I like those hooped bivvies in principal but in terms of useable space, they’re similar to a Gelert Solo tent (but lighter obvs).
If it’s one night, with a minimal chance of rain and winged beasts, any breathable bivvy bag would do for me.
Anything else, i’d want a tent with useable space. I’ve got the SMD Lunar Solo and I think it’s a good compromise on protection, weight and space. I can sit up in it and get dressed/undressed.
On those rare occasions that a bivvy bag fits it’s great but most of the time, it’s just not worth the romantic notion…

I’d be more interested in the mozzie net aspect.

This.
Having a net held away from my face would be nice.
That’s why usually I gravitate towards my fully netted hammock. Hammock/Tarp is about 100g heavier than a hooped bivi but you can get away with a thinner mat (my mat weights 240g).

Obviously you need trees, but I like staying in woods anyway.

But – having said all that – I’m going to force myself to use a simple Hunka bivi bag (no tarp) on the next trip just to see how well I sleep.

Thanks for all the tips here, I weighed my kit to see what’s Deffo coming cycle touring in sep:

Softie sleeping bag 826g
Alpkit bivvy 545g
Thermarest mat 470g
2 man tent 1600g

Sorry I don’t know the exact models but for a week of touring the tents staying at home, I will just take the footprint, bivvy, mat and bag. I really want to keep the whole kit down to 3kg and value a spare set of clothes.

I know I’m repeating myself but on a single nighter in summer with high pressure and no rain forecast I’d really question the need for a bivvy bag at all. The sleepingbag can handle a bit of dew and by the time you get up it’s evaporated off anyway.

I doubt I’m unique in choosing dry nights.

I have 4 proper bivvy bags (I think, maybe more…?) but the one that gets used the most is water resistant with a midge net built in (borah bivy)

Use with a tarp if it looks changeable, use without if it doesn’t. Zip up the net if I want protection, don’t if I don’t

Big enough to get a large neoair inside, with a long and wide quilt, with bits dotted around the sides, plus a large me inside

the one that gets used the most is water resistant with a midge net built in (borah bivy)

Ooh yeah.. with a tarp, water resistance would be all you’d need, to keep a bit of blown rain out. good bug solution too – I like that.

The sleepingbag can handle a bit of dew and by the time you get up it’s evaporated off anyway.

Not down then ? Even with a dwr shell my down bag is succeptable to dew. And makes it next to non insulative.

How ever – my bag , tarp and bivy is still lighter and smaller than an equivalent synthetic bag.

“Not down then”

For me, never. My kit has to be cheap and easily washable. Plus even in my gortex bivvy bag there’s a bit of moisture.

I used my Alpkit bivi bag for the first time last week, had it 2 years.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the open feeling as I have used a tent for years, but looking back I slept quite good in the bivi, apart from my mat deflating at 5am.

Quite high up with a good breeze, so no midges, a few of us have ordered one of these;

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/230G-Ultralight-Outdoor-Camping-Tent-Summer-1-Single-Person-Mesh-Tent-Body-Tnner-Tent-Vents/32646768966.html?spm=2114.30010208.3.154.4I5Pzl&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_10%2Csearchweb201602_3_10037_10017_407_406_10032%2Csearchweb201603_8&btsid=531c2ae9-f05f-434b-ab3d-67a918528f3b

So now I will be using my bivi and new exped mat, but choosing dry nights as I dont have a tarp yet.

Works fine inside my bivvy bag for me , although recently my rab survivals stopped being wateproof )0(as in if its raining and its sticking out from the tarp i get damp inside …but its dry where its under the tarp)so looking at one of them borahs as suggested up there ,

Down imo Worth it for the fact its half the weight and 1/3rd the size of the equivalent rated synthetic bag. Stick it in a dry bag and theres no reason for it to get wet unless you do something silly with it .

As for midges , i go for no exposed skin – inc liner gloves for when stopped. Then a midge head net and just sleep in that instead of lots of fancy net hanging contraptions with more zips and weight.

blastit – Member
…Oh how we laughed when he had to pour the water out in the morning. I kid you not. Must of been a pint of sweat in there…

Are you sure it was sweat?

I remember once struggling to get out of my bivvy bag when an urgent need came upon me in the night. The zips were uncooperative.

It nearly came down to me pouring out a pint of “sweat” too. 🙂

I used to have one the 1st gen GTX military style bivvy bags, breathed really well and never had any condensation inside.

Follow up post on the Mountain Warehouse Bivvy Bag:

My 4yo used it last night and as everyone says, it’s not really breathable. She wasn’t breathing into it at any point and yet there was a load of condensation in it. (Admittedly tough conditions for a breathable waterproof – perfectly still warm night.)

Totally consistent with the ‘pint of sweat’ from an adult.

In contrast, I slept without a bivvy bag and although at 1am my sleeping bag had dew on it, by the time I woke up at 7am it was bone dry.