Do you need a bivouac bag? Bivouaczak: What is a bivouac bag and can it replace a tent. Why use a camping bag
When it comes to weather protection in the field, the choice is quite wide. The obvious and most common solution is tent but it's good to know the alternatives. Some of them weigh much less than a full-fledged tent - for example, bivy.
bivouacs There are two main types - those with some support (in the form of arches or racks) and those without it.
What is it - bivouaczak?
Simply put, bivy- a bag made of lightweight, moisture-resistant material on the bottom (usually nylon) and with a moisture-resistant top (hopefully breathable). Imagine a very thin, light, moisture-resistant bag that holds your mat and a sleeping bag on top of it.
« Bivouac- a camp without a tent or other traditional shelter. Used by the military and climbers.
Everything will fit in a bivouac bag - a rug, a sleeping bag, a backpack and you yourself. Why use a bivouac bag?
Beavy ideal if you intend but are not ready to sleep under a tent alone. Beavy originally designed as mountain climbing and winter hiking equipment, providing an extra layer of protection in such challenging conditions. But for less hardcore travelers, it can serve as the main hiding place.
Of course, he has his pros and cons, and many of them are revealed from the very beginning of use.
Many tourists and travelers clearly prefer bivy. Bivy Benefits
- The weight: about half a kilogram is the average value of the weight bivouac on the market. There are also weighing up to one and a half kilograms, but what's the point then in bivouac bag, if you can replace it with a two-man tent of the same weight and price, or even cheaper.
- Installation location: a familiar situation when there is nowhere to stick a peg or nowhere to pull a guy line? FROM bivy there are no such problems, just deploy it. He doesn't need all those bells and whistles. Only a flat area the size of a rug.
- Compact size: bivy saves not only the weight of the backpack, but also the place in it, taking up much less volume when folded than a single tent. More space for sweets!
- Cosiness: in bivy usually warmer, other things being equal. This means that your shelter is not only smaller and lighter, but also allows you to carry less gear to keep you warm.
- Sunset, stars and dawn: if there are no clouds, just lie down and think of your fellow travelers locked up in a tent without being able to see all this beauty. Magically.
We meet the dawn, look at the order and at the stars - and all thanks to the bivouac bag. - Smell: it's fresh air. Clean, ringing and a lot of it.
- Condensate: this may confuse you a little, since this argument appears in both pros and cons. So far, there was only one overnight stay, in which the condensate at least somehow showed itself. (See "Disadvantages".) On the other hand, a few minutes after climbing out of bivy I was able to roll it up 99% dry, which would not have been possible with a tent.
- Emergency option: suitable as a last resort, i.e. "I hope I don't have to use this", a shelter option for a one-day outing.
- Came lightly - easily folded: If you easy-going, your entire backpack will easily fit inside bivouac. My 45 liter rucksack with 4 days of gear fits under the hood bivy(i.e. behind my head). This will not only hide the backpack from the rain, but also hide the food in it from animals and insects. An added benefit is that it pushes back the fabric bivy from your face!
- Are you afraid of insects? I like to solve the problem simply - smeared with repellent and plugged earplugs. In southeastern Australia, there is little concern for mosquito-borne diseases. However, if your situation is different, just fasten the mesh curtain on your bivy. If it is in your chosen model, of course.
Bivy Disadvantages
- Private life: what can I say, good luck. Dressing, wiping the body with a sponge and just secluded becomes a difficult task. For these reasons, if I work as a guide, I take a tent with me.
- Entrance and exit: takes practice, your crawling skill will come in very handy.
- Rain, rain, stop big disadvantage bivy is the need to do all the things inside, including changing wet clothes, and all this in the rain. I have not yet had to deal with this, given that the application bivy was another reason to double-check the weather forecast. If it’s light drizzle, then it’s okay, but if something is more serious, and besides, the temperature is lower, then it’s better to take a tent.
- Sheltered sitting: a forced long stay under a field shelter in bad weather is already unpleasant ... and even if it bivy. Not the best plan for the weekend. Cooking, reading, stretching and everything else that makes our sitting in a headscarf bearable - bivy will make it unbearable.
- Condensate: mentioned above in the benefits, yes yes. As temperatures dropped to freezing in the mountains, the top of my sleeping bag (where my breath came out) became quite damp. I used bivy in the Australian mountains in spring and summer, with nighttime temperatures of 0-7 degrees, the air was relatively dry. I wonder what it will be like in wetter conditions.
- Claustrophobia: Not everyone likes to climb holes. If you don't like enclosed spaces, you won't like bivy.
