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Bivy bags and Sleeping systems for back country Elk hunting

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#2 ·
I did the sleeping bag--bivy thing a few years ago. Never again. The bivy barely was bigger than me and my sleeping bag. One snowy cold night I had it zipped all the way and breathed all of the air out of the bivy waking up with a need for air. There was no room for my boots and jacket in there and they got wet. My suggestion is a light weight tent and sleeping bag and you'll be glad you did.
 
#4 ·
I believe the best bivies out there for for staying warm and dry in miserable conditions are from Outdoor Research. I have the Advanced model and it weights about 2 pounds. You don't have to use both poles so that can cut weight. They also have a model called the Fossil and Alpine which weigh just a few ounces less and a few lighters around the pound too. Most ultralight bivies weigh around a pound, but if you want to be comfortable the weight, and the poles are worth it.
It's still half the weight of the lightest tents and tends to be warmer. The only downside is that you don't have anywhere to store your gear, and if you have to hole up in bad weather it is not much fun lying on your back with no space to sit and do anything. For your gear you can take a heavyweight garbage bag to cover your pack and a few shopping bags for your boots and other gear.
 
#5 ·
floater said:
I did the sleeping bag--bivy thing a few years ago. Never again. The bivy barely was bigger than me and my sleeping bag. One snowy cold night I had it zipped all the way and breathed all of the air out of the bivy waking up with a need for air. There was no room for my boots and jacket in there and they got wet. My suggestion is a light weight tent and sleeping bag and you'll be glad you did.
Click to expand...
ROFLMAO....I could see the panic after this happened...PRIME!
 
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#6 ·
Go with a tent. So many people get on here and read all this stuff about stay out in a bivy or with just a tarp and sleeping bag and think they can do it to. Believe me very few people can actually stay in the high country for an extended period of time with a tarp or bivy sack. You will get very little rest and stay cold and wet. I saw a good example of this in colorado this year. Ran into 3 guys from Wisconsin who had never been to the rockies but had read all about backpack hunting and going lightweight with a tarp. They had been there 4 days and were leaving. they were wet cold hadn't had much sleep at night so had to sleep during the warm part of the day losing hunting time. One good thing is they said they would never come back again. lol
 
#8 ·
I went with a bivy in Wyoming, about 10000 feet for muley's, so I figured i'd take my chances with bad weather and take a bivy, I can live with frozen gear and boots the next morning, I could'nt live with waking up 20 times in one night shivering, because the OR gore-tex alpine bivy, I was in was supposed to reasonably manage moisture, this was not the case at all, 15* Marmot Helium bag soaked, miserable night. Zipper open the 6" for ventilation, didnt do much. Luckily for me the next day was just windy and cold, no precipitation. So I could dry out my bag, and not have to head back to the truck. Even the nights without the snow, which allowed me to keep the bag completely open, I'd still have bad condensation issues. Maybe, if I didnt have a down bag it'd been better, but then I'm not saving any weight. I'm selling my OR Alpline, and buying a good solo tent this year.
 
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#9 ·
Yeah it's a tough call. I've used just about everything from Bivy sacks, tents and backpacking hammocks. The tent is always the safe bet but if you know the weather is going to be good I much prefer the hammock. Just don't use the hammock in cold weather, you'll freeze no matter how warm your bag is.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
S&S Archery said:
Yeah it's a tough call. I've used just about everything from Bivy sacks, tents and backpacking hammocks. The tent is always the safe bet but if you know the weather is going to be good I much prefer the hammock. Just don't use the hammock in cold weather, you'll freeze no matter how warm your bag is.
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I have heard that about hammocks....whats tough is you dont know what weather you will have in Sept in Idaho....
 
#11 ·
Go-Light ShangriLa 3 floorless teepee...right around 2lbs all up.
Western Mountaneering Antelope 5* down filled Gore shelled bag...sub 3lbs
Exped Synmat 9 deluxe sleeping pad...2.5lbs.

I can save weight with a lighter pad ,but the Synmat insulates well from the ground up and is pretty comphy.With the rig listed above plus my Kifaru LongHunter it wieghs less than 15lbs.Not UL for sure, but pretty light IMO.

The GoLight can be modified with a stove jack and a small wood stove can be added.This is what I plan on doing for a winter project.Stove wieghs in at 2.5 to 3lbs.
 
#13 ·
I've done the backcountry camping stuff and have just about given all that up. I don't sleep well at 11k feet anyway, unless I've been hunting for 3+ days already, it's 70 degrees out, and the sun is shining on me.:wink:

But if I was to do any of it again, I'd go with the small tent versus a bivy. I'm 6'6" and I like my space. If there's even the remote chance of any adverse weather, you'll be glad you took the tent. And I would say that there's a pretty good chance of adverse weather anywhere in the mountains in Sept.
 
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#14 ·
I've done the bivy sack before also, and got rid of it. There are light systems out there. I have a discontinued North Face tent that fastpacks, which means the fly will fasten to the ground cloth, and you can leave the tent at home. About 2 pounds and a lot more room than a sack.
 
#15 ·
From all the horror stories I've heard on bivy's there's no way I'd buy one...I'd go with a good, lightweight 1 or 2 man tent. I've never been in a bivy but I dont think I could hack sleeping in one of those things.
 
#16 ·
I have hunted elk in Idaho in mid Sep twice. Each time we had some days in the 70's and woke up with a foot of snow on the ground. I was cold at times in a nice tent. I would never do a bivy. There are some big animals out there that like to eat meat. :teeth:
 
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#18 ·
I have a friend that does bivy's and tarp here in Idaho and he seems to do OK with it. I prefer the tent option. I have a Marmot EOS1P and it is OK, But I would prefer a 2 person so I have room for some gear that I would like to keep dry if we get rain. One thing to think about is there are a few days that it seems every mosquito, bee and fly has you in its sight. On my tent the mesh I can use without the rain fly, that seems to help if it is real hot or you are in an area with a lot of bugs. Here is my tent on a spring bear hunt here in Idaho.
 
#19 ·
HighCountry46 said:
Go-Light ShangriLa 3 floorless teepee...right around 2lbs all up.
Western Mountaneering Antelope 5* down filled Gore shelled bag...sub 3lbs
Exped Synmat 9 deluxe sleeping pad...2.5lbs.

I can save weight with a lighter pad ,but the Synmat insulates well from the ground up and is pretty comphy.With the rig listed above plus my Kifaru LongHunter it wieghs less than 15lbs.Not UL for sure, but pretty light IMO.

The GoLight can be modified with a stove jack and a small wood stove can be added.This is what I plan on doing for a winter project.Stove wieghs in at 2.5 to 3lbs.
Click to expand...
For all you guys that want ultralight gear and an insulated pad... Exped is coming out with an insulated pad in March with an r-rating of 4.5 that's 2.5" thick and weighs only 16 oz.! There's nothing out there that even comes close. That's 1 oz. heavier then the Neo Air and you don't freeze if temps drop. I can't wait till I can buy one.
 
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