Author Topic: bivvi bags and bashas (Read 3355 times)

midden · « **on:** 20 January 2014, 01:40:01 pm »

So have any of the veteran tourers slept under the stars in a Bivvii bag under a basha? Especially in e

Mattsplat · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 January 2014, 01:56:38 pm »

I toured through Central Asia sleeping in just a bivvy, what do you want to know?

midden · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 January 2014, 02:04:23 pm »

Is it a viable option for the alps in July? Oh and how about a may weekend up Leeds

Mattsplat · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 January 2014, 02:15:19 pm »

Yes, but....

A bivvy wont keep you warm, thats the job of the sleeping bag and your matress (Thermarest or whatever, I use an Exped..).

Dont buy a cheap one, you need Goretex so it can breath and you dont wake up wet from condensation.

Try and get one that the zipper is on the same side as your sleeping bag.

Something like this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grade-1-Genuine-British-Army-Gore-Tex-Bivi-Bivvy-Bag-Green-/321297463582?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4aced2391e

snapper · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 January 2014, 02:30:14 pm »

MANY MOONS AGO and I mean 20 + years, I went to the bulldog bash and I took a bivy

and I mean a carp fishing bivy ! not quite the same but fun ! riding there with it !

midden · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 January 2014, 04:06:32 pm »

Quote from: snapper on 20 January 2014, 02:30:14 pm

MANY MOONS AGO and I mean 20 + years, I went to the bulldog bash and I took a bivy

and I mean a carp fishing bivy ! not quite the same but fun ! riding there with it !

Sounds like a story to be told

Cheers Matt I think I'll go with the bivvi and I'm told a gore-tex sheet as a basha for shelter in rain. I understand it'll be a lot smaller packed than a tent. I Just need to find a sleeping bag I can fit in lol

Mattsplat · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 January 2014, 04:16:50 pm »

It wont pack that much smaller than a one man tunnel tent when you add a basha.

My bivvy was only for emergencies, Lucky I had it because my tent got knicked a few weeks into my journey

midden · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 January 2014, 05:32:28 pm »

Ah so stick with tent then and bivvi

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 January 2014, 06:35:24 pm »

I've tried bivvy bags and personally didn't like the experience. Why do you want to try one? If it's to keep your luggage bulk to a minimum, there are some good tents out there these days that pack down pretty small, and are light enough for backpacking, and so will be no problem to carry on the bike.

The bivvy bag I have is this one, made of eVent fabric, which is highly breathable and fully waterproof. But I still found it pretty clammy.

http://rab.uk.com/products/equipment/bivis-and-shelter/ascent-bivi.html

Mattsplat · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 January 2014, 06:42:42 pm »

I agree with Nick.

I had to use mine but given the choice, a tent wins every time.

Lightweight trekkers tents are tiny nowadays.

midden · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 January 2014, 08:55:43 pm »

Cool. This is why I posted

a tent it will be then cheers nick and again matt

69oldskool · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 January 2014, 06:19:39 pm »

I Sleep in a bivvy bag quite a lot,even done it in Winter.(people think i'm stange

)

Mine has a built in mosquito net in the head opening,a major plus.
Adding a basha completely spoils it for for me

now't like waking up in a cornfield as dawn starts to break ...cup of T & a fag & 5mins later you can be on your way.

They're actually warmer than a tent IMO, less space to heat.

Maybe not the best for touring, one slight technical hitch ~when it rains you have to lie on your stomach or get a wet face, guess that's why whimpy types pack a basha

If you KNOW it's gona be wet, like Scotland or something, take a tent, if your in with a chance of dryish weather why not give it a try, you might enjoy it.

Ps i also have a one man tent (a.k.a 'the coffin') & a two man, but 9x outa 10 i'd pack the bivvy.

stevierst · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 January 2014, 06:32:52 pm »

I've slept under bashas for years, also used bivvy bags. Definately go gore-tex, mine had a drawstring hood which almost totally closed up. Slept in Canada, Croatia, Bosnia, all over the UK, and in a snow hole in Norway in mine!

Bashas are good if the weathers really crap, you can cook under it and do any admin, but bivvy bags are great if you want to sleep and go quick.
Bashas can be used as bivvy bags as you can roll up in it, but bivvy bags can't be used as bashas.
If you want a cheap one, get ex-military kit, it's good tough kit, especially if you like green!
And don't forget a rollmat. The foam ones are ok for down to about +5 degrees.

noggythenog · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 January 2014, 07:21:31 pm »

Ive got my old army bivvy & a basha stuffed into my tailpack but ive yet to try them out on the bike.