And yes, bivy is not for the claustrophobic. Especially in the rain. As a result, bivy- not for everyone. If you need your own space, privacy and the ability to move freely, crowned with reliable protection from rain, choose a tent. If, however, you are striving to reduce and lighten the load, and even if you are not afraid of bad weather, try bivy.
Ultra-light travel gear is getting more and more complex. This trend is most evident in the ever-evolving category of individual shelters, better known as bivouac bags("beevy").
If you are not already familiar with the existing variety of bivouac options, it's time to fix it. You'll be amazed at the variety of choices and thoughtful designs available to the independent traveler looking to cut down on the weight of their gear.
Who Uses Bivy Bags? People who:
- Often travel alone;
- They make bigwall climbs that require more than one day to complete;
- Often make long trips on bicycles;
- Each gram of the carried load is counted;
- Don't mind sleeping in cramped spaces.
Basics
Bivy bags were conceived to meet the needs of climbers who needed protection for their sleeping bags from the weather during ascents that take several days, especially on big walls (big walls).
Early bivouac bags were just a waterproof nylon sleeping bag cover that did a good job of protecting the sleeping bag from the rain and with mediocre ventilation capabilities.
Today bivouac sacks are constructed with two layers of fabric. The bottom tier usually consists of a durable nylon derivative (usually taffeta, sometimes oxford) that is coated with urethane to make it waterproof. The same material is used by most manufacturers in the production of tent floors.
The top tier is typically made from ripstop nylon (a lighter fabric) and finished with a waterproof/breathable laminate such as Gore-Tex®, Tegraltex or REI Elements®.
Over time, the original bivouac spawned a related product with tent-like characteristics, bivy shelters ( bivy shelter). Being slightly heavier, this type of shelter has two features that traditional bivy do not have - an extended area of protected free space and complete protection from bad weather and insects. Thanks to these features, the popularity of this type of shelter is growing among consumers who are fond of hiking, especially for those traveling light (light-walkers).
In addition, there is a bivy-like category of double-layer tents. The average weight of these tents (about 1.8 kg) is more than the weight of a standard bivy (900 g or less), but they offer more interior space along with a modest mass - a comforting argument for soloists who need the opportunity to take a seated position in their shelter, But the ability to travel light is also important. Examples: REI Sololite; Kelly Clark; Walrus Micro Swift Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight.
Bivy bags
Even though designed with modern fabrics, the traditional bivouac bag is primarily intended for mountaineers or ideological minimalists - people who drill holes in their spoons to save a few extra grams.
A regular bivouac bag performs two basic functions.: protects the sleeping bag from moisture and increases its temperature by about 5 ° C.
Beavy has an open area for the head. When it rains, some moisture can get in through the unprotected head hole. To minimize the ingress of moisture inside, tighten the lace located around this hole. Of course, in this way, the head hole will turn into a nose hole, which for some people will be unacceptable. But that's a small compromise for the ultra-light backpacker who appreciates bivouac bags for their minimal weight.
Other Considerations
Some models allow you to create armholes on the side of your bivouac bag, allowing you to sort your gear or cook while still warm and protected from the elements.
A full-length bivy zipper will be useful, providing more options for ventilation.
Look out for factory taped seams, top brands usually offer this useful feature.
Some models are equipped with straps to help hold your mat in place.
In warm conditions, sometimes people do not use a sleeping bag at all, but simply sleep directly in the bivouac bag.
Typical representatives of bivouac bags: Moonstone Personal Shelter; Standard Bivy from Outdoor Research; REI Cyclops.
bivy shelters
The evolution of bivy bags has produced a new category of low tent known as bivy shelters. These models have mesh inserts located in the area of the opening for the head, as well as small suspension systems (pegs, arcs) that hold the fabric above the tourist's face. In a bivy type shelter, complete isolation from insects and rain can be achieved. This may require some ingenuity to provide ventilation during a rainstorm, but it is quite possible to achieve.
For many backpackers who travel long and light, a bivy-type shelter with its additional wedge-shaped reinforcement in the head area can provide a sufficient level of comfort. In areas with constant rainfall, bivy-type shelters lose their appeal; it will be difficult to wait out the storm in a shelter in which one cannot assume a sitting position. However, the use of bivy shelters makes sense with favorable weather conditions such as the Sierra Nevada. Examples: Integral Designs Unishelter; Advanced Bivy Sack from Outdoor Research.
