Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
It’s no-frills, but no-frills is sometimes fine if the bag is light and protective, and that’s certainly the case here. As mentioned above, some of the best bivvy bags include a rigid hoop in the hood which keeps the material off your face while you are sleeping, but even so it can be a little claustrophobic inside. With a 5000mm HH flysheet and a 7000mm HH groundsheet, the bivi bag offers excellent protection from rain and damp ground. But if you’re racing, then pace tends to take precedence. In a short race (only one or two nights), it’s easier to rough it and sacrifice a good night's sleep in favour of better running performance. But for long, expedition style races or Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempts, the situation is more complex, with the aim of the game being to maximise performance over a prolonged period and changing circumstances. In this situation, you'll need to consider the following: will you be able to cope with prolonged sleep deprivation? Will you be able to dry out your kit? What is the terrain on the course ? What is the climate and season? And why on earth would you use one when tents exist? Well, such an approach – with your head open to the elements – offers an even more intimate interaction with the wild. The sounds of night creatures are unmuffled, the stars dazzle above you, and your senses are highly attuned to every raindrop and every gust of wind.
This made it into our Outdoor 100 for 2022, with our Test Team all impressed by its superb fabric and lightweight qualities. The Ionosphere comes in two main parts – a double-hooped ‘undercarriage’ mesh section which forms the frame of the bivvy, and then a highly waterproof (5000mm HH) and breathable ripstop outer fly sheet which goes over the top. Both require pegging down using aluminum tent pegs which come with the Ionosphere. The fly sheet also has guy ropes to peg down to secure it. I have had it set up in severe gale conditions, and because of the low profile, there was absolutely no chance of it working loose and flying off. In Use You are not cocooned from the environment as you are in a tent. In a tent you are basically in a rubbish version of indoors. In a bivvy bag you really are outside. You feel the breeze on your face, look up at the stars before you sleep and sit up to a brilliant view in the morning.
Mid-Range
This new version of the Helium, released only this year, comes in 14% lighter than the previous generation, and from what we can see there’s been no downgrade in performance either.
After strolling for three days and two nights I became as nervous as the deer I startled on my way and I soo needed a shower. But I did it, on my own, in the over regulated and overpopulated Netherlands where the fine for camping in the wild is between 60 and 95 euro’s. Ripstop outer with 5000mm hydrostatic head / 5000g/m2 breathability / 70D Ripstop floor / 8.5mm aluminium poles / supplied with ultralight alloy pegs. The Hunka comes in three different colours: green, red and blue. It isn’t the lightest, but at 330g it’s still a big weight saving on any tent. It has a hood that goes nicely around the outside of your sleeping bag hood, with a simple drawstring at either side so it can be tightened around you and your bag. It has no additional venting or faffy zips and the bag tapers towards your feet. You can pair it with a tarp for added protection from the elements, if you like, but many choose not to. And that’s it. There’s not much else to say. The Hunka is a simple product with no-frills. But, on a clear summer’s night, where your aim is to feel at one with nature with your face exposed to the fresh air, then it’s absolutely the best value product on the market.All this means that if given enough time to work your way home in an emergency situation, you’ll be able to stay warm and out of the atrocious climate conditions. For overnight microadventures, however, I encourage people to try using a bivvy bag instead. What is a bivvy bag and why do you recommend it? But I’mm very aware that the hardest thing is getting out there for the first time. So I have produced a few infographics which hopefully will serve to give people the prod necessary to take that first step. (Thank you, Andrea, for all your hard work!) This thing’s made from Pertex’s impressive Diamond Fuse fabric, a 2.5-layer ripstop nylon with specially shaped yarns that are intricately woven together to create a robust, abrasion resistant and highly durable fabric – one that’s both waterproof and highly breathable too. layer Ripstop nylon upper / 10,000 mm hydrostatic head / 10,000/m2 breathability / width: Shoulders – 80 cm; Foot – 50 cm
The top of the bivvy bag completely zips up, but there is no way of keeping it off your face, and sleeping can get difficult. On warmer nights this isn’t a problem as you can open more of a gap. As a result, we would say this is three season only, but of course your mileage may vary! The picture below shows an Army bivvy on the left, a Rab one in the middle and a snoring Welshman in an unknown bivvy on the right. If you are confident that the weather is going to be warm and dry then you don’t need one at all. I’mve slept like this on many, many nights.One thing to note is that if you are over 6ft tall (I’m 6ft3 or 195cm) then you may be stretched for sleeping space inside – the sleeping area is 213cm long but this includes a sloping roof. Something to bear in mind. Just slip it over your sleeping bag. If I am organised I do this before leaving home rather than doing it later in the dark and pouring rain. Low weight and a compact shape are the most important factors for runners, since a bulky or heavy bag makes running feel awkward and also more strenuous. Is a bivvy better than a tent? Some one-man tents are now so small and light, it’s hard to imagine that it’s even possible to take a more minimalist approach. But it is: enter the bivvy bag. What is a bivvy bag?
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