Am_Fear_Liath_Mor,

Thanks for the offer Am_Fear_Liath_Mor, but I'm happy with my WM bag, I was just looking for a field tested light weight bivy that could handle severe rain. I got the bag that I love with the capabilities it has, I just want something that would protect the bag from the rain in a hard storm in the event of a tent failure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TheSock,

"It all depends on WHY someone wants a waterproof bag."

I use a water proof bag for everything from river crossings, canoeing, put my bag on a boat or what have you. And when I'm not using the bag to hold a sleeping bag, I use it diving as well with emergency equipment on board.


"If it's to camp without a tent, then you do need a tent substitute."

I have a old north face tent breach water through after camping in 38 degree weather and raining 24 hours a day for several days. The tent did great as long as it could but the continuing rain started to flood the bottom of the tent and soaked my synthetic bag at the time, also dripping from the ceiling as well. With the rain and cold it took days for that bag to completely dry and if it was down it would be worse. I gave the tent great credit for what it went through and I had scotch guarded and seam sealed the heck out of it (both before and after). I just wanted something so if I have another breach I would have a second line of defense. In hind site, I should have dug a trench around the tent, so a lot of the flooding was poor preparation on my part (and I was on higher ground, just not high enough).

"If it's because you are afraid your sleeping bag will get wet inside your tent. Then a bivouac or poncho would be of no help. But really, if you keep your bag inside a waterproof sac, only open it inside the tent and don't wear wet clothes in it and why should it get wet? If it does you need a better tent not a waterproof sleeping bag.
The Sock "

The light weight bivy I will be experimenting with, a few people had said it could not take a rain storm for a long time on the top of the fabric for long storms but light rain was ok. They mentioned a tarp or poncho would be better if used to divert most of the rain off the top. The whole idea of the bivy for me is a emergency shelter and a secondary line of defense if I had a tent failure.


_________________________
Failure is not an option!
USMC Jungle Environmental Survival Training PI 1985