[pct-l] Tent vs Bivy Sack

[shon mcganty]

Considering a bivy?  My advice, RUN AWAY.  
 
I've hiked a few thousand miles with a bivy sack as my only shelter, and have found it to be very inadequate to keep you dry and warm.  
 I've used two different bivy sacks, hiking across Japan in the rainy months July and August (and typhoon season of September), and hiking in Washington during rain storms, and during pooring rain I have gotten completely, thoroughly, socking wet!  And very cold!  Even if it doesn't rain, the condensation along the inside wall of the bivy will slightly dampen your bag.  OK for one night, but after night after night you may get wetter and wetter if you don't get a chance to dry it out during the day.  But in the rain with a bivy, my sleeping bag has been as wet as a towel thrown in the lake.  Try sleeping in that.   
 
 
A bivy may have some utility, as I still use them, but only under limited conditions.  If I take a bivy, it's to add a little warmth and wind protection under my tarp.  I have used a bivy alone in the winter and dry nights, and wake up to find ice crystals just like you did on your tent wall,  But unlike a tent, the icy was up against my bag, keeping me cooler and when melted, it got me wet.
In my opinion, the ice crystals on the inside of the tent wall is something that's normal in cold conditions.  As long as you are dry, wetness or ice along the tent wall is to be expected.  If you sleep cold, the first two things to consider is the sleeping bag and what is under you.   
 
 
 

________________________________
 From: Tim Gustafson <tjg at tgustafson.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 8:14 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Tent vs Bivy Sack
  
Hi,

So I went for a "training" trip this weekend at Henry Coe park with my
Eureka Solitaire tent.  The tent was woefully inadequate for the cold
temperatures overnight - I'm not sure exactly, but I would say it got
down to perhaps 25 degrees or so.  There was a significant
accumulation of ice crystals inside and outside the tent.  Since it is
a 3-season tent, it doesn't ever "seal shut" - the tent is no-see-um
mesh covered with a second layer that is essentially a rain fly, but
since the rain fly doesn't zip shut (it stakes to the ground
separately from the rest of the tent), there was no good seal around
the perimeter of the tent and I got a constant draft through the tent
all night.  I wound up "cocooning" myself into my sleeping bag and
holding closed the top as I slept.

So I'm thinking about perhaps purchasing something that would be more
suitable for 4-season use, and I was wondering if I should get a
4-season backpacker tent, or maybe go for the bivy sack option.  The
bivy sacks are way lighter than the 4-season tents I'm finding, they
pack smaller, and they're a lot cheaper too.

I'm not thrilled with the prospect of my pack and boots getting rained
on, but I suppose I could fix that with a waterproof pack sack, or
perhaps a tarp that I could erect a simple shelter for them in the
event of rain.

Does anyone have any wisdom related to using a bivy sack rather than a tent?

-- 

Tim Gustafson
tjg at tgustafson.com
http://tgustafson.com/
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