Im only looking at nice summer overnight stays so i think that'll do & i already had them so not costing me anything.

Im tempted by a small tent but im a little ocd whereby i want everything inside my packs, not strapped to the outside & i dont think theres any tent poles small enough for that.....small coal really.

Simon.Pieman · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 January 2014, 07:33:19 pm »

Forgive my ignorance but how do you use a bivvy? Do you just slip into it and zip yourself inside like a caterpiller? or is it like a sort of over the head sleeping bag with a little tent pole at one end.
I'm riding a few thousand miles through SE Asia this year and although I'll plump for sleeping in homestays and hotels all the way I would like to take a 'bivvy' in case I find myself in the middle of nowhere with night closing in. (it happened to me before in Vietnam on the Ho Chi Min trail and I spent the night awake round my small fire sipping from a bottle of whisky until the sun came up -not fun)

stevierst · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 January 2014, 07:46:36 pm »

You can get different types of bivvy bags.
Some have full length zips, and some look just like a slug with a giant gaping mouth. Some have poles, some have fly screens. Depends on how heavy your wallet is.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 January 2014, 10:32:34 am »

I've tried bivvy bags on a couple of occasions but haven't had much luck with them. My first one I used to carry along with the tent as an emergency back up more than anything. Carried it on several trips and never used it (it was pretty light and packed down small, so it wasn't a problem as an added piece of kit).

So then on a walk of the South West Coast Path, I met a guy who had one, and a little tarp set-up, and just got curious about it. So one evening, (a lovely summer one) I decided to use the bivvy bag. Got settled in ok, enjoyed watching bats on the hunt, zipping by just inches from me, and got to sleep ok. But I was woken in the early hours to pissing rain and a howling gale to find, oh dear, this bag isn't very waterproof! In fact, it wasn't at all waterproof, so there I was, in the pitch black, rain hammering down, pitching my tent outer as the wind tried to snatch it from me - luckily, I was very familiar with the tent and was able to get it set up and dive in for a quick cuppa before settling down again. My other kit was fortunately all also wrapped in waterproof bags, so wasn't a complete disaster.

My second try was with the Rab bag mentioned above. In the Lake District, up by Sprinkling Tarn, near Scafell. Again, it was a glorious summer evening. Didn't rain this time but I found the bag very clammy and restrictive - it wasn't as roomy as the last one. As it turned out, I could've just slept in the sleeping bag without a bivvy bag as it stayed dry and mild all night anyway.

I'm still curious about using various combinations of bags and bashas, tarps or whatever, but don't know if I'll get much opportunity now. For a biking tour I'd rather have a tent though, for that bit of extra privacy whilst on commercial campsites, and as a place to protect all the gear at night. Bivvy bags combined with tarps can start getting up to the weight and bulk of a modern lightweight tent anyway - apart from sleeping under the stars, I don't really see much advantage to them. My tent goes up in a couple of minutes, and is equally easy to take down and pack again.

Stevie, you should have joined the Air Force; when we deployed to the field, we slept in nice, warm, dry German barns - any fool can be uncomfortable!

Mattsplat · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 January 2014, 10:45:16 am »

Your matress/rollmat is all important as the ground will suck most of your heat away.

Im a bit OCD about my gear so have always tended to spend that bit more than a bit less.

I would suggest at a minimum you use a Thermarest but because my back is knackered I use an Exped DLX matress, 10cm thick of goose down

Just to add, one of the worst nights of my life was spent in a bivvy, literally on the side of a road, somewhere in Russia

locksmith · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 January 2014, 12:03:11 pm »

No one ever heard of Hotels ?

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 January 2014, 12:13:17 pm »

Quote from: locksmith on 22 January 2014, 12:03:11 pm

No one ever heard of Hotels ?

Can't see the point of using bivvy bags and bashas in a hotel room $:\$ ????

stevierst · « **Reply #20 on:** 22 January 2014, 12:16:06 pm »

Quote from: nick crisp on 22 January 2014, 10:32:34 am

Stevie, you should have joined the Air Force; when we deployed to the field, we slept in nice, warm, dry German barns - any fool can be uncomfortable!

I dont suit them blue shirts, they clash with my eyes, preferred green ones. :P

midden · « **Reply #21 on:** 22 January 2014, 12:49:27 pm »

Quote from: locksmith on 22 January 2014, 12:03:11 pm

No one ever heard of Hotels ?

Posh Foccer........

midden · « **Reply #22 on:** 22 January 2014, 12:52:35 pm »

Iwas kind of thinking Nick would crack on the camping and seek out solid roof, but having read his post it looks like i'm gonna have to find my floyd mears head