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Drew Hecht
Climber // AT Skier // Backpacker // Trad Climber // Sport Climber // Big Wall Climber // Boulderer // Mountaineer // Road Biker
Drew Hecht:
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6 Reviews:
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3 Answers:
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1 Comments:
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Stomping Grounds:
Josh, Sierra, anywhere... -
Bio:
I love being outside. It rarely matters where just as long as I'm outside. My favorite place is the East Side of the Sierra. I'm an Architect by profession and I love design. Perhaps I should clarify that I love GOOD design. That implies more to me than just aesthetic appeal. It means it functions at a high level for it's intended use, has a high degree of attention to detail (what we refer to as "craft") and is durable. I'm also a minimalist who hates gimmicks and BS accessories. I generally spend a lot of time comparing, studying, and researching gear before I buy it. If my ratings seem inordinatly high it's because of the time I spend researching. Trust me, I'm not that charitable and probably too critical. Feel free to ask me questions about the gear I review.
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Black Diamond Big Wall Hooped Bivy Bag
September 16, 2011
Jared, I honestly haven't had much moisture in mine. Certainly not enough to draw heat from my feet. That would certainly be a bummer. Perhaps you know of this trick already but have you tried the Nalgene water bottle in the bag trick? If not, this is what you do. Pour not quite boiling water in a Nalgene bottle and throw it in the foot of your bag about an hour before turning in. It works great! I know the thought of a leaky water bottle sounds a bit risky and when my backcountry skiing buddy promised me it would work I tried it. Amazing thing is - the bottle is still warm when you wake up. This hasn't failed me yet and I've done it about 1/2 dozen times when I was cold enough. Screw on the lid tight and test it and you should be fine. Maybe if your feet are just "super juicy" it will still ward off the suck-i-ness of cold feet and the misery of losing badly needed sleep.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
Black Diamond Big Wall Hooped Bivy Bag
September 16, 2011
In further response to your question about packability, I have recently begun to remove the delrin rod (hoop)and it does pack down quite a bit smaller. I just put the rod in my wand pocket on the side of my pack and carry it that way. This has two benifits. As I said, it allows you to pack it smaller but also helps keep the Delrin from retaining too much of a undesirable shape. It has been my experience that by packing the bag in the same fashion my rods arch flattens and is more difficult to bend back into a desirable shape when you're cold and tired and just don't want to mess with it. Delrin is a plastic that has memory so you can bend it, hold in that position and it stays. You can also straighten it which is how I like my rod so when I put it back in I get the desired arch and the fabric is kept off my face even with an improvised pillow.
Also, I just experienced my first bit of condensation on a recent Sierra trip but I had closed the zipper about 3/4 shut to keep out a cold blowing wind at around 13,000 feet. But, to me, the level of moisture was negligable (not appreciably wetting my down bag) Hope this helps.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
Black Diamond Big Wall Hooped Bivy Bag
August 28, 2010
It would be difficult to get this more compressable. The hoop in the hood is not a factor. I've had two of these. I will buy a third if I have to although I doubt it as it's pretty durable. (My brother took my first one.) To answer your first question it's not the easiest to get in and out of - it's not the hardest either. With a little practice the middle of the night wiz isn't any worse than getting out of a warm tent. The hoop keeps the fabric off your face and I like that. And it creates a vent - which I really like. I've never used any tarp to cover the head area as it's un-necessary - to me. I've actually sat in this and ate dinner. (The hoop helped that) I got the long to store my shizzle in when it rains or starts blow'n. I've logged WAAAAAY more time in this than my tent in the past ten years which is a testiment to the ease and weight of this bag. I've used this for winter alpine ascents, back-packing, climbing and even quite a few car camps. I love this thing. Oh, and I've not had a drop of moisture from the inside or out.
Helpful Votes: 1 Yes
