Just in case I can actually find some time and nice weather to coincide with each other, I’m looking to do a few multi day routes around the Lakes.

However, I’m not convinced I actually need a tent. Do I keep the Laser comp I already have, or do I sell it and just buy an Alpikt Hunka, for fair weather adventures.

Convince me either to keep it, or make me an offer 8)

( Brand new btw, only been up in the garden for photos )

Tents give you somewhere to shelter from bad weather if you’re hanging around for a while, somewhere to get changed, somewhere to store and sort all your kit, the ability to cook inside/in your porch, protection from midges, not claustrophobic…and your Laser weighs next to nothing

Bivvy bags are marginally lighter (there isn’t much in the weight of 2 bivvy bags v a lightweight 2 man tent though), can be cheaper, don’t normally require any pitching and will stand up to as much wind as you will, but you will probably suffer a bit of condensation, get depressed in 12 hours of rain in winter, struggle to cook comfortably if the weather is bad etc etc. Bivvying can either be hugely simple or a massive faff, depending on what the weather is like.

I occasionally bivvy, but that’s only because my mountain tent is 4.5kg and not appropriate for some trips. I’m currently eyeing up a 1.7kg 4 season tent which will make the need for bivvying almost obsolete.

That said, there is nothing better than lying in a bivvy on a clear night just staring at the sky 🙂

How much?

I wouldn’t regard one as a substitute for another.

And I wouldn’t regard the Alpkit thing as a proper bivi bag so much as a waterproof cover. You can’t zip yourself in to it as far as I know, just draw the cord tight.

I find Bivi bags quite claustrophobic and don’t sleep anyway near as well as in a tent.

Can you get a duvet and 2 pillows in a bivvy bag? Because you can in a tent 😀

If there are any biting insects around, take a tent. If it’s going to rain, take a tent. If it’s going to be cold, take a tent because waking up in a condensation bath is unpleasant (yes my bivvy is breathable in theory). Take a bivvy bag when you don’t intent to spend a night out but might have to.

Don’t sell the tent! It weighs, in all likelihood, less than a bivvi bag and (for shelter) a tarp.

I’ve got both a bivvy (army goretex, massive compared to the alpkit stuff) and a zeph 2 (the wild country version of your laser).

To be honest, stick with the tent… unless you can pretty much guarantee good weather.

I have both a Hunka and your Terra Nova tent.

Like people have said before they complement each other rather than one is better then the other. Depending on my trip depends on which i’ll take.

If the weathers good then you cant beat a Bivi for being more connected to the outdoors, but if the weathers poor it soon gets grim, especially if its for more than one night. Also is its more than one night then i’d be taking a tarp to protect myself from the rain in case it did rain.

A Hunka and Tarp will take up as much room as a Terra Nova (excluding the poles) and weigh the same, so no huge benefit.

Hmm, that’s pretty unanamous I’d say. Thanks chaps.

Sorry molgrips.

Anyone rate the Alpkit sleeping bags, or does that require a new thread ?

I’ve got £135 burning a hole, and I could do with a decent down bag.

I can vouch for their SkyeHigh 600. The wife and I bought a pair at the tail end of last year and they’ve done a few nights now down to a balmy -2 with no worries. Well made and they zip together!

I have a Alpkit PD400 and cant fault it. Great for 3 season use and if you add a good mat, jacket, thermals, liner it’ll get you through winter down to about -5c.

Ok you’ll have to wait until they are back in stock (and slighty over budget) but you’ll get something lighter and with a smaller pack size than the SkeyHigh

Hmm, might have to have a look at the PD then rather than the SH.