Other Considerations
Bivy is too narrow for you? At first, you might think so. But do not immediately discard this shelter option. Of course, the tent offers campers a spacious, safe shelter with a roof over their heads. However, bivy allows you to more “merge” with nature. It's almost like sleeping under the stars. At the same time, you have sufficient protection against rain and insects, which is also lightweight. However, if being in a confined space is a concern for you, you will most likely not feel comfortable in a bivy, especially in bad weather. In this case, consider buying a tent.
How does air circulate inside the bivy? A breathable/waterproof laminate such as Gore-Tex allows moisture to escape through the fabric. Not allowing, at the same time, raindrops to seep through the fabric. Breathable/waterproof bivouac bags work best in situations where the camper's warm, sweaty body rests in cold, dry conditions. In rainy conditions, despite the fact that modern bivies are designed with ample overlapping material and zippers, it is unlikely that you will have to fully zip them up. Manual ventilation helps maintain an acceptable level of humidity inside the bivouac bag.
Is it possible for condensation to form inside the bivy? Potentially, yes. In fact, bivy is a single layer tent. Warm vapor from your body and lungs collides with colder air as it rises. When the steam comes into contact with the bivouac bag laminate, the air can no longer transport all of the moisture, so some of it collects on the inside of the fabric in question. In a two-layer tent, this moisture passes through the breathable inner tent and settles on the outer tent. In the case of a bivy, this can cause a small amount of moisture to accumulate on the inside of the bivy. In cold conditions, this can lead to the formation of an ice crust on the inside.
Will the sleeping bag in a bivouac bag really be dry? In rainy (wet) weather conditions, Gore-Tex fabric can sometimes produce a cold and wet feeling on contact with the skin, but this is only a feeling, not wetting the fabric. Good ventilation helps to minimize this sensation.
Summary
Bivy bags: A good choice for climbers and minimalist hikers who go on short (one- and two-day) hikes. Requires a mindset that adapts well to Spartan conditions.
Bivy-type shelters: Popular with long-distance ultralight walkers and cyclists. A good choice for tourists traveling in areas with little rainfall. The extra space and total protection make them a viable option for campers who can adapt psychologically to spending the night in a tight space. Narrow but light.
Small sized tents: Some models in the 2kg range offer a combination of space and modest weight; in many cases will be the preferred choice for the average tourist.
In general, a cool thing is still bivouac. This year, being in it under a torrential downpour, I finally got into it.
No, I was inspired, of course, earlier, last autumn on the wall of Morcheka, spending the night in a hammock in it.
Photo by Nikita Skorokhodov
But I'll start in order. What is this fashionable word bivouac?
It's basically just a bag. Translated from English - bivouac bag. That is, it is a bag that replaces a tent and saves from rain and snow.
True, even here manufacturers of various bivouacs begin to look for scope for creativity. Starting from the fact that this bag is sewn with various complex systems of zippers, which somehow open on the side in three directions, forming tricky geometric lines designed to provide oxygen access and prevent you from getting wet through this very access. And ending with complex structures using racks resembling coffins.
But are all these complexities necessary, and if so, why?
To answer this question, you need to start simple.
Namely, from the most ordinary bivouac bag without any bells and whistles.
Since last year, I have repeatedly spent the night in such a simple bivouac camp on the street without a tent, but somehow I did not happen to get into it under a serious downpour. And this happiness happened.
Photo by Mikhail Kravchenko
I went to bed with a clear sky and fell asleep, admiring the stars above my head and thinking how cool it was to spend the night on the street without a tent, that I didn’t have to suffer from the Hamlet question - to sit a little more to look at the stars or finally go to sleep. And here…
And then in the middle of the night I wake up from some discomfort in the brain. I hear how for me, for me, and not habitually for the tent, the rain is drumming. Drumming so big. As if someone got up from above with a watering can and is trying to wake him up in the morning for work. And you snort, wipe the moisture from your face, try to burrow deeper into the blanket, realizing that they will pull you out of it and carry you to the bath for a cold shower.
But here the brain finally wakes up and realizes that I am not lying in my bed and no one wakes me up for work in this way. And what am I just lying on the street on the rug under open sky. And that overhead is no longer the most romantic starry sky, and in the dark you can’t see what kind of gloom. And the rain hits my face.
I wipe the drops of moisture from my face and start burrowing deeper into the bivouac with the sleeping bag, tightening all the seams, leaving only a small hole for the nose. Now it looks like all external access to water is blocked.
I’m trying to tune my brain back to cozy dreams, but it’s not so easy when the rain drums not on the tent, but it feels like it’s right on the sleeping bag. So it looks like I'm all wet right now.
I begin to toss and turn nervously, trying to hide, to bury things deeper under me in order to save them. In the end, I give up and relax.
