I always put a fly/tarp over my tent/bivy when it's raining. I've never experinced this, but I'd had enough wonderful little drippy spots in the middle of the night that I know I'll break in about 20 minutes of Chinese water torture.

I'm also going to guess that you had a half decent wind at the long axis of your tent? Bernoulli, Venturi, whichever effect that makes airplanes airplanes- IIRC, it should form a vacuum at the short ends if there was. That might have had something to do in your case. But in all honest, Ben, you're the first person I've ever heard of having this happen- Murphy in action.

Yeah, it caught me by surprise too. It had been raining pretty much all day, and that tent was wholly unprotected.

Live and Learn I guess. I no longer have that tent, having gone to the packable variety that are easily vented yet fairly weatherproof. Either that or my big canvas wall tent, which only comes out for elk season.

I actually have the exact bivy shelter that Frank referenced and it works good. small, compact and lightweight. I used is couple of times hiking the OHT in AR. The only problem I saw is if it were raining and you needed to get in and out...you are basically opening up the entire contents of your bivy to the elements.

I'm a big guy..so to get in this thing you basically set it up..step in at the front, sit down and then scoot yourself down. Not a quick entry or exit, but it serves the purpose. A nice tarp hung up over the head area would cure this problem, but would also add to the weight of the system.

I like multi-tasking equipment. In my car I have, rolled up tightly together and stored in one of those nylon bags that comes with folding lawn chairs:
- two (2) military-style ponchos, with grommets and snaps
- one (1) poncho liner
- one "sportsman's blanket" which is poly on one side and metallic "space blanket" material on the other, also with grommeted corners.
With these (and a few feet of paracord) I find I can improvise a pretty snug and waterproof shelter/bivvy/sleeping system just about anywhere. I also have the flexibility of using the components of the system as rain gear, equipment covers, for signalling, etc. If I find myself with a couple of other people, we can split up the components so everyone can at least stay fairly dry.
I don't recommend this system as your primary shelter on a planned camping trip. It's also a little bulky, though not terribly heavy. But in an emergency I know I can sling that bag over one shoulder, and my medium-sized emergency kit (also in the vehicle) over the other, and be reasonably prepared for a few days and nights in most conditions.

Having never used a bivy, what do you all do with gear? Surely it doesn't all fit inside. Do you just put it in a large garbage bag?

I usually hang my pack upright on a tree, with the rain cover on it.

I really can't imagine suffocating in a bivy, even when zipped tight, they are nowhere near airtight. About the only danger I can imagine is sleeping in one during a snowstorm, if covered in snow it can become a serious problem, but the same danger exist in a snow covered tent.

I have one of the goretex bivies, which is basically the same concept, and I have to say my limited experience with them isn't exactly favorable. I admit that I was influenced by the romanticized notion of having a high tech, self contained piece of equipment, that I could just climb into and ride out any weather, but the reality of it is pretty different. I think they might be great for their intended use, which was emergency shelters for mountaineers who get caught in a storm, but as a primary or even backup shelter I don't find them very practical. It offers no protection for your gear, it feels very claustrophobic, and if you get wet everything inside will be wet also. You can alleviate some of the problems by rigging up a tarp to shelter you from the rain, a mosquito net to protect you from bugs, and a ground cloth to isolate you from the ground, but by the time you carry all that plus the bivy, you might as well be using a lightweight tent. This is an opinion from someone that really wanted to like the bivy, but just couldn't overcome it's limitations.

For a stricly emergency shelter, I prefer to carry a large garbage bag or lightweight silnylon tarp. It's smaller, lighter, and more versatile than a bivy. A cheap, rectangular piece of plastic just isn't a cool as a goretex cocoon, but sometimes simpler is better. I can never find a good reason to carry a bivy, it's too heavy to carry just for emergencies, and if there is a very strong chance that I would need to spend the night out in the kind of weather that would require something as heavy duty as a bivy, I should be carrying a tent.

Hi Ducktapeguy,

I would have to agree with most of your comments, a lightweight tent is definitely a better choice.

For a review of the who and why anyone would use a bivi bag

http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=425

The difference between the ubiquitous orange emergency survival bag and a Goretex bivi can make the difference between life and death. There has been a case where two mountaineers in the Scottish Cairngorms during winter found themselves over night on the plateau. Each were equipped individually with an orange polybag and a Goretex bivi; the one with the orange polybag died from exposure whilst the one with Goretex bivi lost a few toes.


Orange Survival polybag ; 400 grams


Goretex Bivi ; 650 grams

Single wall survival tent (Vaude Refuge); 980 grams


Proper Single Man Tent (Hilleberg Akto); 1600 grams

Hi kharrell

For some useful advice/tips on Bivvy Bags the following podcast may be heard at,

http://backpackinglight.hipcast.com/deluge/7861d1e0-fb3b-0047-a126-8cabf5d425b2.mp3

There is also a book available on Bivvy Bags By Ronald Turnbull available at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Bivvy-Cicerone-Guide/dp/185284342X

For lots of other info on lightweight trekking there are lots of other podcasts available at
http://www.podcastingnews.com/details/backpackinglight.audioblog.com/rss/podcasts.xml/view.htm