I fancy having a go at bivvying with my son, what bivvy bags are the STW massive using. Ideally it needs to be reasonably priced as ill need two bags cheers

Alpkit is the king of the cheap bivi bag.

ahh just looked at them out of stock but they look ideal

Search for Trekmates … they make decent bags at the right money.

You've probably already thought of this but a two man tent is much more comfortable, same money and similar weight.

I've got one of these, it's similar to the Alpkit Hunka. It's very breathable except in very cold weather when I sleep with my whole head inside it and my breath condenses on the inside. That probably happens with a lot of bivvy bags though.

http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN34780

a little bit confused with bivying,
friend bought one and tried it , slept outside the tent,
with nothing else just the bivy and sleeping bag,
and after a night the inside was soaked with condensation and also the sleeping bag, never tried it again after that.

are you meant to use it just by itself or with tarps, sleeping mats, hot water bottle etc. 🙂

if anyone has an Alpkit HunkaXL they want to sell, drop me a line.
Out of stock at Alpkit at the moment unfortunately.

are you meant to use it just by itself or with tarps, sleeping mats, hot water bottle etc.

This is how the Dartmoor posse do it. In the first picture Shinythings has sleeping mat, groundsheet and xtra-large homemade bivvy bag. Bikestylebilly, in the foreground in the Alpkit Hunka is without groundsheet, but appears to be asleep anyway. Mind you, that is an empty 3 litre cider box lying on the ground just above his head!

And, here's my set-up with a the Rab bag and a cheapo tarpaulin from a builders merchant for a groundsheet.

I've spent a fair bit of time using the army issue ones, gore tex and everything and dare i say i tougher than any civvie one you'll get! 😀

Personally, its an old, cheap ex-army bivvi bag, good down bag and a tarp. The tarp keeps off almost anything if set up right, the bivvi bag is purely to keep the sleeping bag dry and me warmer. I have a small tarp (decathlon one) and use a huuuuuge one from work if need a big one or I am canoeing. I don't get the bivvi bag on the floor and then put your head in – no material is that breathable! I sleep even on really cold nights (-7 was one…) with my nose/mouth poking out.

The Book of the Bivvy

Yer, i agree with matt, i've used an army one with an army basha and an army sleeping bag on catterick in N yorkshire before in 12 inches of snow and -10, its great until you have to get up in the morning!

yeah its always getting out of the bivvy in the morning i hate 100% with you there themolland.

warm as owt in the bivvy (which is a rab survival) with my sleeping bag(which depends on the weather) , wear a buff over my face/head which sticks out , and a cannondale fleece balaclava in really cold weather.

have a small tarp for my head/chest to keep rain off … and some "bubble" insulation my dad brought home from one of his building jobs that i procured …..basically its a big roll of the car windscreen sun shields that i cut off a perfectly sized bit to lie on …. my tarp is also made in this fashion from Tyvek .

Another army one here due to past experience when I was issued them in some truly appalling rain one winter on Dartmoor. No ground mat last year and a relatively thin Kilo Soft 3 sleeping bag.

I had the pleaseure of using the issue arctic bags which marines have taken down to -40odd, well cosy in any weather!

You've probably already thought of this but a two man tent is much more comfortable, same money and similar weight.

Indeed – or even lighter depending on what you get (if you're prepared to put up with a bivvy, you should be able to put up with a single skin tent).

Using a single hoop Terra Nova Gore tex bivi, the hoop is just enough to keep the fabric of your face, at a push you can eat a can of food inside it or read a book using a headtorch. There is space above your head for your boots to dry out. No condensation at all (Gore tex). My therma rest doesn't fit mine, I have to use a army issue roll mat. Its cramped but really snug and secure from the elements – have spent over 12 hours in it in the winter. A man made sleeping bag is reliable, it gets wet it will still keep you warm unlike down. Downs better, but you need a dry sac for it, otherwise its survival blanket time. 😕

There is nothing better than a simple night out under the stars, my all time classic was on the beach at Applecross a few years ago.

After a sesh in the applecross hotel, down to the sand dunes for us, set up the bivvi, on with the bacon sarnies, with a herd of deer looking on, surreal but amazing.

It doesn't have to be exotic as when you are outside and still you get too see loads.