Tent v bivvy for an overnighter

Bit of advice needed. Doing the Lakes Jennride in a couple of weeks – my first ‘wild’ overnighter for some time (30 years). Camped quite a bit in the past but not with the bike. I have a bivvy bag that I’ve never used and also a light Alpkit tent (one of those seconds from a few years ago). The weather might make my mind up but keen to try the bivvy. Don’t have a tarp – don’t want to get/ carry one either – might as well just take the tent. Whats is the bivvy likely to be like on its own? Any tips? I’ll be using an inflatable mat and down quilt. Cheers.

The weather might make my mind up

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Aye, go with the right choice for the weather if you don’t want to get a tarp. Bivi in the right conditions is great, bivi in the pi55ing rain without a tarp isn’t very comfortable, bivi and tarp, pitched well in the pi55ing rain is fine or a tent just works all round with a weight penalty.

I tend to go with the small tent pretty much every time now, I’m happy to pay the penalty (its only just over 1 kilo and rolls up tiny).

Bivvy if the weather is set perfect. Anything less and a tent is so much better.

I much prefer a tent to a bivvy bag, so always use my just-over-1kg tent.

^ echoing others I prefer the relative comfort of a tent. So I use a slightly-bigger-than-bivvy-sized coffin tent same as this:

Will be upgrading when I can (it’s 1.6kg with fibreglass poles), but for now it does the job quite well. Low profile means it was one of only two tents left standing on last group camping trip. It was battered by seafoam and mad winds but hardly fluttered. I actually slept, which was nice.

Depends on where you are going. Much easier to find a discreet spot to put a bivvy bag. Doesn’t need much flat ground, or putting in pegs etc. So you can hide under a hedge if necessary. Also a lot quicker to setup / pack away.
Though yes, a bivvy is not much fun if its raining. Or if there’s any midgies about.

I personally prefer a bivvy bag given the choice. With a tarp if needed for either cold wind or rain. That said comfort isn’t high on my requirements. I do use a tent, but that’s almost entirely down to my bivvy not having a bug mesh.

Metalheart has an Outdoor Research Helium bivvy which looks great toe. Has a hoop for “comfort” and a midge net.

The first time I ever wild camped with the bike was on the JennRide last year. As the forecast was for good weather I chanced it with just a sleeping bag, 3/4 length mat and Alpkit Hunka bivy bag (plus survival bag as groundsheet). Got away with it even though temperature dropped to 1 degree overnight. This time I have an old tent flysheet that I have cut in half and will stretch over the wheels to form a shelter if it rains (copied idea from one of PostieRich’s fine photos of a similar design..).
I think choosing location is quite important, behind a drystone wall, in a forrest seem like better ideas than being on top of a hill for the views!

Bivvy hauling a tent around for a 103 miles and nearly 14,000ft of climbing will hurt unless its ultralight route is low level and plenty of places to get out of the wind
Your choice 🙂 you get up earlier in a bivvy
Untitled by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

That looks a great spot! Whereabouts is it?

sworn to secrecy but might show you if you ever came bike packing to the Lakes
Untitled by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

There isn’t much weight or pack size difference between my tent and bivvy/tarp setup and they both setup in about the same time. Tent everytime for me though, get caught out even in one midgie fest and you’ll be glad of being able to zip up the door.

Either/or. It’s not a weight thing. It’s not a pack-size thing. I have both and use them interchangeably. My tent is a Lunar Solo – Metalheart has designs on one too.

Three 🙂

The bivvy has a hoop and the option of a midge screen, although doubt that will matter at this time of year in the Lakes. Think I will give it a go unless weather says no.

Tent is light (roughly same as bivvy plus tarp and poles), but bivvy, mat and quilt feel like next to nothing which is appealing.

Just occurred to me that I can use the Alpkit Delta as a tarp tent if I leave the inner at home. Probably the best compromise if the weather is changeable.

Very much either really. It does depend on time of year, weather, etc. but it’s not cut and dried. There are advantages to both and it depends what you are comfortable with.

Tarp & bivy.

It’s not a tent and is often seen as less threatening so you can get away with more – it’s not really “camping” to many people.
You aren’t limited to having to find a flat tent sized footprint plus room for guy lines etc, you can be quite inventive in using available features – trees, walls, old buildings.
Can be lighter but depends on what you compare.
Can pack better on bike. I made my own poles from an old tent and cut them so they’d fit in my frame bag, you are stuck with the manufacturer’s idea of what a tent pole section should be.
Easy to adjust according to conditions: tarp edge to floor in windy/cool conditions or raised in warm ones to get a draught.

Tent

Much better if it’s really midgey
Slightly warmer as you’ve an enclosed airspace.
Better if you have to pitch in an exposed location in poor weather.
More familiar to most

I’ve a Terra Nova LaserComp 1 which is 900g or so and can fit two (just) in it. My tarp setups weigh from 300g to 900g including pegs and poles (not including bivy bag, or bags if there are two of us) – if I’m on my own I wouldn’t take the 900g option as it’s just too much space. My bivy bags range from 130g (BorahGear cuben fibre) to 500g (Alpkit Hunka XL). The BorahGear bivy has a bug net and can be completely enclosed so is fine for dealing with midges.

Where you pitch can have a big impact on how anything performs: if it’s going to be midgey then finding somewhere open and in a breeze will deal with them. Conversely if it’s blowing a hoolie then somewhere in the trees is better. Camping by water will tend to be cooler. Etc.,etc.

I’ll be using the Jenn Ride as a final shakedown for the HT550 so will have the lighter stuff listed above.