So I once walked along the Ho Chi Minh trail to Yastrebinoye on the rocks in sneakers, not boots - it’s hard to take only the first step into the mud and sink ankle-deep into this dirty wet swamp, and then everything becomes indifferent - you won’t be drier and wetter too. Or the same in multi-race. Or on Thach, when last year we walked in the downpour and rain for three hours through the mud, sinking higher than ankle-deep, and then the same amount through the water, periodically fording the river.
And here, having set up my brain that by morning I will inevitably swim in my bivouac with a sleeping bag and all the things that I pushed at my feet or put around the sleeping bag, I simply accept this fact as inevitable.
But some time passes and I still do not swim anywhere, although the rain does not stop, but only intensifies.
As a result, I begin to experience a kind of pleasure from this - a pleasant smell of rainy freshness, a muzzle slightly damp from raindrops, the sounds of rain ... stop, that's just the sounds are still not romantic. This is the only thing that brings dissonance to the brain. The brain, which is used to falling asleep to the sound of the rain drumming on the tent, feeling protected in it, like in a house, cannot come to terms with the complete defenselessness from this realization that it is outside in the pouring rain.
How did it all end? Apart from the discomfort in the head, there was no other discomfort. Everything turned out to be dry inside - both the sleeping bag, and myself, and all the things that were stuffed into the bivouac.
And this was the most ordinary gore-tex bag without side zippers, visors and houses over the face and over the head.
Photo by Mikhail Kravchenko
Do you need different arcs with visors and bells and whistles in a bivouac? I personally don't. If we sleep in a bag, and not in a tent, then sleep right on the street. Otherwise, you wake up in the middle of the night, see a dark roof three centimeters from your face and decide that you are Gogol.
But on the other hand, all people are different - and for some, a wet muzzle is more screaming than Gogol's nightmares.
So the choice of bivouac is a matter of preference.
I specifically talked about the simplest bag. Because if, under a torrential downpour, water does not flow into it from any side and into any cracks, then options with different arcs, such as mini-tents, are even more versatile in terms of protection.
Now why do we need a bivouac? Maybe it's better to do with a normal tent?
1. For solo travel, biking and climbing. One bivouac (a simple bivouac bag without racks) is definitely lighter than any of the lightest tents. I don't have the lightest of the existing bivouacs, but the most reliable in terms of waterproofness and warmth, because it is made of dense gore-tex. Due to the fact that it is made of dense fabric, it additionally retains the heat that is created in the air space between the sleeping bag and the bivouac. It should be noted that I spent the night in it and at a fairly cold temperature outside, but with a downy sleeping bag (Phantom D2). I don’t know how the thermal environment will be created in a synthetic sleeping bag.Note. And we are not talking about winter, high-altitude hikes and ascents. Although harsh guys can try. For example, I want to experiment and spend the night in a bivouac without a tent in winter.
2. For group ascents, but for people who love privacy. For example, I have long preferred to live in the base camp or just spend the night alone in a tent. Even the two of you are not comfortable with everyone, and even living with three, four or God forbid in general with a crowd is only in very extreme conditions on a serious route, when you don’t even notice what you eat, with whom you sleep, etc.
It is only difficult psychologically to readjust to the absence of a tent. In terms of warmth, there is basically no difference (we are talking about spending the night alone in a bivouac and a tent). There were situations when I slept the night in a tent, and then the night in a bivouac, i.e. in the same temperature regimes and did not feel the difference in heat.
On the contrary, for example, sleeping alone in a large, and not in a small tent, is even colder. Because one cannot breathe and heat such a large space of the tent, unless one burns a gas lamp all night.
3. For wall climbing. Somewhere in the comments there was a question why take bivouacs when there is a Bibler's tent, which weighs a little more than a kilogram. But how do you put up a tent, if the shelf on which there is enough space to accommodate only half-sitting, reclining. Yes, we always managed to attach and secure the tent so that it was hanging by two thirds from the shelf, but this is not always comfortable and convenient. Bivouacs are more convenient in this regard. Yes, you can use the bibler as a bivouac for two. But if there is not one shelf so that two can fit? And I had to stop somewhere where you can hang out on different shelves, one a little higher, the other a little lower. Very often there is just a series of some kind of ledges and ledges on which you have to spend the night. How to divide a Bibler into two in this way? Don't cut him. Therefore, two bivouacs on the wall, when the platform is not taken, are more mobile - you can spend the night anywhere.
bivouac requirements
The fact that he should absolutely not get wet, but at the same time breathe, otherwise the risk of getting wet either from the outside or from the inside from condensate is a no brainer.But the main requirement for a bivouac, in addition to fabric and a competent cut, is its spaciousness. The bivouac bag should not be small exactly on the sleeping bag, but much larger in size so that you can place some things at the legs and also place them on the sides. That is, in case of rain, the entire minimum of things could be stuffed with you into this bivouac inside.
