extra wide down sleeping bag, and my inflatable sleeping pad (I'm 5'9" 200 lbs). My Borah bivy has a screened head to keep out bugs.

Read more: Borah Gear Ultralight Bivy review (1)

Featured review by Huntermann

This product is AWESOME! I got the old version with the internal poles and full eVent material. It is cut for Big Agnes sleeping bags, meaning its super wide! Infact it's wide enough for two in an emergancy. The eVent fabric is extremely breathable! If I have it completetly closed up the only thing that gets any condensation is the poles because it is were the nylon seam tape is. The setup is super fast takes less than two minutes. The only thing I don't like about this bivy is the that it is hard to get into (could be due to the fact that I'm 6'6"). But I highly recommend this bivy to anyone who wants a lightweight solo shelter.

Read more: Big Agnes Three Wire Hooped Bivy reviews (3)

Reviewed by Christoph Maurer

This is a 6'6'' ultralight bivy which is not waterproof. I use it underneath a tarp as protection from wind and bugs.

This bivy weighs 235g including a ziploc bag. It does not need any setup. I am 189cm/ 6'2". I have used it on four multi-day trips in the Dolomites/Italy with a tarp when it was raining heavily. There was no condensation at all. It protects against wind, water spray, and bugs and adds more protection against cold to your sleeping bag. The mesh panel is large enough and when closed did not bother me at all. I simply let it fall down on my face. There were no mosquitos when I used it. I never use any of the tie outs or any of the hang loops.

Read more: Katabatic Gear Bristlecone Bivy review (1)

Reviewed by Xap

This bivy is light, durable and waterproof! The hoop gives you a nice sleep with no fabric getting in your face!

I purchased that bivy after a long research and have not regretted it yet! I have used it backpacking in Glacier National Park this past summer. The tent is light and easy to setup. I am quite small so I do not have any problems sleeping in it, have enough space. As I tend to be claustrophobic, the hoop was an absolute must! And it is great! Sometimes I wake up, cause the hoop shifted towards my head  but then I just set it up again and keep sleeping. On warm nights you don't have to zip up the bivy, but just leave it open with the mesh protecting you against mosquitos.

Read more: Black Diamond Big Wall Hooped Bivy review (1)

Featured review by Nuitsblanches

Very light and compact, easy to pack all the time for unexpected overnight stays in the boonies. Well made, durable, watertight—too watertight, actually; the top is not breathable, which means potentially lots of condensation inside the bag.

I have always used a tent, a hammock, or slept directly under the stars in pleasant weather. I recently experimented with a tarp, complemented with this light e-bivy by MSR, and enjoy that combo for summer and shoulder seasons, even here in the Pacific NorthWet. The e-bivy is extremely light (spec'ed at 230g/8oz, I didn't check, but it feels right), and compacts to a very small volume—maybe 1/2 a standard Backpacking Unit of Volume (aka Nalgene bottle.) Kleen Kanteen for size reference, e-bivy (NOT compressed), and an MSR wing tarp.

Read more: MSR E-Bivy reviews (2)

Reviewed by Kmsquared

I owned a Bibler Hooped Bivy but am claustrophobic and so moved up to a Bibler Bipod Bivy, which I used in California's Sierra for several years.I had also got very sick of how hard it was to get a sleeping pad and sleeping bag into the Hooped Bivy or any other ordinary bivy that loads only from the top.As bivvies go, the Bipod with its side-zip entry is vastly easier to enter/exit than ordinary, "top-loading" bivvies. It's also easier to get pad/bag into, too.When the head of the bivy is properly pitched out, the single pole really does a fine job of staying in place -- even with me, a serious tosser-and-turner, in it.I wish Bibler would put a little stash-pocket in the bivy.

Read more: Black Diamond Bipod Bivy review (1)

Featured review by GregM

Great shape and design with functioning waterproof breathable (WPB) material, but just not enough of it.

I bought the blue-yellow-black 2017 long sized model online, on sale for 35% off normal retail price. Overall, at that price point, I give this bivy a grade “good”, but NOT “very good”. Had I paid full retail price, I’d give it a lower grade due to top yellow patch not being breathable. The wet spot the yellow patch created on my bag was more noticeable, and took longer to dry than the minimal amount of moisture created by the black side material.  The 30D black side and bottom material is similar to that of my one-person tent and does accumulate some condensation just like my tent—so I do not consider it a con.

Read more: Sierra Designs Backcountry Bivy reviews (2)

Featured review by Graham Owen

Spacious lightweight bivy, waterproof, and breathable with minimal condensation issues.

I have spent almost two weeks in the Outdoor Research Helium Bivy and found it to be pretty acceptable for my use. I bought it from Massdrop for $148.07, and when received, tried it out on my back lawn without turning off the early morning sprinklers. I slept comfortably all night and did not get wet from the sprinklers, which were on for 20 minutes.  More recently, I took the bivy on an almost two-week trip to Shasta Trinity National Forest and slept in it almost every night. I was car camping and used it mostly as a bag cover to keep my sleeping pad, pillow, and sleeping bag clean.

Read more: Outdoor Research Helium Bivy reviews (3)