I recently purchased one of these on sale. I did a trial run in the back yard with good weather. It is not a tent and with that understanding I feel it works very well. It is rather easy to enter and exit (I am 6' 2" 180#). I do like the look out window, but have mild concerns as to it's durability. Set up is quick once you practice a time or two. The top dome pole is ball shaped and inserts into a plastic looking clip, which is sewn into the webbing. The plastic receiving clip makes me mildly concerned about durability. If this were to fail it would present a significant problem because a field repair would be difficult. It has two air vents 1) The first follows the contour of the semi-circle located at the foot 2) The second is smaller and is located underneath the peak of the dome at the head of the bivy. I felt it provided good ventilation and experienced no condensation in mild weather. If you sleep on your back the second vent is located at nose/mouth level allowing the humidity of respiration to partially escape the bivy. I felt it had just enough room for sleeping in any position. You would be had pressed to fit much else in the bivy other than you and your sleeping gear (you could certainly fit some clothing items/boots/small gear at the foot if needed). You will not fit a pet comfortably. I used a velcro strap to contain the bivy and poles. Also, I swapped the tent stakes for some titanium UL ones. These two changes allow me to weigh in at 1# 10 oz. The provided tent stakes are actually very light and function very well. I will try to give an update after a seasons use. It appears to be a quality bivy, however, the test of time will answer that question.

Liked it alot. East to get in and out. Retains heat very well, Easy set up after a couple of times.Two issues: The foot pole sleeve was so tight, that I broke the pole on the last day of the trip and could not get good circulation, the inside of the tent was frosted every morning. Made our trip warm and enjoyable.How do I get the foot pole fixed?

Structurally solid, and plenty of room. I am 6'2" and can lay in the bivy when staked out without touching any sides (barely). I would use this bivy year-round, but am hesitant to take it on summer treks due to lack of ventilation--it can get a bit toasty. Also, the entrance is conveniently larger than most bivys I have encountered, but with that size and how much the zipper curves, it does occasionally snag when opening from the outside. I haven't had the chance to thoroughly test this shelter and especially look forward to putting it through alpine conditions on summit bids. Will report back later.

I live i the mountains of SW Colorado and go out for an overnight hike once a week in the summer and fall. I love bivy sacks because they are light and the weather here is variable -- many nights it won't rain, but a storm can roll in suddenly. When it's not raining, I leave the bivy sack open and sleep under the stars. If it starts the rain, it couldn't be simpler -- zip it up and fall back to sleep.

I recently traded in a Mountain Hardwear bivy for this one. While the weight is the same (plus or minus an ounce), I've found that the head space of the North Face bivy is much bigger, and it ventilates far better. When pitched tightly, air flows up from the mesh at the feet up over me and out the upper vent. Most importantly, though, it kept me exceptionally dry in a big storm that rolled in overnight, high above treeline.

I would recommend only one modification to the makers: the zipper could be longer to unzip all the way from left to right. That would improve the stargazing on clear nights for die-hard bivy lovers like me.

I assumed the gray patches on the side were bug mesh. They aren't. No bug mesh.

So I went with the Black Diamond Bivy & am pleased so far.

This Northface Bivy did feel slightly roomier though.