Good bivy

By jnj3024731 Ranked #383 - Sleeping Bags April 16, 2009

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.

View Details: The North Face Backpacking Bivy 3-Season

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes | 0 No