I'd have to go along with you Leigh, although, I prefer a Hennessy Hammock to a bivy, I like being up off the ground if it's gonna rain much more than a short shower, and unless it's really cold, it's a lot more comfortable being a couple of feet off the ground, as opposed to on it.

Troy

i'm in SoCal too and weather wise it can be fairly unpredictable. but one thing is certain no matter what time of year it is always cold or pretty cool at night. i also go all over the place, yosemite, mojave, etc etc at all times of the year. so basically i do want something that insulates and a regular lightweight bivy ain't gonna do that much good. so now i'm back to looking at survival bivy/bags. i was considering the LAND/Shark survival bag but its a bit heavy. so far, the adventure medical kit emergency bivy is pretty lightweight and cheap @$20.00 so it looks pretty good. but that Land/Shark bag is a really good survival bag and only about 20 bucks more. anyone ever use the land/shark?
http://www.land-shark.com/

I hope you just bought that bivy.....they were on sale this past week for $59. I got one and am not sure if I will return it or not. I am thinking the bivy would make a good sleeping bag cover in cold weather (in addition to a tent) and an excellent emergency shelter when paired with a silnylon poncho and perhaps an Adventure Medical bivy sack.

Give me both. Put the bivy in the hammock, and any bag you need in the bivvy. Gets you off the ground, keeps the wind and moisture out, and keeps you warm. You need a wind break if it's cold, but that's no biggy.

Although if I have to pick what to carry for space and weight, in most cases I'll bring a tarp and a few 55 gallon bags rather than the bivy and the tarp.

So you started off with silicon impregnated material?

And I was looking forward to learning how that works.

LED,
No, a bivy sack isn't overkill if you are hiking in an enviroment that warrent's it. I love my Mountain Hardware Conduit SL bivy sack. I have used my bivy in some pretty bad conditions with and without a sleeping bag. I don't carry it in the summer in AZ, but in the winter it adds 10+ degrees to my bag.

I am also a fan of the hammock, especially in thr summer... In the winter hammocks can be way too cold, even with a bivy sack.

For all those people who use a bivy, I'm kinda curious, under what conditions do you carry it? Do you consciously plan on using it (as a primary shelter in lieu of a tent), or is it an emergency backup shelter for just in case? So do you carry a tent and a bivy, or just the bivy alone? And do you carry it everytime you go out for a hike, even when you don't plan on being out overnight? I'm starting to wonder if I'm overlooking the usefulness of the bivy.

LED,
what part of Socal do you usually hike? I can think of a few places that might require additional protection, but given our mild weather most of the year I've never really worried too much about shelter. If I had to spend an unexpected night out, I'll probalby be cold and miserabe, but I think with a couple of garbage bags and my normal dayhiking gear, I can survive pretty easily.

If you're still interested in a bivy, I'll sell you a brand new one <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />, it's exactly like this in black

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...EI_SEARCH#specs

BTW, way before i could afford a bivy, I've used a surplus bodybag as a cheap alternative when campign without a tent. It worked okay, not as nice as a traditional bivy, but hey it was only $10. Just make sure you get a NEW surplus bag. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

ducktapeguy,

interesting use for a body bag. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> i personally would feel kinda weird using one as an emergency bivy thought. of course unless i didn't have anything else.

thanks for the bivy offer but i'm still lookin.

as far as hiking goes, my almost daily hike with the dogs (a necessity for them) includes anywhere in griffith park, pacific palisades, kenter canyon, and lots of other trails i have no idea what the names are. for those hikes i carry a smaller pack mostly with stuff for them, water, bowls, treats, etc. my main day pack is for longer (outskirts of socal) hikes, mt. baldy, mt. san jacinto (hopefully this weekend), and even in the los padres national forest. i'd like to make it out to mojave national preserve but thats a but farther so we'll see.

LED,

It does sound weird, but I just think of it as another cloth bag. The one i used to have didn't really look like a body bag, but very much like an Olive drab bivy sack.

As far as hiking, I used to hike in Griffith park a lot, on the weekly night hikes put on by the Sierra club. I doubt you could get lost there for a long time even if you tried, there are so many people wandering around and you're never more than a mile away from some road or parking lot or freeway. I'll be hiking Baldy this weekend, and probalby San Jacinto and San Gorgonio in the coming months in preparation for Whitney. Those are pretty rugged mountains, but I won't be carrying my bivy. In case of emergency, I'm hoping to stumble across the campsite of a missing hiker and use his stuff <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> j/k. I'm actually trying to convince my friends to carry more stuff, usually on a day hike the only thing they carry is a water bottle <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I generally use my Bivy as my primary shelter for most backpacking trips. I bring a tarp to rig up cover using treking polls if it is needed. A Bivy(an OR like DTGuy list above) is always in my truck kit with a good sleeping bag. I also add my Mountain Hardware Bivy to my SAR kit or my day pack when hiking in the winter and in Northern AZ.