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I have a Red Rab Storm Bivi similar to the above that I'm thinking of selling as with 6'-ish me, Large Neoair Xtherm & big Winter bag its a bit snug. £35 posted if anyone is interested. I bought it from Stevemorg of this parish and have used it twice I think.
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(in)Action shot:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff3 ... 9edef1.jpg

Chicken Legs wrote:Alpkit Hunka Bivvi Bag, it would appear from their web site, condensation could be an issue if you have the
bag done up and you are breathing into it !

Current Goretex/Event air perm bivi fabric get 25,000mvtr, old Taslan Gortex around 15,000 and our fabric about 10,000mvtr which in real terms means that if your not breathing into it, then it is breathable enough. Some conditions you do get condensation on the inside of the fabric but for most people this seems to be managable.

I had real issues with a hunka and condensation. Remember it was below freezing in the outer herbrides, not breathing into it (clear night, no tarp) and all the condensation had frozen on the inside of the bag (not a big issue as it's easy to brush frost/ice out compared to water)...but it appears my body lets off a lot of moisture :?

The choice has been made, the postman is on his way with a Terra Nova
Thanks to everyone for their input

Brilliant, let me know what you think of it before I buy mine

Im also considering one of these for racing. no tarp.

Im also considering one of these for racing. no tarp.

If I were wanting a bag for use without a tarp I'd want something my sleeping mat could fit inside.

Review stolen from somewhere else.



Good points - Good build quality.
Bad points - Short short short!

Smaller than a standard zipped bivi - In practice, 2m long - without side walls means it was too short for me when I tried it - even without a sleeping bag (I'm 1.83m size 11 feet).

Zip is L- shaped (along top edge and left side) rather than U-shaped - means you can't fold top back off your face.
Light - would suit those 5'8" or less (and slim!) - any taller and I think you'd regret it.

Bought it in an online sale - tempted by the low weight - it went straight back - too short and restrictive due to no side walls.

Poor value at full price.

Not used as I sent it back.

If you want it for racing, you'd ditch the mat too I guess?

Although small, it sounds like it'd fit me.

I thought aiden was tall though?

I'm considering ditching the mat too yep. need to try that out first though

For me it depends how long the race is whether I could leave the mat at home.

Although on the bulky side a torso length foam mat is only 75g and adds a load of warmth and a decent amount of comfort too.

ianfitz wrote:For me it depends how long the race is whether I could leave the mat at home.

Although on the bulky side a torso length foam mat is only 75g and adds a load of warmth and a decent amount of comfort too.

It's deffinately a good idea Ian, where would you carry such an ungainly item though

Rather than rolling my mat up putting inside the frame bag, I now fold it and place it between my front dry bag and the Wildcat Mtn Lion harness. When all the straps are done up it isn't going anywhere, and it effectively takes up no space. Same principle could be applied to a piece of foam.

I finally tracked down one of these bags for £105, with free postage: http://www.climbingdirect.co.uk/terra-n ... -711-p.asp

have you taken the plunge then?

Yes I have. I'm 95% sure that it will do what I need it to do, plus I want to put it to use this month as part of some gear testing for the HTR. I'm still deliberating over that Klymit mat...

Its a good price for the bag. Pretty much the same as I paid.


I was debating no mat for a while but think that was a step too far for me and would have completely ruled out sleeping anywhere with a hard surface, including bivi's.
Hopefully the Klymit will make it more tolerable.

I've been in my tent the last few nights so I guess I could have tried it, but since I knew I was going to be in there for 8 hours, I opted for comfort.

I've stopped using bivy bags (except space blanket types - if I ditch the sleeping bag) more than a decade ago. I feel I get more shelter from a tarp. And if it's not raining, there's just no need for a bivy bag in my point of view. Pertex and similar materials cope very well with morning dew, snow etc. Having a bigger radius with the bike there’s always a place to be found for a tarp.

Ditching the mat for racing? Highland trail without a mat... I guess that'd kill me back for good.

In colder nights (3 season use) I mostly use a short NeoAir X-Lite and a double layer of bubble wrap for my feet of about 30 x 30 cm.

What about bubblewrap for the torso for racing? There are different qualities and weights, the robust ones in torso lengt weighing in at 45 g, the lighter ones 30 g.
Unfortunately they do take quite some space.

I'm undecided on the TN dicovery lite bag, or a tarp / light bivi set up.

Its an interesting idea, what sleeping bag do you use that copes with dew?
Perhaps I should have paid more attention when sneaking past you sleeping on the trail during last years HT

For a mat, I've gone for one of these
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... -mat-p1315

Time will tell if I've wasted my money or not.

The bivi bag option over a tarp for me is down to speed and ease of use when I'm totally knackered and possibly unable to deal either mentally or physically with the complexities of a tarp after 18+ hours on the bike.

Ian wrote:The bivi bag option over a tarp for me is down to speed and ease of use when I'm totally knackered and possibly unable to deal either mentally or physically with the complexities of a tarp after 18+ hours on the bike.

A very very good point. Last year I spent a lot of time - far too much for a race - laying comfortably in my bag, on a full length mat under a tarp.

I hope to be able to stop less this year. so the bivi bag 'should' be the faster option.

Also if you're knackered, it becomes a lot more comfortable too

Zippy wrote:Also if you're knackered, it becomes a lot more comfortable too

I slept like a baby on the bare ground outside Camban Bothy after 21 hours on the bike...

FLV wrote:Its an interesting idea, what sleeping bag do you use that copes with dew?

Any ripstop nylon I use does. Pertex Quantum GL, Pertex Endurance (only in winter) and also a cheaper no name ripstop does a very similar job. You can proof your bag yourself, just like you proof your waterproofs (save the ones you wash in of course).

Ian wrote:The bivi bag option over a tarp for me is down to speed and ease of use

Very true and to be honest, I thought you might come up with that issue. You sir are a true racer

I'm usually quite happy to pitch the tarp whilst waiting for a brew from the cat food can stove. Then there's some stretching and yoga needed to get under it.

I guess this shows us, that weight itself is not the crucial part concerning overall speed (and that I'm a tourer and not a racer...).

FLV wrote:Last year I spent a lot of time - far too much for a race - laying comfortably in my bag, on a full length mat under a tarp.

I hope to be able to stop less this year. so the bivi bag 'should' be the faster option.

Hoping to shed those awful 10 min?

Well, race it or tour it, no?

I thought this quite interesting for serious undertakings:
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... bivy-p2485
and in a heavier version:
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... bivy-p2486

On the other hand, if you rest, make it properly so your body can regenerate.

Has anyone given any thought to just using a waterproof, breathable 'sheet' over the top of themselves rather than using a bag? Got to be lighter and quicker than using a bag.

sounds like a pain to stop blowing away. or a pain to get under.

No-one has altered the laws of physics of once something is wet (even when waterproof) that it stops being brethable.

Remember being totally knackered after work and doing a bivvy with some friends (after about 6 hours of travel), was knackered and soaked through and it was raining, forgot a pole for my tarp so just covered myself in the tarp and fell asleep....woke up 2 hours later a bit colder but the paramo jacket had done it's job and dried out, so got in the sleeping bag.

If you're doing racing with minimal sleep, I guess you can fore-go a bit of breathable-ness as you're only gonna get a few hours kip where it's not such an issue. I've yet to find out how I cope in these conditions.