Posted by: Paul810
Adventure Medical Kits Emergency Bivvy - 12/07/10 05:59 PM
For a while I've been carrying Adventure Medical Kits Heatsheets Emergency bivvys as part of my outdoor gear.
Being I don't like to carry items which I haven't tested, I finally decided it might be a good time to test one out and see how it works.
I figured the easiest test would just be to try sleeping in it, on my floor, while on top of the ground pad I typically use to sleep outdoors. I was going to try sleeping with it outside, but being that it's below freezing and snowing out, I didn't feel like potentially risking my life to do so. The inside of my house is presently 63*F, just cold enough that I'm uncomfortable sleeping without some kind of blanket.
On my postage scale the bivvy and it's stuff sack weighed in at 4.1 ounces. Size wise it's roughly a 3" tall, 2.5" wide, and 3" deep.
When opened it's about 7' long and 3' wide. My 6'2" 250lb body had no problem using it like a sleeping bag. It was relatively easy to find a comfortable sleeping position, though the bivvy was a little noisy to use, which may bother light sleepers.
When I finally got down to sleeping in it, I was quite impressed. It kept me plenty warm, I actually found myself getting a little too hot. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it kept me just as warm as if I had been using a common fleece blanket.
The next morning I was still reasonably warm, but I noticed that my clothing was all slightly damp. Essentially, the bivvy doesn't breath at all, which means your sweat during the night will turn into condensation inside the bag. Depending on how much you sweat and how cold the temperature is, this might be an issue for some people. In my test it just meant changing my clothes.
When it came time to put the bivvy away, I first checked it for any rips or tears. I had two areas where the material stretched a little, but otherwise it was still perfectly intact. I then attempted to fold it back up and put it back in it's stuff sack. This proved to be a little difficult, as it seems like it's near impossible to get it back down to it's original size.
Thankfully, the included stuff sack is over-sized, which meant it wasn't to difficult to get everything packed up. When I was done the sack was now 7" tall, with the same basic width and depth.
In the end, I was pretty impressed. For something that weighs less than my cellphone to keep me as warm as a much larger and heavier blanket is nothing less than astounding. Being bright orange on one side and shiny silver on the other also means it could really help to get one noticed out in the wilderness. At the $15.99 I paid it's also easily affordable to most.
All in all, I think this should be included in everyone's essential outdoor gear. I would especially include it with the gear of a child that spends any time outdoors, as it's easy for them to use and I feel like it would greatly increase their chances of surviving a night out side after getting lost.
Being I don't like to carry items which I haven't tested, I finally decided it might be a good time to test one out and see how it works.
I figured the easiest test would just be to try sleeping in it, on my floor, while on top of the ground pad I typically use to sleep outdoors. I was going to try sleeping with it outside, but being that it's below freezing and snowing out, I didn't feel like potentially risking my life to do so. The inside of my house is presently 63*F, just cold enough that I'm uncomfortable sleeping without some kind of blanket.
On my postage scale the bivvy and it's stuff sack weighed in at 4.1 ounces. Size wise it's roughly a 3" tall, 2.5" wide, and 3" deep.
When opened it's about 7' long and 3' wide. My 6'2" 250lb body had no problem using it like a sleeping bag. It was relatively easy to find a comfortable sleeping position, though the bivvy was a little noisy to use, which may bother light sleepers.
When I finally got down to sleeping in it, I was quite impressed. It kept me plenty warm, I actually found myself getting a little too hot. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it kept me just as warm as if I had been using a common fleece blanket.
The next morning I was still reasonably warm, but I noticed that my clothing was all slightly damp. Essentially, the bivvy doesn't breath at all, which means your sweat during the night will turn into condensation inside the bag. Depending on how much you sweat and how cold the temperature is, this might be an issue for some people. In my test it just meant changing my clothes.
When it came time to put the bivvy away, I first checked it for any rips or tears. I had two areas where the material stretched a little, but otherwise it was still perfectly intact. I then attempted to fold it back up and put it back in it's stuff sack. This proved to be a little difficult, as it seems like it's near impossible to get it back down to it's original size.
Thankfully, the included stuff sack is over-sized, which meant it wasn't to difficult to get everything packed up. When I was done the sack was now 7" tall, with the same basic width and depth.
In the end, I was pretty impressed. For something that weighs less than my cellphone to keep me as warm as a much larger and heavier blanket is nothing less than astounding. Being bright orange on one side and shiny silver on the other also means it could really help to get one noticed out in the wilderness. At the $15.99 I paid it's also easily affordable to most.
All in all, I think this should be included in everyone's essential outdoor gear. I would especially include it with the gear of a child that spends any time outdoors, as it's easy for them to use and I feel like it would greatly increase their chances of surviving a night out side after getting lost.