Photo by Mikhail Kravchenko
This is only an opinion, because I did not use it, because, as I wrote above, an ordinary bivouac bag is enough for me.
But RedFox does not sew bivouacs in mass batches, but only on order for teams for their projects.
And so they released Bivi Fox, which is essentially a bivouac, only from a series of tricked-out ones - with racks and all that.
It seems to me that from the point of view of the consumer, Bivi Fox is just a more versatile option than my bivouac bag. Because, if desired, it can be used both with racks and as a bag, simply without taking racks with you, and then the weight immediately becomes not the kilogram declared in the characteristics, but just like the weight of a simple bivouac bag. Perhaps a little heavier than other bivouac bags due to the fact that here it is not light, but rather dense fabric, even denser than in my bivouac.
Well, in conclusion. What to do with things, if suddenly you want to use the bivouac not just for one or two nights on the wall or for a walk, when all things can be pushed inside it. And if you go on a long journey and decide not to take a tent with you, but take a bivouac and sleep in it under the open sky.
This year, when I did not have a large tent with vestibules, then in the Caucasus and in the Crimea, all my things lived on the street in a trunk, covered from above with a piece of polyethylene during rain. Or rather, not even polyethylene, but I bought the cheapest, lightest and simplest bath curtain for 56 rubles at the hardware store. It weighs a hundred grams probably, but strong enough. So I slept in a bivouac on a rug, and everything was stored in a trunk under this polyethylene. It turned out three times less in weight than a tent.
And more romantic :)
For a year now, there has been 5 meters of Tyvek, bought once "on the occasion." I finally decided to put it into action, and sewed two easy-going membrane bivy. I didn’t make a complex pattern for a bivouac bag (see picture).
Rectangular piece of 2.5 linear meters (width 1.5) Tyvek Soft building vapor barrier. I folded it with a "pipe" so that the edges were 10-15 cm from the side fold. In the area of the face, I sewed a “window” from a small mosquito (it is better to make a mesh with tucks (see the figure) so that it can be easily “pulled off” from the face), then I sewed in a zipper. The zipper is better longer, almost to the knees - it's more convenient to get in and out. You can sew, as in my diagram, or you can above the mosquito net - the weight will increase by 20 grams :)
Stitched the remaining seams. It would be necessary to sew a rope on the mosquito, for pulling from the face. But I just tie the rope on top.
From the cut out piece of Tyvek under the mosquito, it turns out just a bag where you can put a folded bivik and an awning. It is very compact. About a 1 liter bottle.
The weight of such a bag 2.5 m long turned out to be about 250-270 grams. Plus an easy-to-move Lost silicone awning with ropes and pegs with a total weight of 250-260 gr. - and a full-fledged solo shelter weighing 0.5 kg is ready!
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| bivik + awning = 0.5 kg! |
Impressions, two nights + MMB:
The first overnight stay was two meters from a small river, in a lowland. The temperature at night is 5-8 degrees, no precipitation. Top awning Lost from Alloy (). I didn’t have much hope for a building membrane. I expected that I would wake up, if not in a puddle, then with condensate for sure, and I would have to dry the sleeping bag. At night, there was definitely condensation in the area of \u200b\u200bthe face on the Tyvek. Oh, I was very surprised when I woke up in the morning in a completely dry sleeping bag and a bivik from the inside! Works!
The second night was at the border of the forest, in a clearing. The evening and night temperatures are about the same. It rained intermittently during the night. The awning was greatly stretched and almost covered the bivik. In the morning there was a small amount of condensation, the sleeping bag was slightly damp in the legs and around the face.
The third overnight stay is on the forced march. A small amount of condensation in the legs, the weather is dry, the temperature at night is about +10+12 degrees.
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| bivi pouch + lost awning |
It would be nice, of course, to make the bivik wider in the torso area, so that it would be more convenient to toss and turn, 145 cm of the total girth is a little cramped even for me. If you try to insert an inflatable Jaeger rug 50 cm wide instead of foam, then the bivik will not fasten - checked =)
Advantages of Tyvek as a material: low weight (50-55 g / m2) and compactness, relative water resistance (respectively, wind resistance), puncture resistance, pleasant to the touch, relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: um =) an unusual white color for tourism, which attracts attention :) and the need to buy a roll (about 4 thousand rubles), because it is not sold in cuts.