Got a few things coming up where I will need a bivibag, but know bugger all about them!Will be sleeping out in Wales and the Peaks if that makes any difference! (other than its likely to be raining in Wales!)

Anything I should be looking for in one or is it a case of you get what you pay for?

Also if anyone’s got any recomendations that would be tops!

alpkit – cheap, cheerful and does what it say on the tin. There are better ones available but for the price…..

Cardiff … as cupra says, you’ll not go far wrong with an AlpKit Hunka BUT are you planning on using a tarp of some description too?

Hunka’s could be thought of as a waterproof / breathable sleeping bag cover, ie, you’re not fully enclosed so with no tarp you’ll have to be careful in the rain but with a tarp you’ll be fine.

If you want something that you can fully enclose yourself in (Alpine style bag) and you’re on a budget then look at a RAB Storm. If you’re not on a budget, look at something like a RAB eVent superlight.

Army surplus, mine was about £15 and I’ve slept in a puddle!

Downside it’s not the thinnest material so not the most compact when rolled.

Think we are looking at making a lightwight tarp bit enough to cover one person. WIl have a look at the alpkit stuff.

Question is do I go for the fully waterproof cacoon type thing or one that requires a tarp…decisions!

There’s a good article about bivi bags by Andy Kirkpatrick. Google should find it pretty quickly. From memory, he suggests that most people don’t buy the most appropriate bag for the use.

Worth a hunt for the article

Thankyou will have a hunt for that later!

One word…. Nemo GoGo. (ok, two words)

Brilliant little bivi-tent.
No poles, just an inflatable arch over your head giving you some good space to read and stuff.

Used these on kayaking trips in India and California. Oh how I laughed as my friend woke up with a scorpion in his shorts and I was safely zipped away from nasty critters…

I usually recommend Alpkit or Rab depending on budget.

The Nemo GoGo is nice but comes at a weight premium that means you may as well start looking at ultralight tents too.

Hmm that does look pretty nifty! Will have to look at weight/ size etc as want to carry it on my hardtail whilst still managing to enjoy the riding!

Alpkit hunka and buy a lightweight poncho and use that as a tarp ….job done

Gogo is about 900 grams if I recall and packs down to about the size of a fat squirrel.

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Gogo Elite is really nice (I have one), but by today’s standards it’s not super lightweight. My fully waterproof & breathable bivy bag, with separate bug netting closure, weighs around 330g (almost a third of the Gogo). If weight and pack size aren’t an issue though it’s a great option, if rather expensive.

Just googled ‘Gogo Elite’.

Made me chuckle.

correction – my Gogo Elite weighs more like 750g. Still far heavier than the waterproof bivy, though if you start adding tarps and stakes the gap will be smaller. Where it’s really at now is those new (and expensive!) cuben shelters imho

Is that GoGo single skin / breathable? Or will you end up lying in puddles of your own exhaled moisture? Any mesh panels in it?

Ahh – it is – and you pay for it. Looks pukka. I brought a Coleman Rigel for £40 which is ideal for my planned usage but when you wake up its like its been raining inside! I need to try modifying it.

+1 for the Nemo stuff. Mike Hall took one on the Tour Divide and now off round the world too. Bivvy bags are fine for single day trips, less lovely on multiple wet overnighters.

The Gogo is single skin and no, it’s not as breathable in typical UK conditions as a conventional inner/fly set-up, then again, neither is a bivvy bag, but the Nemo is appreciably roomier and more comfortable. Tends to work better in some conditions than others, damp being ‘others’ in this case. Venting? Yes, it has a door with mesh near your face, so that works.

I’m in the market for a bivi bag and tarp too, done quite a bit of research and have found the Alpkit bivi bag and the tarp to be excellent value and will be ordering some soon. I used to be in the military and have spent many nights in crappy weather in the army bivi bags and they always impressed me how well they worked. However they are quite bulky, I would suggest if you don’t want a tarp then go for an military bivi bag. I think having a tarp is important as its nice to have shelter to cook under, read, get changed etc that is why I’m opting for the alpkit bivi bag and tarp.

Spotted this chap a couple of weeks ago in Glencoe. It was -5 when I went for a pee in daylight at 8am, so probably a bit cooler through the night, and there was one heck of a wind blowing. Our tent was covered in snow and ice at 5am, so this guy did well.

I suppose this is another recommendation for Alpkit then? 🙂

What a nutter. Its such an odd thing to do considering that you can buy a Terra nova tent weighing about 800g for a couple hundred squids.

Joe you are right, however I love the real adventure feel of the bivvi. Each to their own. The bivi is great if you want to be inconspicuous.

I agree – you can get light, good tents these days that are usually sub 1kg with at least enough space to get dressed, sit up and have some shelter. Bivvi bags are ace on alpine bivvi / snowhole / it is gonna be wet and I need to keep down bag dry.
They also work well under gert big tarps, and do add an extra layer of warmth – but fator in a gert big tarp and it is canoe trip time, in which case I take a huuuuge tent and tarp, cos I can 8)